NE NE - Jason Jolkowski, 19, Omaha, 13 June 2001 - #1
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Kelly
Founder, Project Jason
Thanks, Amraann. All the support means so much!
Kelly
Founder, Project Jason
Healing Harbor: A Free Counseling Service offered by Project Jason
Project Jason is pleased to announce the opening of Healing Harbor.
Healing Harbor is a free service provided to families of the missing by nonprofit organization Project Jason and Duane Bowers, LPC.
Families of the missing suffer a unique tragedy, one with which many professional counselors do not have the training or experience to be able to properly service their clients. In addition, many families do not have the financial means to seek professional counseling. Duane is one of the nations most qualified counselors in regards to issues faced by these families, and we are honored to have him with us to answer your questions.
Healing Harbor can provide answers and assistance on a variety of emotional issues that effect family members of missing persons. This assistance may provide the boost needed for that family member to deal with and adapt to the situation without seeking counseling. (Please keep in mind that Healing Harbor should not be viewed as a substitute for individual, private counseling if needed.)
Families of the missing who elect to participate in Healing Harbor are invited to post their question to Duane in our private forum area. These questions may cover any topic of interest in respect to emotional issues that relate to having a missing person in their life.
If you are a family member of a missing person, and would like to take advantage of this service, please register at our forum, located at http://www.projectjason.org/dpforum/forum.php
After registration, simply follow the instructions in the verification email you will receive, and then let us know that you have registered, so we can grant permissions for you to enter the special forum area. Email us with your username, the name of the missing loved one, and your relationship to them. After verification, well open up access to Healing Harbor to you.
The Healing Harbor forum is: http://projectjason.org/dpforum/forum_display.php?id=25
Posting Guidelines, FAQ's, and other pertinent information: http://projectjason.org/dpforum/forum_display.php?id=26
The Waiting List and Questions area: http://projectjason.org/dpforum/forum_display.php?id=27
We hope that you will find healing in our safe harbor.
With Hope for all of our Missing Loved Ones,
Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
http://www.projectjason.org
Read our Voice for the Missing Blog
http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/
Project Jason is pleased to announce the opening of Healing Harbor.
Healing Harbor is a free service provided to families of the missing by nonprofit organization Project Jason and Duane Bowers, LPC.
Families of the missing suffer a unique tragedy, one with which many professional counselors do not have the training or experience to be able to properly service their clients. In addition, many families do not have the financial means to seek professional counseling. Duane is one of the nations most qualified counselors in regards to issues faced by these families, and we are honored to have him with us to answer your questions.
Healing Harbor can provide answers and assistance on a variety of emotional issues that effect family members of missing persons. This assistance may provide the boost needed for that family member to deal with and adapt to the situation without seeking counseling. (Please keep in mind that Healing Harbor should not be viewed as a substitute for individual, private counseling if needed.)
Families of the missing who elect to participate in Healing Harbor are invited to post their question to Duane in our private forum area. These questions may cover any topic of interest in respect to emotional issues that relate to having a missing person in their life.
If you are a family member of a missing person, and would like to take advantage of this service, please register at our forum, located at http://www.projectjason.org/dpforum/forum.php
After registration, simply follow the instructions in the verification email you will receive, and then let us know that you have registered, so we can grant permissions for you to enter the special forum area. Email us with your username, the name of the missing loved one, and your relationship to them. After verification, well open up access to Healing Harbor to you.
The Healing Harbor forum is: http://projectjason.org/dpforum/forum_display.php?id=25
Posting Guidelines, FAQ's, and other pertinent information: http://projectjason.org/dpforum/forum_display.php?id=26
The Waiting List and Questions area: http://projectjason.org/dpforum/forum_display.php?id=27
We hope that you will find healing in our safe harbor.
With Hope for all of our Missing Loved Ones,
Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
http://www.projectjason.org
Read our Voice for the Missing Blog
http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/
Kelly
Founder, Project Jason
http://www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070
718/NEWS01/707180302/1002
Missing people's families await new Connecticut law
By GREG SMITH
Norwich Bulletin
NORWICH -- Families of missing loved ones are counting on a new state law to provide peace of mind when it comes to the law enforcement's handling of the cases.
Janice Smolinski of Cheshire spearheaded passage of the bill in the wake of the Aug. 24, 2004, disappearance of her son, William "Billy" Smolinski, 31, and what she said was a pattern of inaction by Waterbury police in the subsequent investigation.
She considers Gov. M. Jodi Rell's signing of what Smolinski calls the "watered down version of the bill" last month a small victory. The initial bill, as submitted, would have mandated a uniform set of procedures, covering everything from the dissemination of information to the submission of DNA samples from coroners and medical examiners.
"There is not a uniform national procedure for investigating these cases," Smolinski said. "I'm pushing to get Washington to make it a national issue. If we can just get people to grab hands here. It's not just a local issue."
The final version of Connecticut's bill rests with the Connecticut's Police Officer Standards and Training Council, which will develop and implement a policy by Jan. 1. The board is in charge of training and requirements for municipal officers across the state.
Executive Director Thomas Flaherty said the board is researching the document and will look at policies other states have in place as well as guidelines used by such organizations as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
"We plan to draw from all available resources in deciding what's appropriate," Flaherty said.
While state police follow a prescribed set of policies, there are no uniform guidelines for local police departments. Juvenile cases typically are handled with immediacy, but cases of missing adults sometimes are lost in the shuffle or not taken as seriously.
As of Jan. 1, there were 110,484 active missing persons cases in the FBI's National Crime Information Center.
Carol Cirioni of Norwich also believes the fact her missing daughter is an adult hasn't helped that case progress. Erika Cirioni, 27, a mother of two, has been missing since Dec. 31.
"I don't care how old they are, they're still our children," Cirioni said in tears Tuesday. "I just hope they're checking."
Norwich Police Lt. Stephany Bakoulis said missing persons reports are handled on a case-by-case basis, depending on the circumstances. Because of Cirioni's history of substance abuse, the case has risen to the level of endangered missing. Because of a different, and complex set of circumstances, Billy Smolinski also is identified as endangered.
Divers search riverSeveral times city police detectives have acted on tips, searching areas for signs of Cirioni. Last month, divers searched the Thames River after a tuft of hair was discovered by a fisherman. Bakoulis said the DNA was tested and was not a match with Cirioni.
Smolinski and Cirioni say they have little hope of seeing their children alive again.
Kelly Jolkowski, president and founder of Project Jason, said the organization's Campaign for the Missing is focused on passing model legislation in each state to allow agencies across the country to use the best procedures and technology to help find the missing. Her son, Jason, 19, disappeared from her driveway June 13, 2001.
