By Jennifer Brooks

Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

The Wetterling family has finalized plans to lay 11-year-old Jacob to rest.

Jacob, who was kidnapped and murdered 27 years ago, will be remembered at a community memorial service at 10 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 25, at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn.

The service will be open to the public, and the family has invited members of the community to join them at an ecumenical prayer service “of remembrance, hope and healing,” the college announced Friday.

Seating will be limited at the service, so anyone planning to attend is encouraged to sign an online guestbook at jwmemorial.net. The address and driving directions to the event will be shared via e-mail with those who sign the guestbook.

The memorial marks the end of the almost three-decade search for the boy from St. Joseph who was snatched off his bicycle in October 1989 and vanished without a trace. His killer confessed to the crime earlier this month and led authorities to Jacob’s buried remains, bringing the long mystery to a heartbreaking end.

The memorial service is being held the same weekend as the popular Millstream Arts Festival, so guests are encouraged to arrive early and to prepare for heavy traffic. Doors to the service will open at 9 a.m.

The memorial also will be livestreamed at jwmemorial.net.