Jason went missing when he was 19 years old. "I remembered one time we had this idea to do a popsicle race at which color would melt the fastest and I know red one," recounted Michael Jolkowski, Jolkowski's younger brother.The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children created an age-progression photo that shows what Jolkowski would look like now at the age of 39. Or Jason suffered a head injury that resulted in amnesia, which led him away from his life. Jason was described as a 'homebody' by his mom, and was generally well liked by friends although he was noted to be pretty shy and reserved. In the aftermath of his disappearance, Jolkowski's parents successfully campaigned for "Jason's Law", a statewide database for missing people in Nebraska. Not even a stream, or a drainage culvert. Updated 6 times since October 12, 2004. Unsolved American missing person case from Omaha in 2001, "Family to hold vigil for missing student", "12 Years Later- Jason Jolkowski Still Missing", "Missing teen's parents help other families cope", "Discovery of body could be 'at least an answer', "MISSING: 20 year anniversary of Jason Jolkowski's disappearance", "Family's Loss Inspires Law To Help Find Missing Persons", "Kelly Jolkowski, Mother Of Missing Teen, Recognized For Aiding Victims' Families", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Disappearance_of_Jason_Jolkowski&oldid=1140851759, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2023, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 02:36. He was a quiet, shy guy, just a year out of high school. When the perpetrator realized Jason wasnt who they thought he was, they killed and obscured his remains to hide their crime. He disappeared while walking from his family home towards his former high school to meet his ride for work. At the same time, I dont think he would have been able to make it far from any accident scene without being seen and recognized, let alone not being recognized for so many years after. "Jason Jolkowski," Disappeared, November 19, 2021, "Disappearance of Jason Jolkowski", Wikipedia, "There's no leads, nobody saw anything," Emily Tencer, KETV 7, June 13, 2021, "Family still searching for missing son", Marion Rhodes, Omaha World-Herald, January 5, 2004, "Month Passes Without Clue of Disappearance of Son," Kamahria Hopkins, Omaha World-Herald, July 13, 2001, "MISSING: 20 year anniversary of Jason Jolkowskis disappearance," WOWT News, June 12th, 2021. At the time of his disappearance in 2001, Jason was 19-years-old and working at an Italian-American restaurant chain . Beyond that Too old for the typical paedophile. Always seemed really out of place, tons of graffiti constantly. Probably not connected, but another 19 year old white male went missing while living on the same street, about a mile away, about a month later. But, lets remember there were a few things out of the ordinary that day: his car was in the shop--had been all week--he called in unexpectedly and he was about to start a new job. The then 19-year-old was walking seven blocks from his home to Benson High School in order. But his family and friends were certain that he wouldnt have run away, explaining that his family meant everything to him and that things were going well in his life. It could also be a random attack but what are the odds that no one noticed anything? In order for this theory to make sense, the driver of the offending car would have had to remove Jason from the scene and hide him somewhere to avoid prosecution. No trace of him was ever found, or any useful leads. "So he was last seen taking the trash cans into his house and a neighbor saw him do that," said Say. People paint rocks that have the hashtag #FindjasonJ to raise awareness about Jason Jolkowski's disappearance at Roberts Park in Omaha on Sunday. Perhaps some predator of some sort got him into a home/building or more likely into a car and tricked him and/or took him against his will. It could had been at either the front, 52nd entrance or the Maple street sideMaple was closer to his house if he went by way of North 50th Street AND North 50th Ave (they are two different streets, adjacent)a little confusing if you had to give directions! Submissions should outline a mystery and provide a link to a more detailed review of the case such as a Wiki article or news report. his room was full of his belongings and there was no sign that he planned on leaving. This is when his disappearance was discovered. This was the last definitive sighting of Jason Jolkowski. Jason Jolkowski. Seven-year-old Kyron Horman went missing from his elementary school on June 4, 2010, and hasn't been seen since. Jolkowski carried his red work t-shirt with him at the time of his disappearance. Seemingly not involved in anything suspect. Did he walk or was he given a ride? According to Jasons friend, Amanda Goodman: He loves his parents and his brother more than anything in the world. He believes he could be one of the last people to see him that day. Someone would have seen something. This is one of the most baffling missing persons cases Ive looked into so far, for a few reasons. Jim and Kelly Jolkowski with a framed photo of their missing son. Jason was last seen leaving his home to walk to Benson High School, where he was supposed to meet a coworker for a ride to work. Jolkowski never made it to the high school, and he has not been seen or