Janice Smolinski is a volunteer with the organization.
Jolkowski awaits to see the final outcome of Connecticut's law and wants to know if there are provisions requiring coroner and medical examiners to take DNA samples before disposing of bodies.
She said procedures for investigating missing person cases are minimal at best in many departments across the country. Without training and education for these departments, many of the missing will remain so, she said.
"We need to use DNA as a tool to resolve cases using the CODIS (the FBI's Combined DNA Index System)," she said. "Many time, bodies are found but never reported to other agencies. A lot of these unidentified bodies could be our loved ones and we don't know it. Thousands of these bodies have been disposed of and we'll never know the answer."
"It's not just Connecticut, it's across the board," Jolkowski said. "This is 2007. We have the technology, why aren't we using it?"
718/NEWS01/707180302/1002
Missing people's families await new Connecticut law
By GREG SMITH
Norwich Bulletin
NORWICH -- Families of missing loved ones are counting on a new state law to provide peace of mind when it comes to the law enforcement's handling of the cases.
Janice Smolinski of Cheshire spearheaded passage of the bill in the wake of the Aug. 24, 2004, disappearance of her son, William "Billy" Smolinski, 31, and what she said was a pattern of inaction by Waterbury police in the subsequent investigation.
She considers Gov. M. Jodi Rell's signing of what Smolinski calls the "watered down version of the bill" last month a small victory. The initial bill, as submitted, would have mandated a uniform set of procedures, covering everything from the dissemination of information to the submission of DNA samples from coroners and medical examiners.
"There is not a uniform national procedure for investigating these cases," Smolinski said. "I'm pushing to get Washington to make it a national issue. If we can just get people to grab hands here. It's not just a local issue."
The final version of Connecticut's bill rests with the Connecticut's Police Officer Standards and Training Council, which will develop and implement a policy by Jan. 1. The board is in charge of training and requirements for municipal officers across the state.
Executive Director Thomas Flaherty said the board is researching the document and will look at policies other states have in place as well as guidelines used by such organizations as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
"We plan to draw from all available resources in deciding what's appropriate," Flaherty said.
While state police follow a prescribed set of policies, there are no uniform guidelines for local police departments. Juvenile cases typically are handled with immediacy, but cases of missing adults sometimes are lost in the shuffle or not taken as seriously.
As of Jan. 1, there were 110,484 active missing persons cases in the FBI's National Crime Information Center.
Carol Cirioni of Norwich also believes the fact her missing daughter is an adult hasn't helped that case progress. Erika Cirioni, 27, a mother of two, has been missing since Dec. 31.
"I don't care how old they are, they're still our children," Cirioni said in tears Tuesday. "I just hope they're checking."
Norwich Police Lt. Stephany Bakoulis said missing persons reports are handled on a case-by-case basis, depending on the circumstances. Because of Cirioni's history of substance abuse, the case has risen to the level of endangered missing. Because of a different, and complex set of circumstances, Billy Smolinski also is identified as endangered.
Divers search riverSeveral times city police detectives have acted on tips, searching areas for signs of Cirioni. Last month, divers searched the Thames River after a tuft of hair was discovered by a fisherman. Bakoulis said the DNA was tested and was not a match with Cirioni.
Smolinski and Cirioni say they have little hope of seeing their children alive again.
Kelly Jolkowski, president and founder of Project Jason, said the organization's Campaign for the Missing is focused on passing model legislation in each state to allow agencies across the country to use the best procedures and technology to help find the missing. Her son, Jason, 19, disappeared from her driveway June 13, 2001.
Janice Smolinski is a volunteer with the organization.
Jolkowski awaits to see the final outcome of Connecticut's law and wants to know if there are provisions requiring coroner and medical examiners to take DNA samples before disposing of bodies.
She said procedures for investigating missing person cases are minimal at best in many departments across the country. Without training and education for these departments, many of the missing will remain so, she said.
"We need to use DNA as a tool to resolve cases using the CODIS (the FBI's Combined DNA Index System)," she said. "Many time, bodies are found but never reported to other agencies. A lot of these unidentified bodies could be our loved ones and we don't know it. Thousands of these bodies have been disposed of and we'll never know the answer."
"It's not just Connecticut, it's across the board," Jolkowski said. "This is 2007. We have the technology, why aren't we using it?"
Kelly
Founder, Project Jason
This is a repost of information, however all of the links have changed and I cannot edit an old post. We were also finding that many people did not forward this notice to LE, family members, coroners, and medical examiners they know, so it's certainly worth a repost for that reason alone. Thank you.
Dear Families, Supporters, and Friends of Project Jason,
We are pleased to announce that we have begun to provide law enforcement (LE) training by professional instructors, available in the form of audio files. These audio files can be accessed 24 hours a day on our website at http://www.projectjason.org/training.html There is no charge to utilize this training.
We began our ongoing series with a 4-part program about DNA and CODIS as it pertains to solving missing persons cases. As you know, it is critical that LE make use of the available technologies and systems in place. Obtaining DNA samples from the family members of missing persons (or DNA from the missing persons themselves) in an attempt to match them to DNA from unidentified remains is one method of finding the answers about our missing loves ones, resolving cold cases, and solving crimes.
Our guests for the DNA training are Dr. Arthur Eisenberg and George Adams from the Center for Human Identification (CHI) at North Texas University. Dr. Eisenberg pioneered much of today's DNA testing protocol and is one of the world's leading DNA scientists. "First and foremost, there never should be a human remain, a skeletal remain of anyone's loved one that would be buried or cremated without the retention of a DNA sample for analysis. If those samples are in CODIS, there's always a chance." Dr. Eisenberg stated.
George Adams is the LE liaison for the CHI, has many years of law enforcement experience and regularly conducts training for the CHI. "Once you enter a sample into CODIS, you're not working within your jurisdiction, you're working within the jurisdictions of everyone entering samples into CODIS", said George Adams. "You are bringing in so much power into your investigation. It is explosive. If we can get everyone to do this, these samples will be matched, they will be made, and the sooner we match them the sooner the law enforcement can identify who the perpetrator is, and take him off the streets."
More detailed biographies along with the audio training files can be found on the Law Enforcement Briefing Link at http://www.projectjason.org/training.html
Each audio segment is approximately 30 minutes long.
