Jake Wilson search: As divers look for autistic teen, mother says 'everybody is wanting him back'

LA PORTE CITY, Ia. — Divers squeezed into brightly colored dry suits to look along Wolf Creek on Thursday as the search for a missing autistic teen who went for a walk and never came back entered its fifth day.

Behind a residential street, six members of the Johnson County Metro Dive Team searched a 200-foot stretch of the creek, hoping to find any sign of Jake Wilson, a 16-year-old who went missing Saturday night in unusually cold April temperatures.

"Step!" one diver shouted as the team members moved forward in unison. "Step!"

Using sonar, authorities flagged the area of the creek that had pockets as deep as 15 feet, but they found no sign of Jake.

At a nearby fire department that investigators have been using as a headquarters, Jake's mother, Megan Neiswonger, waited with family for any news.

"Everybody is wanting Jake back," she told the Register. "The positivity of the community is keeping us going."

Although officials sent home hundreds of volunteers who they said were no longer needed, they remained optimistic as they focused Thursday on detailed water searches.

Jake, who stands about 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs 135 pounds, was last seen at 9 p.m. Saturday going for a walk to Wolf Creek in town. He was wearing a brown zip-up hooded sweatshirt, dark pants and cowboy boots.

Authorities said as of Thursday night they were ruling nothing out in their investigation.

"We really can't assume anything," Black Hawk County Sheriff Tony Thompson said.

'Everybody is wanting Jake back'

Sitting with about 20 family members in a circle of chairs behind the fire department, Megan and Robert Neiswonger described their son as an outgoing teenager who loves fishing, reading books and playing Yahtzee.

"And he cheats!" one person in the group said, chiming in with a smile and laughter.

Jake is fond of going on treasure hunts; he could find a curling iron in a ditch and think it was a treasure, his mother said.

He enjoys collecting duck calls and had been reading "The Wonder" but was a fan of the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series.

The family, which has lived in La Porte City for about 10 years, said Jake attended Union High School before transferring to Cedar Falls High School's special-needs program.

Jake has one brother and two stepbrothers — "but, they're all of our boys," Megan said — who are ages 13 to 15.

Students at nearby schools as well as employees at Kryton Engineered Metals, where Jake's father works, wore blue Thursday, a color often associated with autism awareness.

More than 40 workers could be seen outside the metal company wearing blue shirts while holding a banner with the words "MISSING" and photographs of Jake.

Family members called the support from volunteers and authorities "phenomenal and unbelievable," describing the FBI victim specialist who sat in the circle with them as wonderful.

They also thanked the employers who let hundreds of people join in the search for the four days that authorities needed them, including the Black Hawk County Attorney's office, where Megan Neiswonger works.

At its peak, more than 800 people turned out as snow fell Sunday.

Jake has mild autism with the mental acuity of an 8- or 9-year-old child, La Porte City Police Chief Chris Brecher said. He was able to walk around town on his own, he said.

The teenager often went to Tootsie's Ice Cream and More, an ice cream shop down the street from the fire department where investigators were working.

His family would call the shop ahead of his arrival and send him with exact change, the sheriff said.

'There is still nothing off the table'

Authorities have repeatedly said they are considering every option about where Jake could be.

Few new tips came in overnight, compared to hundreds from the days before.

FBI agents with various expertise came from as far as Chicago, Omaha, Milwaukee and Minneapolis, the sheriff said.

Previous coverage:

Where is Jake Wilson? Hundreds search Iowa town for autistic teen missing 3 days.

An Iowa autistic teen is missing. This is why it's a common problem for families.

Volunteers no longer needed in search for La Porte City teen

'We're still holding out hopes': Search continues for autistic Iowa teen

Thompson helped in 2012 when two cousins from Evansdale — a Waterloo suburb about a 20-minute drive from La Porte City — were found dead after missing for seven months. No one has been arrested in their killings.

The same FBI liaison who worked with the families in the Evansdale case is working with the Neiswongers, he said.

Dozens of agencies are assisting in the investigation with detectives that specialize in a variety of skills that include investigating sex offenders and child abductions.

"We surround ourselves (with people) who are smarter than we are," Thompson said.

Asked what the public can do, the sheriff said, "Pray for us; encourage us."

For police, last 5 days 'a whirlwind'

As the sheriff reflected on the case to the Register, he said, "I don't know how we could be doing anything better."

Thompson, who heads the search's investigative team, meets with section chiefs and other law enforcement officials several times a day.

He remained confident his team that has grown to about 30 investigators in the city is the best it could be; asked how many detectives he had during a morning press conference, he told reporters, "Enough."

Authorities said they were personally and emotionally invested in finding Jake. Brecher can finally count the number of hours he has slept during the last week on both hands; for Thompson, six hours was the most sleep he has had for one night.

"I'm doing, I think, what the Lord put me here to do," he said.

Brecher described the search as highly stressful. He wants nothing more than to give the family an answer.

"I want to give it to them today, I really do," the police chief said Thursday morning.

The sheriff, who has worked about 10 missing-persons cases, remained optimistic, in part, because searchers are using new technology, such as drones and sonar, that was not as readily available six years ago.

Thompson described the last five days as a well-supported and well-documented whirlwind.

Most missing people are found within three days at the most, he said.

Asked if anything made Jake's case unique, the sheriff replied: "I haven't found him. I haven't found him."

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Luke Nozicka can be reached at 515-284-8069 or lnozicka@dmreg.com. Follow him on Twitter @lukenozicka for updates on breaking news and crime in Iowa.