heard from since. You would just see who would start laughing. Privacy Policy. Some theorize that Jolkowski was murdered by a neighbor, others believe he was a victim of a hit-and-run and was disposed of by the perpetrators, and there are some who think he may have even been mugged. Police waited over a week with most sources stating the timeframe as nine days before beginning to investigate Jasons disappearance. On June 7, 1992, Suzie Streeter, Stacy McCall, and Sherrill Levitt, "The Springfield Three," disappeared after a graduation party in the heart of the Bible Belt. This case seems baffling with basically no physical evidence. [6] Under an hour later, between 11:15 and 11:30a.m., his co-worker called his house stating that he had failed to turn up at Benson High for the ride to work. This was a relatively straightforward walk in a pretty residential area, although there is a park on the way to the school (I will get into the relevancy of the park soon). The third theory is a bit of an amalgamation of the two previously discussed. On the morning of June 13, 2001, his car was in the shop, so he began his ten minute walk to meet a co-worker who would give him a ride to work. [9], Jolkowski's mother and father created Project Jason in his honor to help families through a loved one's disappearance. Jolkowski has not been seen or heard from since then. In 2001, Jason was 19 years old. Jason Jolkowski was a 19 year old from Omaha, Nebraska. I DONT UNDERSTAND HOW SEONEOM COULD JUST VANISH WITH NO TREES. Submissions should outline a mystery and provide a link to a more detailed review of the case such as a Wiki article or news report. For a downloadable poster, click here. He has brown hair and brown eyes. He believes he could be one of the last people to see him that day. [2] At the time he disappeared, Jolkowski was living in his parents' home on 48th and Bedford Street in the Benson neighborhood of Omaha. The hit and run thing is possible but this was a young tall guy over 6 foot tall, not an infant. He didnt have any enemies and people described him as friendly. Their point of contact for this case is James Reisinger, who can be reached at 402-444-5818. Jolkowski also had learning disabilities which caused him to have trouble with speech and language. He wasn't the type of victim that we think of who may have been abducted by sex trafficking thugs or pedophiles, such as victims Asha Degree, Johnny Gosch, or Amy Lynn Bradley. Jolkowski has never been heard from again. Again, no idea of motive, that would help here, but pre-arranging a meet-up spot to me puts those persons most in the suspect pool. As much as I want to believe that Jason is alive out there somewhere, I dont think he would have left his family in the dark for this long if he knew who he was. On the way out the door of his family's residence, he decided to help his younger brother take trash cans into the garage. What they did with him probably killed him. His family came first.. 19-year-old jason jolkowski went missing on june 13th, 2001 in nebraska. He is described as a shy person who was not involved with drugs or alcohol and was close to his family at the time of his disappearance. the school was eight blocks away from his home. On June 13, 2001, Jolkowski was called into work early. No history of drugs, no history of being involved with anyone unsavory. Jolkowski's mother described him as "shy", "a quiet boy" with only "a small handful of friends. I could also see him thinking he may be late to work and accepting a ride from someone who said they would take him (provided he got to the pickup place a little late and his co worker was not there). Cookie Notice His family founded Project Jason, a non-profit assisting families of missing people, in 2003. No suspects have ever been identified in this case. I have read somethings from her relating to missing persons and what goes into looking for them. in 2003 his parents started a non profit called project jason but for unknown reasons the project went offline fairly recently. Unfortunately, with this mark, I will have not had him more years than I had him in my life since he disappeared at the age 19. NOBODYAW S ANYTHING AND YOU KNOW, THE DETECTIVES JTUS DIDNT FIND ANYTHING. Boom, dead, end of story. In 2001, Jason Jolkowski was a hardworking 19-year old, living in Omaha, Nebraska. Especially considering the time of day and that Jason usually drove to work but had a change of plans because his car was at a repair shop. My first instinct was that someone probably offered him a ride and he met with foul play. Perhaps some former classmates decided to prank him by lightly brushing him with a car (some sheriff insists that this is the solution to the Tara Calico mystery, but who knows) or threw a bottle at him and the unthinkable happened. I don't think he was an easy target regardless of how shy he was. Blood and/or post-impact drama are not needed. And he was never seen from or heard from again.". Much healing to the family. A page on Charley Project shows an age-progressed photo of him with details: http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/j/jolkowski_jason.html, And this CNN ireport from 2011: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-562589. Jolkowski is a man from Omaha, Nebraska, who went missing on June 13th, 2001, while walking to his former high school to meet up with a co-worker for a