Topics covered in the DNA training modules:
History and types of DNA
Best practices for obtaining DNA samples
CODIS and State Databases
Importance of Chain of Custody
CHI Services
The nationwide crisis and the need for these processes to become standard procedure
While this information will be helpful for the families of the missing and organizations which serve them, the main goal is to disseminate this information to LE. You may feel free to forward this email to all interested persons. For families of the missing and organizations which serve them, all 4 parts will be of interest, but there are several messages of hope and encouragement in the last section. Working together, we can accomplish so much. There is always hope!
If you have a missing loved one, and do not have either their DNA in CODIS or yours, Part II discusses steps for you, and then your LE, to take.
Quick technical tips for playing audio files:
Double-clicking on the audio file on the site will download it to your PC. It may begin to play nearly immediatetely, or may take several minutes to download, depending upon which audio players you have on your PC and how you have them set up.
You can also download the files to a MP-3 player or an IPOD.
Note: Persons using dial-up internet may encounter difficulties in playing the files.
Direct links to the audio files:
Part I:
http://www.projectjason.org/audio/DNATrainingbyCHIPart1.mp3
Part II:
http://www.projectjason.org/audio/DNATrainingbyCHIPart2.mp3
Part III:
http://www.projectjason.org/audio/DNATrainingbyCHIPart3.mp3
Part IV:
http://www.projectjason.org/audio/DNATrainingbyCHIPart4.mp3
Direct links for the biographies and CHI contact information for LE:
http://www.projectjason.org/eisenberg.html
http://www.projectjason.org/adams.html
We will add more LE training on a regular basis covering a variety of topics.
Please forward this notice to interested persons, including law enforcement, medical examiners, coroners, and other families of missing persons.
Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
http://www.projectjason.org
Free Online Counseling for Families of the Missing
http://www.projectjason.org/benefits.html#healingHarbor
Dear Families, Supporters, and Friends of Project Jason,
We are pleased to announce that we have begun to provide law enforcement (LE) training by professional instructors, available in the form of audio files. These audio files can be accessed 24 hours a day on our website at http://www.projectjason.org/training.html There is no charge to utilize this training.
We began our ongoing series with a 4-part program about DNA and CODIS as it pertains to solving missing persons cases. As you know, it is critical that LE make use of the available technologies and systems in place. Obtaining DNA samples from the family members of missing persons (or DNA from the missing persons themselves) in an attempt to match them to DNA from unidentified remains is one method of finding the answers about our missing loves ones, resolving cold cases, and solving crimes.
Our guests for the DNA training are Dr. Arthur Eisenberg and George Adams from the Center for Human Identification (CHI) at North Texas University. Dr. Eisenberg pioneered much of today's DNA testing protocol and is one of the world's leading DNA scientists. "First and foremost, there never should be a human remain, a skeletal remain of anyone's loved one that would be buried or cremated without the retention of a DNA sample for analysis. If those samples are in CODIS, there's always a chance." Dr. Eisenberg stated.
George Adams is the LE liaison for the CHI, has many years of law enforcement experience and regularly conducts training for the CHI. "Once you enter a sample into CODIS, you're not working within your jurisdiction, you're working within the jurisdictions of everyone entering samples into CODIS", said George Adams. "You are bringing in so much power into your investigation. It is explosive. If we can get everyone to do this, these samples will be matched, they will be made, and the sooner we match them the sooner the law enforcement can identify who the perpetrator is, and take him off the streets."
More detailed biographies along with the audio training files can be found on the Law Enforcement Briefing Link at http://www.projectjason.org/training.html
Each audio segment is approximately 30 minutes long.
Topics covered in the DNA training modules:
History and types of DNA
Best practices for obtaining DNA samples
CODIS and State Databases
Importance of Chain of Custody
CHI Services
The nationwide crisis and the need for these processes to become standard procedure
While this information will be helpful for the families of the missing and organizations which serve them, the main goal is to disseminate this information to LE. You may feel free to forward this email to all interested persons. For families of the missing and organizations which serve them, all 4 parts will be of interest, but there are several messages of hope and encouragement in the last section. Working together, we can accomplish so much. There is always hope!
If you have a missing loved one, and do not have either their DNA in CODIS or yours, Part II discusses steps for you, and then your LE, to take.
Quick technical tips for playing audio files:
Double-clicking on the audio file on the site will download it to your PC. It may begin to play nearly immediatetely, or may take several minutes to download, depending upon which audio players you have on your PC and how you have them set up.
You can also download the files to a MP-3 player or an IPOD.
Note: Persons using dial-up internet may encounter difficulties in playing the files.
Direct links to the audio files:
Part I:
http://www.projectjason.org/audio/DNATrainingbyCHIPart1.mp3
Part II:
http://www.projectjason.org/audio/DNATrainingbyCHIPart2.mp3
Part III:
http://www.projectjason.org/audio/DNATrainingbyCHIPart3.mp3
Part IV:
http://www.projectjason.org/audio/DNATrainingbyCHIPart4.mp3
Direct links for the biographies and CHI contact information for LE:
http://www.projectjason.org/eisenberg.html
http://www.projectjason.org/adams.html
We will add more LE training on a regular basis covering a variety of topics.
Please forward this notice to interested persons, including law enforcement, medical examiners, coroners, and other families of missing persons.
Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
http://www.projectjason.org
Free Online Counseling for Families of the Missing
http://www.projectjason.org/benefits.html#healingHarbor
Kelly
Founder, Project Jason
I have re-written our services and benefits statement. Even though I posted this on the Resources threads, I like to post any news and updates on Jason's thread. Sadly, there are no news and updates on him.
Project Jason is a 501 c 3 nonprofit organization, and was established on October 6, 2003. Our organization primarily focuses on case assessment, resources, and support for families of the missing. We are not an investigative agency, nor do we perform searches. We offer services we are trained to provide. I handle all interactions with family members, and have over 100 hours of professional training in various aspects of missing persons, including emotional support, DNA, support tools, databases and related matters, case management, media interaction, and more.
All of our services are free. As a nonprofit organization, we depend on the generosity of the public to support us, so that we can continue this very important work. We ask that this support come from other members of the community, rather than the families of the missing.
Our services to families include:
Case Assessment: We take a look at the case, what has been done, and is being done, and make suggestions to ensure that certain necessary steps that the family or Law Enforcement should take have not been missed. We may also then refer that family to other trustworthy organizations, based upon the results of the assessment.
Awareness Programs:
18 Wheel Angels: Bi-monthly poster dissemination campaigns aimed at truck drivers and business travelers. It includes a listing of the featured missing persons in a national trucking publication, Through the Gears.
Adopt a Missing Person: Personalized awareness campaign in which photo buttons of the missing person and a personal biography written by family members are used to create and increase awareness.
