Mother of Boy Missing Since 1989 'Hopeful' New Search Will Yield Results

July 1, 2010— -- Patty Wetterling has never given up hope that one day the mystery of her son's disappearance in 1989 would be solved.

She may have a reason for new hope as law enforcement officials dug today at the farm near St. Joseph, Minn., where Jacob, who was 11 at the time, was last seen.

"I'm hopeful that they'll find something," Wetterling told ABCNews.com. "We're keeping our fingers crossed, saying a little prayer here and there."

Even after 21 years, Wetterling is cautiously optimistic about the search.

"It's hard," she said. "It's very confusing, what to feel, what to think, what to do."

Police have refused to say whether the focus on the farm is connected to Jacob Wetterling's disappearance, and won't even discuss the issue with the boy's mother.

"They can't tell me," Patty Wetterling said today. "I do believe it's connected."

The mom said the connection to Jacob's disappearance is impossible to ignore.

"It would be a stretch to think they were doing this massive search for any other reason," she said.

She praised law enforcement officials for their continued attention to a search that she has never given up on. "What it shows to me is the absolute commitment of law enforcement to never quit," Wetterling said.

Chief Deputy Bruce Bechtold of the Stearns County Sheriff's Department said a court order prevents him from discussing the details of the investigation.

"We're conducting an investigation," he told ABCNews.com. "We have people there again today."

Ernie Allen, head of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, confirmed that the Stearns County Sheriff's office, the FBI, and members of his organization's 'Team Adam' were all at the farm. Team Adam is made up of retired law enforcement officials who specialize in finding missing children. Like Bechtold, Allen said he could not comment on the reason for the new activity, instead focusing on the ongoing nature of the investigation.

"This is a continuation of an investigative angle that law enforcement has been pursuing for some time," Allen told ABCNews.com.

"There is clearly a legal basis for a search," Allen said.

Jacob Wetterling Was Abducted While Bicycling With a Brother and a Friend

The fresh activity on the farm is located a half mile down the road from Wetterling's home. Jacob was taken by a masked man from the driveway of the farm while his brother and a friend watched.

A man who answered a cell phone registered to the property refused to confirm his identity and refused to answer any questions about the renewed activity on the farm.

"I'm not answering any stupid questions," the man told ABCNews.com. "We've been questioned and harassed for 21 years. We're done."

Local ABC News affiliate KSTP reported that up to 17 vehicles were on the property Wednesday and many returned today. A dump truck filled with dirt left the property today and came back empty soon after.

Jacob was abducted on Oct. 22, 1989, as he, his brother Trevor and a friend were returning home on their bicycles from picking up a video. It was the first time Jacob had been out alone at night on his bike.

On the return home, according to the other boys, a masked gunman stopped all three -- and then drove off with Jacob.

All that remained of him on the gravel road was a spot where Jacob's footprints seemed to show resistance. And then nothing.

Over the past two decades, Jacob's mother, Patty Wetterling, has sustained herself with hope.

"We hope for Jacob, for all of our grandkids, for every child who's home safe today and every child who's missing," she said in an interview with "Nightline" last October on the 20th anniversary of the boy's disappearance.

Over the years, his mother has found her voice, and her mission: to find Jacob and help protect other children.

"A lot of people ask, 'How do you do it?' How could I not?" she said. "Every parent knows, you would do anything for your children, and our anything [has] got to be a little more than we ever would have dreamed, but you continue. We'll do anything that we can to find him."