ride to work. George and Jennie Sodder, along with four of their children, escaped, but five did not. What happened to Jason Jolkowski? I agree that suicide would be next to impossible for several different reasons, including nowhere to hide on the route. Debris would have been left at the scene? There hasnt been any activity on his bank cards or cell phone. This is easily the most baffling missing person's case I've ever come across mostly because of the tight timeframe and area constraints. Honestly, I dont know how families do it. The then 19-year-old was walking seven blocks from his . Project Jason: https://projectjason.org Jason's Link at Project . He agreed, the driver made their demands, and things went wrong. "I didn't realize it's been 20 years. OMAHA, Neb. At around 11:15, Jasons coworker called his house to ask where he was, as he was late in meeting her. Not common, but it does happen. His family insists he would not have run away and he had no known enemies or reasons why someone would want to kidnap or harm him in any way. Reading this particular synopsis I was immediately struck with thinking the female coworker he was meeting must know more. A later check of security cameras at Benson High School show he never arrived on campus. The Disappearance of Jason Jolkowski Revisited - The Unfound Podcast Channel The Disappearance of Jason Jolkowski Revisited Jason Jolkowski | Sam Sherman Missing 1-Month Later Nearby | Map Analysis Share Watch on The Disappearance of Jason Jolkowski Revisited Share Watch on Share this: Twitter Facebook Loading. Jasons parents waited to report him missing until the following morning because they believed (wrongly) that it was necessary to wait a full 24 hours before notifying the police. "There's a plaque and a tree at Roberts Park planted off the Keystone Trail in honor of Jolkowski.On Sunday afternoon, friends, family and neighbors gathered to share memories, paint and hide rocks with #FindJasonJ on them.The hashtag is meant to spread awareness of Jolkowski's story and encourage the public to keep an eye out for him. I suppose it makes as much sense as any other scenario. Not the best area in the city by far, but nowhere near the worst. She was witnessed that night by several motorists walking along the highway, but when one of them tried to talk to her, she ran into the nearby woods. and our What is more is Sherman had a job interview that day (which he went to) but never returned home. They think, well, you should be over that by now, you should be back to normal. Maybe he was lured into a home by someone he knew, at least casually. HubPages is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. -, Press J to jump to the feed. The route most likely for Jason to have taken is so straightforward it's very hard for me to think of any place somebody could hide a body or do whatever happened to him without anyone witnessing anything. Next year will mark 20 years since Jason's disappearance and we're still left with many more questions than answers. [4][5] The school was eight blocks (about 0.5mi (0.80km)) from his home. When trying to determine what happened in any given case, I tend to go by Occams razor - the simplest explanation or the explanation that makes the fewest assumptions is likely the correct explanation. I think he was walking toward the high school as he planned to and was intercepted by someone. Although suicide is an option, it would be a very short timeframe for him to take his own life, not taking into consideration how he had arranged to be picked up already. NO FOUL. We knew he had a tendency to start giggling.. Included on the site are some names ripped from the headlines, including Brendan Gonzalez, Amber Harris and Jason Jolkowski. Jason wasn't 100% what he wanted to do yet with his life, but was . By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Something random like this is always possible, but no one in the neighborhood reported hearing or seeing a vehicle accident in the middle of the day. He had no more than $60 on his person on the day he disappeared, and no personal items were missing from his room. at the time of his disappearance he was a part time student in a community college in iowa, and he worked at a restaurant. Jason was described as shy, intelligent, and kind by those who knew him. The one thing I would really like to know is did anyone (or how long until) did someone attempt to call Jason's cell phone---and did his co-worker-ride also have a cell phone? links: https://disappearedblog.com/jason-jolkowski/ https://medium.com/@wherearetheypodcast/the-bizarre-disappearance-of-jason-jolkowski-d5c27016cc1f?source=post_internal_links---------1------------------------------- https://charleyproject.org/case/jason-anthony-jolkowski, https://disappearedblog.com/jason-jolkowski/, https://medium.com/@wherearetheypodcast/the-bizarre-disappearance-of-jason-jolkowski-d5c27016cc1f?source=post_internal_links---------1-------------------------------, https://charleyproject.org/case/jason-anthony-jolkowski. Jason Jolkowski was born on June 24, 1981, in Grand Island, Nebraska, to parents Jim and Kelly. Jason Jolkowski was a 19 year old from Omaha, Nebraska. After searching through other case write ups and discussion threads, Ive come up with three theories which, again, are not based on evidence, but instead are based on the situation. Idk how someone would drive by and "grab" someone of Jason's size. Since Jolkowski had trouble giving directions, he arranged for them to meet at Benson High School, which he and his co-worker had previously attended. There are sketchy areas, but not really where he went missing (source: literally grew up a block away). Replies analysing and speculating over the mystery and possible explanations are encouraged. Incredibly frustrating all around. The other missing teen in the area makes me wonder if there is someone nearby who likes teen boys. I would think someone familiar, local to the neighborhood some how was responsible of at least Jason's disappearance. "There's no leads, nobody saw anything, and detectives just didn't find anything," said Donita Say. He pops in to help the person with whatever, is overcome, or maybe is assaulted and fatally hurt. Jason Jolkowski was a 19 year old from Omaha, Nebraska. The fact that the investigation was so delayed likely led to the loss of any clues that might have been found. 12, 2021 at 10:46 AM PDT. Jasons family reported him missing after waiting for 24-hours (which was a common waiting period put in place by many police departments back in the day Im unsure if they were told directly by police to wait). As I understand, the co-worker who was giving him the ride was questioned extensively--more than anyone else in fact. On September 24, 2016, Unfound released the episode for Jason Jolkowski who went missing from Omaha, NE on June 13, 2001. Age progression photo courtesy of National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. the omaha PD suspect foul play but there is no body, no clues, and no evidence. Refresh the page, check Medium 's site status, or find. Project Jason: https://projectjason.org Jason's Link at Project . I guess its possible a hit-and-run could have still happened, but it just seems weird that no trace of it was left behind and that no one in the neighborhood heard any kind of commotion. Say was 16 when her 19-year-old cousin disappeared. THEE'S A TREE AT ROBERTS PARK PLANTED OFF THE KEYSTONE TRAIL IN HORON OF JOKOWSKI SUNDAY AFTERNOON FRIDSEN FAMILIES AND NEIGHBORS GATHERED TO SHARE MEMORIES PAINT AND HIDE RKSOC WITH THE HASHTAG FIND JASON JAY EVERYONE TIME. Jason would had known the area very well. I want to say the simplest thing that happened here was some kind of hit-and-run - Maybe Jason was struck by a car while walking to the school, and the driver panicked, took his body and disposed of it somewhere its never been found. So what happened to him? Nobody is really sure what exact route he took to the high school, or how far he got. Jason was described by his parents as considerate and generous, the kind of person who would go out of his way to help others. jason was last seen at 10:45 a.m. by a neighbor. Asha has not been seen since. Which makes me think---did Sherman and Jason ever know each other? They are very quiet and secluded residential lanes. Suicide seems highly unlikely to me simply because he was on foot and his body was never found. The first theory is that Jason was the victim of a hit and run accident that left him either dead or with life-threatening injuries. Jason's Background He falls into the category of missing for no comprehensible reason, along with Brian Shaffer, James Tedford, and Trevaline Evans. "So there's no way of knowing.". The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. OMAHA, Neb. Jolkowski has not been seen or heard from since then. When you look up images of Lake James Park on Google, the only images available come from an article about gang violence in Omaha which just strikes me as odd (http://netnebraska.org/article/news/956652/chaplain-former-gang-member-and-businesswoman-discuss-gang-violence-omaha). NOTHING LIKE THAT. Benson High is bounded by Bedford, North 50th, Maple and North 52nd streets with 50th street being the least traveled/queitest residential street and would had made the quickest route from Jason's house to the high school.if you look at Google Maps you will also see a Spencer street and Wirt Street off N50th, which are dead ends by the high school fieldsI wonder if Jason ever used these as a short cut? The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children created an age-progression photo that shows what Jolkowski would look like now at the age of 39. ), Good video on the case from YouTuber Shauna Rae. Prior to his disappearance, Jolkowski was a part-time student in the radio broadcasting program at Iowa Western Community College; he also worked at a local Fazolis restaurant. he graduated from high school, was attending community college, and was able to hold down a job i think his disability wasn't severe enough to disrupt his work and school. Jason left his parents home around 10:45 am and was last seen by a neighbor setting trash receptacles out by the street. On June 13, 2001, Jason Jolkowski was last seen walking to meet up with a coworker to get a ride to work. I agree. A subreddit dedicated to the unresolved mysteries of the world. People who have been following disappearances and missing people for some time will probably be aware of his case, but here's a quick rundown from his Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Jason_Anthony_Jolkowski. But short of some kind of workplace conspiracy I can't think of what else it could of been. And he (Jason) was the one who always lost. It is not a bad area, it just isn't. Where was the tunnel located? Update: A man found murdered in . He didn't appear to be running away from a bad home or work life such as Maura Murray, Nick and Lisa Masee, or my personal favorite, Ray Gricar. Police waited over a week with most sources stating the timeframe as nine days before beginning to investigate Jasons disappearance. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Security cameras at the school do not show Jason ever arriving to campus. Missing From: Omaha, Nebraska Missing: June 24, 2001 . [4] It was reported that he planned to eventually become a radio DJ for KIWR. It was as if he had simply vanished without a trace. Shortly after his disappearance, the school's security cameras were checked, but none of them showed Jolkowski arriving at the school". He also worked at a local Italian restaurant called Fazolis. Obviously, it's been almost 20 years since Jason vanished but I wonder what the park looked like back then. Jason had to walk about eight blocks, in a zig-zag like pattern from his house at North 48th street and Pinkney Street to Benson High school, which would had involved walking along Bedford Ave for at least one to five blocks, depending on the exact route he took. between 11:15 and 11:30 a.m. his boss called his house asking about jason, saying he didn't show up. We have no evidence that anyone wanted to harm Jason, but the motive could have been something impersonal like robbery. His car was in the shop for repairs and he initially said he would walk there, but then called back and made arrangements for a coworker to pick him up at Jolkowski's old school, Benson High School, eight blocks from his home. He agreed, the driver made their demands, and things went wrong. This case does get a lot of publicity because Jason Jolkowski was not the typical victim. I don't think he was forcefully abducted (large adult male); I think it more likely that someone he knew saw him walking and offered to give him a ride the rest of the way to the school. I have wondered if this too somehow factored in. there's a huge divide between West Omaha and north/east Omaha. Agree look to the people who knew and/or planned for his trip to work. "Family still searching for missing son", "Month Passes Without Clue of Disappearance of Son,", "MISSING: 20 year anniversary of Jason Jolkowskis disappearance,". HOPING SOMEONE WILL COME FORWARD WITH NEW INFORMATION. On December 23, 1974, Rachel Trlica, Renee Wilson, and Julie Ann Moseley went Christmas shopping. Then, the driver killed Jason either by accident or on purpose, worried he would tell about the encounter. I also think it's foul play but I have literally no idea who it could have been; I was thinking that it had to be someone who knew his car was being repaired and knew he worked at the Italian restaurant but I think the only people aware of this were his boss, coworker and his immediate family, which I believe have all been cleared. For those who are unfamiliar with the disappearance of Jason Jolkowski, I will elaborate. He had taken the spring semester off of college to work and save money, and he was doing just that- working at a local Fazoli's fast food restaurant and was preparing to start a job at SITEL. He was a part-time student in the radio broadcasting program at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa[3] and worked at a local Fazoli's restaurant. Are there any available pictures of the pedestrian tunnel under 52nd and Radial? Jason Anthony Jolkowski was born on June 24, 1981 in Grand Island, Nebraska. But, it does help keep his memory alive and people interestedsomeone out there knows something about this case. As this theory goes, Jason was walking when someone stopped and offered a ride. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Jason agreed to meet this coworker at the local high school, as it was easier than giving directions over the phone. He was almost 20, but he was 19. On June 13, 2001, Jason was scheduled to work at Fazolis. he had plans for the future and he wanted to work at a radio broadcasting program after graduating. more like highly connected jason 6foot 1605 second victim 6 ft 160 both 19 from the the same street. Hed be talking to me on the phone and hed put me on hold so he could tuck his brother into bed. Or Jason suffered a head injury that resulted in amnesia, which led him away from his life. There's no indication that the coworker had anything to do with it. ), and the perpetrators decided to get rid of him my bet is that he was offered a ride though. Jason agreed to meet this coworker at the local high school, as it was easier than giving directions over the phone. It probably means nothing, there was a pedestrian tunnel in that area that was closed a decade ago or so. In a case like this, one with no witnesses or evidence of any kind, one can only speculate as to what might have happened. So today, you will hear the original intervie One of the officers involved in the investigation was quoted as saying Jason's disappearance was the most baffling case hed seen in 30 years. Or were they abducted from the home before the fire ever started? He reportedly had learning disabilities speech and language disabilities (I was mistaken when I originally said learning disabilities; apparently his speech disabilities made him seem like he had a mental handicap when he didn't) and was described as gullible at times.