Come Home: Bi-monthly personalized poster dissemination campaigns targeting missing person cases wherein there is evidence that the person may be living a homeless lifestyle. Poster links are emailed to participating homeless shelters nationwide who then print and place the poster in their shelter.
Voices for the Missing: Audio interviews done with families of the missing wherein they tell their stories.
Voice for the Missing Blog: Stories about missing persons along with a variety of educational information are shared.
More Services for Families:
We will create and upload a poster for the missing person and can also help them with media contacts and press releases. We provide them with emotional support and help them become empowered to seek new avenues for awareness. We place the photo of the missing person on our main website and keep a ongoing thread for updates and information on our forum. With an average of 700 website hits per day and climbing, this is also a valuable tool for awareness.
Healing Harbor: Healing Harbor is the only free online counseling service for families of the missing. One of the nation's most respected and knowledgeable counselors in the area of the emotional needs of families of the missing, Duane Bowers, provides answers and assistance via our private forum.
Family Member Forums: These private family member-only forums, provide families of the missing a way to meet and network with other family members, sharing their stories and offering each other support and additional tools for dealing with having a missing person in their lives.
Other Services:
Campaign for the Missing: This is a grassroots effort to pass legislation in each and every state that can positively effect the outcome of missing persons cases. Project Jason serves as the facilitator for this campaign, and mentors each volunteer through the process in their state.
Law Enforcement Training: Free audio training on various topics designed to provide critical information to law enforcement, with the goal of dramatically improving the number of resolved cases. This information will also be helpful to coroners, medical examiners, and the families of the missing.
Personal ID Kit: A free downloadable Personal ID Kit is provided by Project Jason in both English and Spanish. The kit contains a list of the first steps to take in the event your loved one is missing, plus valuable information that law enforcement will need. We encourage every member of the family to have one completed. No one is immune from becoming a missing person, and when it happens, every minute counts.
Project Jason Forum: Our forum provides a wide variety of news and support information about missing persons and related issues. We also provide safety information for all ages.
Project Jason: http://www.projectjason.org/
Project Jason Forum: http://projectjason.org/dpforum/forum.php
Project Jason Voice for the Missing blog: http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/
Contact us at:
information@projectjason.org
OR
402-932-0095
We are the Voice for the Missing; speaking for those who are not among us but who are forever in our hearts.
Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
Project Jason is a 501 c 3 nonprofit organization, and was established on October 6, 2003. Our organization primarily focuses on case assessment, resources, and support for families of the missing. We are not an investigative agency, nor do we perform searches. We offer services we are trained to provide. I handle all interactions with family members, and have over 100 hours of professional training in various aspects of missing persons, including emotional support, DNA, support tools, databases and related matters, case management, media interaction, and more.
All of our services are free. As a nonprofit organization, we depend on the generosity of the public to support us, so that we can continue this very important work. We ask that this support come from other members of the community, rather than the families of the missing.
Our services to families include:
Case Assessment: We take a look at the case, what has been done, and is being done, and make suggestions to ensure that certain necessary steps that the family or Law Enforcement should take have not been missed. We may also then refer that family to other trustworthy organizations, based upon the results of the assessment.
Awareness Programs:
18 Wheel Angels: Bi-monthly poster dissemination campaigns aimed at truck drivers and business travelers. It includes a listing of the featured missing persons in a national trucking publication, Through the Gears.
Adopt a Missing Person: Personalized awareness campaign in which photo buttons of the missing person and a personal biography written by family members are used to create and increase awareness.
Come Home: Bi-monthly personalized poster dissemination campaigns targeting missing person cases wherein there is evidence that the person may be living a homeless lifestyle. Poster links are emailed to participating homeless shelters nationwide who then print and place the poster in their shelter.
Voices for the Missing: Audio interviews done with families of the missing wherein they tell their stories.
Voice for the Missing Blog: Stories about missing persons along with a variety of educational information are shared.
More Services for Families:
We will create and upload a poster for the missing person and can also help them with media contacts and press releases. We provide them with emotional support and help them become empowered to seek new avenues for awareness. We place the photo of the missing person on our main website and keep a ongoing thread for updates and information on our forum. With an average of 700 website hits per day and climbing, this is also a valuable tool for awareness.
Healing Harbor: Healing Harbor is the only free online counseling service for families of the missing. One of the nation's most respected and knowledgeable counselors in the area of the emotional needs of families of the missing, Duane Bowers, provides answers and assistance via our private forum.
Family Member Forums: These private family member-only forums, provide families of the missing a way to meet and network with other family members, sharing their stories and offering each other support and additional tools for dealing with having a missing person in their lives.
Other Services:
Campaign for the Missing: This is a grassroots effort to pass legislation in each and every state that can positively effect the outcome of missing persons cases. Project Jason serves as the facilitator for this campaign, and mentors each volunteer through the process in their state.
Law Enforcement Training: Free audio training on various topics designed to provide critical information to law enforcement, with the goal of dramatically improving the number of resolved cases. This information will also be helpful to coroners, medical examiners, and the families of the missing.
Personal ID Kit: A free downloadable Personal ID Kit is provided by Project Jason in both English and Spanish. The kit contains a list of the first steps to take in the event your loved one is missing, plus valuable information that law enforcement will need. We encourage every member of the family to have one completed. No one is immune from becoming a missing person, and when it happens, every minute counts.
Project Jason Forum: Our forum provides a wide variety of news and support information about missing persons and related issues. We also provide safety information for all ages.
Project Jason: http://www.projectjason.org/
Project Jason Forum: http://projectjason.org/dpforum/forum.php
Project Jason Voice for the Missing blog: http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/
Contact us at:
information@projectjason.org
OR
402-932-0095
We are the Voice for the Missing; speaking for those who are not among us but who are forever in our hearts.
Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
Kelly
Founder, Project Jason
Kelly
Founder, Project Jason
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a1_5missing.6007674aug27,0,4196621.story?page=1
Lack of system for lost adults
Allentown woman's death points to problems nationwide with procedures for tracking the missing.
By Arlene Martínez | Of The Morning Call
August 27, 2007
When Yvonne Fenner's 24-year-old daughter and 2-year-old grandson seemingly dropped off the planet a month ago, Allentown police saw nothing about their circumstances indicating either was in any danger. They sent Fenner home and told her an officer would be in touch.
On Aug. 7 -- 10 days after she first went to police -- Fenner's worst fears were confirmed when the decomposing bodies of Cecilia Caban, young Luis Martinez Jr. and Caban's boyfriend, Luis O. Martinez, 30, were found in a city garage.
