As snow falls, search for autistic teen Jake Wilson continues

As snow fell across the state and temperatures plummeted Sunday, law enforcement provided no update on the search for Jake Wilson, a teen with mild autism from northeast Iowa who hasn't been seen since April 7.

Black Hawk County Sheriff Tony Thompson, who is running the investigative team, didn't hold a press conference Sunday and told the Register by text that he will send press releases as updates are made in the case.

Wilson, 5-foot-6 and 135 pounds, was last seen at 9 p.m. April 7 going for a walk to Wolf Creek, which runs through La Porte City, a bedroom community for Waterloo.

Wilson, 16, has been remembered in recent days by the town’s residents for his love of ice cream, his laughter and his days spent fishing in the creek.

Investigators said Saturday they are following up on a couple of new leads, including particularly “interesting” one.

The sheriff's office is also asking anyone who saw a person walking in the area of Commercial Street and Bishop Avenue around 8:30 p.m. April 7 to come forward.

The FBI has created a website, www.fbi.gov/laportecityiowa, where people can upload photos or videos taken in La Porte City, Wilson's hometown, on the day he went missing. Authorities say a bicycle ride and a class reunion brought in people from out of town that day.

The reduced search continued as temperatures across Iowa on Sunday were much lower than the about 60-degree average for April, and cities in northern and central Iowa received as much as a foot of snow from the storm that started late Friday night.

Bringing in bone-chilling winds, the storm led to temperatures in some cities breaking records for the coldest low-high, the meteorological term for the coldest high temperature recorded on a single day.

Waterloo residents, about 15 miles north of La Porte City, experienced their coldest low-high in more than hundred years with the 28-degree day breaking the record of 36 degrees set back in 1904.

The search area was diminished over the weekend, said La Porte City Police Chief Chris Brecher.

"By no means are we done," he said. "But we are at a point in our search operation where we have to scale back."

With each passing day, as more ground is covered without finding Jake, the investigations team led by Sheriff Thompson takes on more significance, tracking down tips to determine whether a crime caused the disappearance.

The worst thing that can happen at this juncture, Thompson said Saturday morning and Brecher reiterated later, is for the public's attention to the matter begin to wane.

"We recognize that our community is very resilient; they move on very quickly, but this is not one we are going to let them move on," Thompson said. "I made a promise to the family very early on that we are here to the end. We are here to the finale.”

In a written statement, the Wilson family thanked everyone in the community who has helped so far and asked that the community continue to aid investigators.

A friend of Wilson's family, Chris Taylor, gave the statement in a shaky voice at a press briefing Saturday.

She read off a few reasons why the family is so proud of their son — his perseverance in winning special Olympics awards and performing in choirs — along with examples of how Jake Wilson is just like most other kids in the community.

“Even with (his) challenges, Jake grew with the support of family, friends and the good people of this community," the statement read.

They closed the appeal by saying that they just wanted their son back.

“Jake, we love you,” Taylor read. “And we want you to come home.”

Register reporter Mike Kilen contributed to this report.