Retired agent Peter Welsh served in the FBI for 20 years. He was assigned to three offices during his career, the Yuba City Resident Agency (RA) out of the Sacramento Division, Long Beach RA out of the Los Angeles Division and the Pocatello, Idaho RA originally out of the Salt Lake City Division, where he worked all violations and fugitives matters. In this episode of FBI Retired Case File Review, Pete Welsh reviews his 1974 investigation of the kidnapping of 12-year-old Jan Broberg who was abducted by Bob Berchtold, a trusted and close family friend. Pete Welsh spent three years trying to unravel the bizarre twist and turns of the case. Pete was interviewed on camera for the Netflix documentary, Abducted In Plain Sight, about the Jan Broberg kidnapping. It was during the filming that he learned about all of the methods used by his subject Bob Berchtold to groom and manipulate young Jan and her parents, Bob and Maryann Broberg. You can learn more about the documentary Abducted In Plain Sight website and watch a clip from the film on the official website and YouTube.

Special Agent (Retired)

Peter Welsh

1968 – 1989

“You take it for granted that the parents of a kidnapped little girl would tell you everything.” — Retired FBI Agent Pete Welsh

The following are links to the documentary website and articles about the Jan Broberg kidnapping and the strange manipulative relationship her kidnapper, Bob Berchtold, had with her parents:

Abduction In Plain Sight Website

The Vulture: Abducted in Plain Sight’s Jan Broberg on Why She Forgave Her Parents

ABC – The View (VIDEO): The Strangest True-Crime Story Yet