While Allentown police say they conducted a proper investigation, Fenner maintains authorities failed to take her pleas for help seriously.
The case and its differing viewpoints illustrate the uphill battle families face in locating missing adult relatives, the frequent lack of public interest and, advocates say, a need for a uniform, national procedure for finding them.
''I'm always going to feel they didn't do enough,'' said Fenner. ''Does it make any difference she was a 24-year-old, especially if we're telling them she's never gone a day in her life without calling us?''
Caban's disappearance did not attract national headlines, which isn't unusual, advocates for missing adults say. Few missing adults get any attention at all.
The ones that do?
''It's the woman, the mother, the white woman, and typically they're very pretty,'' said Kelly Bennett, a case manager for the National Center for Missing Adults, based in Phoenix. ''Where if it's lower class, they don't get the attention. Someone doesn't want to see someone who's overweight or has a mental illness.''
Earlier this month, Fenner said police ignored the family's case because ''we're low-class.''
Allentown Police Chief Joseph Hanna said his department treats all cases equally.
''I can only speak for the Allentown Police Department and we investigate missing persons cases with equal zeal no matter what the person's socio-economic status is or their gender,'' he said.
The bigger problem, advocates say, is a lack of a national procedure to list missing adults. And Bennett said the $148,000 the federal government set aside in 2006 to help find missing adults doesn't begin to go far enough to assist agencies and families searching for the estimated 50,000 adults whose cases remain active in the FBI's National Crime Information Center.
About two-thirds of the approximately 144,000 cases opened last year were closed within the same year, according to NCIC data.
Kelly Jolkowski's son Jason remains among the active cases, a category he's been in since he vanished from his family's Nebraska driveway in 2001.
In the painful, frustrating years since he disappeared, Jolkowski has poured time into helping families find missing loved ones in states across the country. Prompted by what she sees as the uneven approach law enforcement takes in investigating missing persons cases, she began the Web site http://www.projectjason.org and then the ''Campaign for the Missing'' in 2005.
Specifically, Jolkowski and volunteers across the country want to see the following laws enacted:
Make it mandatory for law enforcement to register a missing child with the Missing and Exploited Children and, if they're over 18, with the Center for Missing Adults. Currently, some departments do it, others don't, Jolkowski said.
My Note: The statement above is a misquote. The actual section of the proposed legislation reads as follows:
"The law enforcement agency, upon acceptance of a missing persons report, shall inform the reporting citizen of one of two resources, based upon the age of the missing person. If the missing person is age 17 or under, contact information for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children shall be given. If the missing person is age 18 or older, contact information for the National Center for Missing Adults shall be given."
The article makes it sound as if we wish to mandate LE to submit the missing person information to either NCMEC or NCMA. This amendment simply states that LE will give resources to the families so the family can register the missing person.
Continuing with article:
Catalogue all remains via DNA testing, and if they are identified, have agencies attempt to notify relatives.
''That's the most horrifying thing, is to think could my son have been a body in some morgue and they couldn't identify [it] and they either cremated or buried it,'' said Jolkowski. ''This will force them to take DNA samplings to get it into the national DNA database.''
Since the 1980s, legislation -- supported with money -- has made it easier to find children: removing the 24-hour waiting period before a child could be reporting missing and instituting the Amber Alert system to notify authorities when a child is thought to have been kidnapped by a stranger. In 2006, the Center for Missing and Exploited Children operated on a $33 million federal budget.
But if you're looking for someone over the age of 21 who is not physically or mentally impaired or didn't disappear, for example, during a boating trip, be prepared to go it alone.
Five years ago, things looked promising after Congress gave the Center for Missing Adults a budget of $1.7 million and its official status as the national clearinghouse for missing adults.
But funding dwindled and last year, it dried up. Since April the center's chief executive officer has worked without a salary, and the staff was cut from its high of 15 employees in 2005 to two. Each handles roughly 12,000 cases each year.
''Unfortunately, law enforcement does the best they can with the limited resources they have,'' Bennett said. ''If they took every call [as a missing adult] and there wasn't a sign of foul play I can understand why they hesitate.''
For a person to be classified as missing and entered into the FBI's missing person's database, he or she must be a juvenile, mentally or physically impaired, or considered a victim of foul play, kidnapping or catastrophe.
My Note: The above statement is not neccesarily true, AND, as more laws, such as the Campaign for the Missing get passed, it will not be true. We feel that progressive LE do not follow this thought process.
''A lot of times it's frustrating for the family or reporting party but there has to be a reasonable concern for their safety,'' said Pennsylvania State Police Cpl. Dave Devitt. ''We want to direct our resources into the areas where we'll have the most likelihood of success.''
Devitt said his department receives calls from people all over the country looking for people who may be in the state. In many instances, state police might file the case under ''check the welfare'' status, which may consist of some interviews or checking where the person may have last lived or visited.
That's what Allentown police did in the case of Caban and Martinez, whose cause of death remains unknown. On July 28, the day Fenner went to police along with Caban's stepmother, Tammy Caban, police listed her as a check the welfare case.
When it comes to determining whether foul play is involved, Hanna said officers make a judgment call based on the information provided to them by the reporting party.
''You have to look at the facts on a case-by-case basis and determine whether the disappearance of the person is consistent with their lifestyle,'' he said.
Caban had no job or permanent residence, splitting time with her mother and father. She was issued a protection-from-abuse order against Martinez, who served prison time in 2006 for breaking the ribs of the couple's first child.
But when, or if, police knew those things is under debate. The family says they told police about the abuse during the initial report on July 28. Police, however, say they were never told about the child abuse and only learned of a report of alleged domestic violence several days later.
Fenner said she and other relatives did all they could on their own, walking the streets, posting flie rs, contacting the media and begging police to look harder.
Fenner says her daughter and grandson's deaths may have been prevented had police acted sooner.
''If they were in my shoes would they have wanted it handled the way they handled mine?''
Lack of system for lost adults
Allentown woman's death points to problems nationwide with procedures for tracking the missing.
By Arlene Martínez | Of The Morning Call
August 27, 2007
When Yvonne Fenner's 24-year-old daughter and 2-year-old grandson seemingly dropped off the planet a month ago, Allentown police saw nothing about their circumstances indicating either was in any danger. They sent Fenner home and told her an officer would be in touch.
On Aug. 7 -- 10 days after she first went to police -- Fenner's worst fears were confirmed when the decomposing bodies of Cecilia Caban, young Luis Martinez Jr. and Caban's boyfriend, Luis O. Martinez, 30, were found in a city garage.
While Allentown police say they conducted a proper investigation, Fenner maintains authorities failed to take her pleas for help seriously.
The case and its differing viewpoints illustrate the uphill battle families face in locating missing adult relatives, the frequent lack of public interest and, advocates say, a need for a uniform, national procedure for finding them.
''I'm always going to feel they didn't do enough,'' said Fenner. ''Does it make any difference she was a 24-year-old, especially if we're telling them she's never gone a day in her life without calling us?''
Caban's disappearance did not attract national headlines, which isn't unusual, advocates for missing adults say. Few missing adults get any attention at all.
The ones that do?
''It's the woman, the mother, the white woman, and typically they're very pretty,'' said Kelly Bennett, a case manager for the National Center for Missing Adults, based in Phoenix. ''Where if it's lower class, they don't get the attention. Someone doesn't want to see someone who's overweight or has a mental illness.''
Earlier this month, Fenner said police ignored the family's case because ''we're low-class.''
Allentown Police Chief Joseph Hanna said his department treats all cases equally.
''I can only speak for the Allentown Police Department and we investigate missing persons cases with equal zeal no matter what the person's socio-economic status is or their gender,'' he said.
The bigger problem, advocates say, is a lack of a national procedure to list missing adults. And Bennett said the $148,000 the federal government set aside in 2006 to help find missing adults doesn't begin to go far enough to assist agencies and families searching for the estimated 50,000 adults whose cases remain active in the FBI's National Crime Information Center.
About two-thirds of the approximately 144,000 cases opened last year were closed within the same year, according to NCIC data.
Kelly Jolkowski's son Jason remains among the active cases, a category he's been in since he vanished from his family's Nebraska driveway in 2001.
In the painful, frustrating years since he disappeared, Jolkowski has poured time into helping families find missing loved ones in states across the country. Prompted by what she sees as the uneven approach law enforcement takes in investigating missing persons cases, she began the Web site http://www.projectjason.org and then the ''Campaign for the Missing'' in 2005.
Specifically, Jolkowski and volunteers across the country want to see the following laws enacted:
Make it mandatory for law enforcement to register a missing child with the Missing and Exploited Children and, if they're over 18, with the Center for Missing Adults. Currently, some departments do it, others don't, Jolkowski said.
My Note: The statement above is a misquote. The actual section of the proposed legislation reads as follows:
"The law enforcement agency, upon acceptance of a missing persons report, shall inform the reporting citizen of one of two resources, based upon the age of the missing person. If the missing person is age 17 or under, contact information for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children shall be given. If the missing person is age 18 or older, contact information for the National Center for Missing Adults shall be given."
The article makes it sound as if we wish to mandate LE to submit the missing person information to either NCMEC or NCMA. This amendment simply states that LE will give resources to the families so the family can register the missing person.
Continuing with article:
Catalogue all remains via DNA testing, and if they are identified, have agencies attempt to notify relatives.
''That's the most horrifying thing, is to think could my son have been a body in some morgue and they couldn't identify [it] and they either cremated or buried it,'' said Jolkowski. ''This will force them to take DNA samplings to get it into the national DNA database.''
Since the 1980s, legislation -- supported with money -- has made it easier to find children: removing the 24-hour waiting period before a child could be reporting missing and instituting the Amber Alert system to notify authorities when a child is thought to have been kidnapped by a stranger. In 2006, the Center for Missing and Exploited Children operated on a $33 million federal budget.
But if you're looking for someone over the age of 21 who is not physically or mentally impaired or didn't disappear, for example, during a boating trip, be prepared to go it alone.
Five years ago, things looked promising after Congress gave the Center for Missing Adults a budget of $1.7 million and its official status as the national clearinghouse for missing adults.
But funding dwindled and last year, it dried up. Since April the center's chief executive officer has worked without a salary, and the staff was cut from its high of 15 employees in 2005 to two. Each handles roughly 12,000 cases each year.
''Unfortunately, law enforcement does the best they can with the limited resources they have,'' Bennett said. ''If they took every call [as a missing adult] and there wasn't a sign of foul play I can understand why they hesitate.''
For a person to be classified as missing and entered into the FBI's missing person's database, he or she must be a juvenile, mentally or physically impaired, or considered a victim of foul play, kidnapping or catastrophe.
My Note: The above statement is not neccesarily true, AND, as more laws, such as the Campaign for the Missing get passed, it will not be true. We feel that progressive LE do not follow this thought process.
''A lot of times it's frustrating for the family or reporting party but there has to be a reasonable concern for their safety,'' said Pennsylvania State Police Cpl. Dave Devitt. ''We want to direct our resources into the areas where we'll have the most likelihood of success.''
Devitt said his department receives calls from people all over the country looking for people who may be in the state. In many instances, state police might file the case under ''check the welfare'' status, which may consist of some interviews or checking where the person may have last lived or visited.
That's what Allentown police did in the case of Caban and Martinez, whose cause of death remains unknown. On July 28, the day Fenner went to police along with Caban's stepmother, Tammy Caban, police listed her as a check the welfare case.
When it comes to determining whether foul play is involved, Hanna said officers make a judgment call based on the information provided to them by the reporting party.
''You have to look at the facts on a case-by-case basis and determine whether the disappearance of the person is consistent with their lifestyle,'' he said.
Caban had no job or permanent residence, splitting time with her mother and father. She was issued a protection-from-abuse order against Martinez, who served prison time in 2006 for breaking the ribs of the couple's first child.
But when, or if, police knew those things is under debate. The family says they told police about the abuse during the initial report on July 28. Police, however, say they were never told about the child abuse and only learned of a report of alleged domestic violence several days later.
Fenner said she and other relatives did all they could on their own, walking the streets, posting flie rs, contacting the media and begging police to look harder.
Fenner says her daughter and grandson's deaths may have been prevented had police acted sooner.
''If they were in my shoes would they have wanted it handled the way they handled mine?''
MagicRose99
Watch out for my thorns!
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2006
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- 4,447
- Reaction score
- 204
Great article Kelly! I hope this law passes and you continue to do the great work you do...
inquiringmindz
Active Member
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2004
- Messages
- 621
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Thinking of Jason and all who love and miss him...
Gina_M
New Member
That's a great article. Too often it seems missing adults are written off as having left voluntarily, when many times that is not the case. I'm longing for the day when every missing person and every unidentified person is listed and a DNA sample submitted. Imagine how many more cases can be solved!
Kelly
Founder, Project Jason
We Agree!
Four Words: Campaign for the Missing
Jason was mentioned in this article about missing Jesse Ross, thanks to the kindness of Jesse's parents:
http://projectjason.org/dpforum/thread.php?postid=9905#9905
Gina_M
New Member
Wow, that's an interesting story about Jesse Ross. I wonder what could have happened to him. My parents live in Chicago so I'm going to ask them to put some flyers out.
I'm going to read up on the Campaign for the Missing. Does the proposed legislation exist in any of the 50 states so far?
My new video featuring Jason and other missing persons is now up at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APILwo546hQ
Kelly
Founder, Project Jason
Great work on the video, Gina...thanks!
Jesse's case, in a sense, is like Jason's: nice kid, nice ordinary family, no clues.
The legislation is in place in several states in one form or another. The only state that contains all of it is OR. These states have most, but not all of it: WA, CO, DC, CA, TX, IN, and ID.
Kelly
Founder, Project Jason
There will be! I would have had it started this year, but let's just say a certain senator did not keep his word, and then it was to late to present it.
If I may ask, what part of NE are you from?
Please feel free to email me for further discussion. We'd be happy to have your help.
kelly.jolkowski(at sign)projectjason.org
Kelly
Founder, Project Jason
A Project Jason Announcement:
Good Day,
Project Jason is pleased to announce an increase in monthly campaigns on our awareness program, the 18 Wheel Angels. Currently, two campaigns per month are featured on our website at http://www.projectjason.org/18wheel.shtml Beginning on November 1, 2007, we will now increase that to 4 campaigns per month.
18 Wheel Angels is a poster dissemination campaign aimed at truck drivers, who are natural networkers. We also encourage business travelers and the general public to come to the website, download, print, and display these posters in local businesses. A special poster is made for each selected person on the campaign. An example of these posters can be found at the website and below my signature in this message. (This is not a poster displayed on trucks. It is a print and place campaign.)
All missing persons who have been featured on the campaign will have their poster available to download on the 18 Wheel Angels page on our website until they are found.
In addition to the campaign, the selected missing person's information and photo is also featured in a trucking publication called Through the Gears. This free magazine is distributed in truck stops nationwide and has a circulation of about 150,000. The selected missing persons' information will also be on the trucker.com website under Missing Persons. Depending upon available space, some families may have a short story about the missing person published in the magazine in addition to the photo(s) and basic data.
Through the Gears is one of Target Media Partner's many publications. In partnership with Project Jason, they will now feature four missing persons per month.Two will be presented in Through the Gears, and the other two will be in the magazine Independent Contractor. (You can pick up your free copies at a local truck stop, but if it's far from you, you may want to call and ask if they carry that magazine. These are NOT with the regular for purchase magazines.)
What does this mean to you as a family member of a missing person?
The 18 Wheel Angels program is a great opportunity for awareness for your missing loved one. If he/she has never been featured on the campaign before, you can ask to be on the waiting list for the campaign. As with all of our programs, there is no cost to you. We develop the poster, upload it, submit it to our trucking industry partners and will also do a press release to the media in the area of the disappearance if you'd like. We have been told by several of the families whose loved ones were featured on the campaign that leads were generated from it.
What does this mean to you as an organization providing assistance to family members of missing persons?
The 18 Wheel Angels campaign can be another way you can help your families with awareness. We do need permission directly from the family to run their missing loved one on the campaign, so feel free to refer those qualified cases to us for assistance. Since we have more missing adult cases than child cases, we'd like to get some referrals from families of missing children as well. You can also forward this message to the families you serve.
Excluded case types: (This is due to the targeted nature of the campaign and in working with publishing deadlines for the magazines, which run a month or more in advance.)
Persons missing in a natural disaster, in a wilderness area, or in a body of water
Persons declared by a court of law or a law enforcement agency to be deceased
Repeat runaways, unless they have been missing for more than 6 months and their whereabouts are not known
Check here to see if your missing loved one has already been featured: http://www.projectjason.org/18wheel.shtml
If you have not registered your missing loved one with Project Jason before, please do so here: http://projectjason.org/report.html
To see all of Project Jason's benefits and services, please click here: http://projectjason.org/benefits.html
Statistics show that one in every 6 missing persons is located because of a visual aid, such as a poster. The 18 Wheel Angels campaign is one way to increase awareness, and hopefully, bring someone loved and missed back home.
With Hope for all of our missing loved ones,
Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
http://www.projectjason.org
Read our Voice for the Missing Blog
http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/
Example of poster: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/KellyJolkowski/LeahPoster.jpg
Good Day,
Project Jason is pleased to announce an increase in monthly campaigns on our awareness program, the 18 Wheel Angels. Currently, two campaigns per month are featured on our website at http://www.projectjason.org/18wheel.shtml Beginning on November 1, 2007, we will now increase that to 4 campaigns per month.
18 Wheel Angels is a poster dissemination campaign aimed at truck drivers, who are natural networkers. We also encourage business travelers and the general public to come to the website, download, print, and display these posters in local businesses. A special poster is made for each selected person on the campaign. An example of these posters can be found at the website and below my signature in this message. (This is not a poster displayed on trucks. It is a print and place campaign.)
All missing persons who have been featured on the campaign will have their poster available to download on the 18 Wheel Angels page on our website until they are found.
In addition to the campaign, the selected missing person's information and photo is also featured in a trucking publication called Through the Gears. This free magazine is distributed in truck stops nationwide and has a circulation of about 150,000. The selected missing persons' information will also be on the trucker.com website under Missing Persons. Depending upon available space, some families may have a short story about the missing person published in the magazine in addition to the photo(s) and basic data.
Through the Gears is one of Target Media Partner's many publications. In partnership with Project Jason, they will now feature four missing persons per month.Two will be presented in Through the Gears, and the other two will be in the magazine Independent Contractor. (You can pick up your free copies at a local truck stop, but if it's far from you, you may want to call and ask if they carry that magazine. These are NOT with the regular for purchase magazines.)
What does this mean to you as a family member of a missing person?
The 18 Wheel Angels program is a great opportunity for awareness for your missing loved one. If he/she has never been featured on the campaign before, you can ask to be on the waiting list for the campaign. As with all of our programs, there is no cost to you. We develop the poster, upload it, submit it to our trucking industry partners and will also do a press release to the media in the area of the disappearance if you'd like. We have been told by several of the families whose loved ones were featured on the campaign that leads were generated from it.
What does this mean to you as an organization providing assistance to family members of missing persons?
The 18 Wheel Angels campaign can be another way you can help your families with awareness. We do need permission directly from the family to run their missing loved one on the campaign, so feel free to refer those qualified cases to us for assistance. Since we have more missing adult cases than child cases, we'd like to get some referrals from families of missing children as well. You can also forward this message to the families you serve.
Excluded case types: (This is due to the targeted nature of the campaign and in working with publishing deadlines for the magazines, which run a month or more in advance.)
Persons missing in a natural disaster, in a wilderness area, or in a body of water
Persons declared by a court of law or a law enforcement agency to be deceased
Repeat runaways, unless they have been missing for more than 6 months and their whereabouts are not known
Check here to see if your missing loved one has already been featured: http://www.projectjason.org/18wheel.shtml
If you have not registered your missing loved one with Project Jason before, please do so here: http://projectjason.org/report.html
To see all of Project Jason's benefits and services, please click here: http://projectjason.org/benefits.html
Statistics show that one in every 6 missing persons is located because of a visual aid, such as a poster. The 18 Wheel Angels campaign is one way to increase awareness, and hopefully, bring someone loved and missed back home.
With Hope for all of our missing loved ones,
Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
http://www.projectjason.org
Read our Voice for the Missing Blog
http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/
Example of poster: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/KellyJolkowski/LeahPoster.jpg
Gina_M
New Member
I'm so glad to read about the increase in the 18-wheel angel campaign. I pray it will help bring someone home!
Kelly
Founder, Project Jason
Thanks for suggestions from Websleuthers, we have this in place:
What if Project Jason earned a penny every time you searched the Internet or shopped online? Well, now we can!
GoodSearch.com is a new search engine that donates half its revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. You use it just as you would any search engine, and it's powered by Yahoo!, so you get great results.
GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates a percentage of each purchase to your favorite cause. More than 100 great stores including The Gap, Best Buy and Barnes and Nobel have teamed up with GoodSearch and every time you place an order, youll be supporting your favorite cause.
Just go to http://www.goodsearch.com/default.aspx and be sure to enter Project Jason as the charity you want to support. And, be sure to spread the word!
Thank you,
Kelly, Project Jason
What if Project Jason earned a penny every time you searched the Internet or shopped online? Well, now we can!
GoodSearch.com is a new search engine that donates half its revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. You use it just as you would any search engine, and it's powered by Yahoo!, so you get great results.
GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates a percentage of each purchase to your favorite cause. More than 100 great stores including The Gap, Best Buy and Barnes and Nobel have teamed up with GoodSearch and every time you place an order, youll be supporting your favorite cause.
Just go to http://www.goodsearch.com/default.aspx and be sure to enter Project Jason as the charity you want to support. And, be sure to spread the word!
Thank you,
Kelly, Project Jason
Kelly
Founder, Project Jason
Good Day,
Project Jason now has a new forum! The web address for our forum is http://www.projectjason.org/forums/index.php
The old forum had some technical issues with logging in associated with 3rd party software that could not be resolved, so we spent weeks testing a new one so that our guests and family members will have trouble-free browsing. It is of prime importance to us that our family members can access the private support areas of the forum without any problems. Now it's time to unveil the new forum, which has many new features including a calendar, and soon, a chat room.
The Project Jason Forum for the Missing is a great place to do case research for DOE researchers, family members, and law enforcement. There is one thread per listed missing person which includes all the news and information our volunteer researchers can find. Close to 1,000 missing persons cases are posted at this time.
In addition to the missing persons case sections, there are educational areas as well. Topics include the government's role in missing persons, Amber Alert news, safety and prevention, sexual predator control and management news, and much more. There is also a thread called "Good News--Missing Persons" which showcases stories in the news about missing persons who were found safe, some even after many years.
You can also find information about all of Project Jason's services and awareness programs, such as the 18 Wheel Angels. Introductions to the Campaign for the Missing and our Law Enforcement training are also included, as well as steps to take when a person is missing.
There are several private areas on the forum for family members of missing persons. In these areas, family members can meet and share tips and ideas for awareness. They can also support one another, forging new friendships with others who truly understand, all away from the eyes of the general public. There's also Healing Harbor, the only service of its kind in the US, which offers free online counseling for families of the missing.
Our forum is different than all other missing persons related forums you'll find. Our primary goal is to bring awareness for these missing persons, and secondarily, offer a safe harbor for the families. You won't find case discussion going on at the Project Jason Forum. What you'll find is a place full of information, lovingly built to help the families of the missing and support them.
Come and see who we are and, more importantly, look at the faces of our missing loved ones. They have no voice until found, so we, along with their families, will be the voice for the missing; speaking for those who are not among us but who are forever in our hearts.
With Hope, Always,
Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
Project Jason now has a new forum! The web address for our forum is http://www.projectjason.org/forums/index.php
The old forum had some technical issues with logging in associated with 3rd party software that could not be resolved, so we spent weeks testing a new one so that our guests and family members will have trouble-free browsing. It is of prime importance to us that our family members can access the private support areas of the forum without any problems. Now it's time to unveil the new forum, which has many new features including a calendar, and soon, a chat room.
The Project Jason Forum for the Missing is a great place to do case research for DOE researchers, family members, and law enforcement. There is one thread per listed missing person which includes all the news and information our volunteer researchers can find. Close to 1,000 missing persons cases are posted at this time.
In addition to the missing persons case sections, there are educational areas as well. Topics include the government's role in missing persons, Amber Alert news, safety and prevention, sexual predator control and management news, and much more. There is also a thread called "Good News--Missing Persons" which showcases stories in the news about missing persons who were found safe, some even after many years.
You can also find information about all of Project Jason's services and awareness programs, such as the 18 Wheel Angels. Introductions to the Campaign for the Missing and our Law Enforcement training are also included, as well as steps to take when a person is missing.
There are several private areas on the forum for family members of missing persons. In these areas, family members can meet and share tips and ideas for awareness. They can also support one another, forging new friendships with others who truly understand, all away from the eyes of the general public. There's also Healing Harbor, the only service of its kind in the US, which offers free online counseling for families of the missing.
Our forum is different than all other missing persons related forums you'll find. Our primary goal is to bring awareness for these missing persons, and secondarily, offer a safe harbor for the families. You won't find case discussion going on at the Project Jason Forum. What you'll find is a place full of information, lovingly built to help the families of the missing and support them.
Come and see who we are and, more importantly, look at the faces of our missing loved ones. They have no voice until found, so we, along with their families, will be the voice for the missing; speaking for those who are not among us but who are forever in our hearts.
With Hope, Always,
Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
- Status