NE NE - Jason Jolkowski -19 - Omaha - 13 Jun 2001 - #4

[puzzleworldplanet]

I noticed that too, @Gilderoy Lockhart Jr, but figured it was a mistake/etc.



Do you have a link? That would certainly put a different light on things if he was ‘waiting (in front of the house) for a ride”, rather than walking some distance to meet up with someone.

Something isn't adding up here.

On wikipedia: Disappearance of Jason Jolkowski - Wikipedia - it says: "At 10:45 a.m., Jolkowski was last seen by a neighbour, who saw him help his younger brother pull trash cans from the curb back to the house."

but in this video:

Kelly (Jason's mum) says "Michael (Jason's brother) was the last person to see him dragging our trash cans up from the kerb while waiting for a carpool ride to his part-time job"

Now in this video, In this video, Kelly's (Jason's mum) story changes:

she says that Jason was going to meet his co-worker at Benson and says that Jason's brother heard a noise and saw Jason out the window at Jason taking trash cans in

Story conflicts:

Neighbours story: claims to have saw Jason taking in trash cans with his younger brother
Kelly's story: claims that Jason's brother heard a noise and saw Jason taking in trash cans and looked out the window

Then Jason's mother says that Jason was waiting for a pool-car ride, again, suggesting Jason was just hanging around the driveway

But in the final video linked, Jason's mum says that Jason had arranged to walk to Benson High School to meet the co-worker.

3 min 15 sec into the video, Montel (host) says: "so he had on his uniform to go to work?" and his mother replies: "that's exactly right" - except it isn't.... all accounts say that he was carrying his work-shirt.

The dad says in the video he got home at 3pm, I've seen other reports that he got home at 5pm.

The stories don't add up to me. Too many contradictions before he has even left the street. Something seems off. The brother pretending to be Jason also doesn't sit well with me. <modsnip>

Finally - Jason's dad says 2 neighbours witnessed Jason that morning. I thought it was 1? Who is the 2nd? And where did that sighting take place?

 

[Andreee]

some thoughts: Teresa (co-worker) calls Jason, Jason says he will meet her at Benson High School at 11:00am.. no CCTV footage of Jason getting near/around the school

11:30am arrives and Jason still isn't with his co-worker, so she calls Jason's home. Jason's brother answers and pretends to be Jason but soon dropped the act after hearing Teresa panicking a little...he (Jason's brother) told Teresa that Jason left 45 mins earlier (so from this, we can roughly say Jason left at 10:45, which makes sense, because it was a 15 min walk to Benson High School and Jason had said to Teresa he would be at the High School at 11am).

as i said in a previous post...more walking time means more witnesses. i am of the belief that whomever got him, did it very, very soon into the walk. would anyone agree / disagree? if you disagree that's fine, but please explain what would make you think Jason got more than a block or two away from his home? (just want to facilitate a conversation around this and take in everyones views)

From what I understand, Teresa had called the boss and the boss called Jasons home.

 

[puzzleworldplanet]

From what I understand, Teresa had called the boss and the boss called Jasons home.

Ah gotcha, thanks for the correction. Do you happen to know if there's footage on youtube of the neighbour opposite stating what he saw?

edit: wait, does that mean this is wrong: What Happened To Jason Jolkowski? ?

'By the time 11:15 am rolled around, his co-worker grew impatient and as the time neared 11:30 am she became worried. Jason’s co-worker exited her vehicle, destined for a nearby phone. She found an available line at a nearby gas station and called the Jolkowski residence. Firstly, Michael answered the phone pretending to be Jason, but when he noticed the panic in her voice he quickly dropped the act and soon became just as concerned. Jason had never made it to the high school at the agreed time. Michael would tell Jason’s co-worker that he had left more than a half hour ago and suggested that he should be there any moment. After her conversation with Michael, Jason’s co-worker phoned her boss at Fazolis, and he would have her return. Jason Jolkowski has not been seen since.'

The article suggests Teresa called the Jolkowski home, spoke to Michael (pretending to be Jason) then Michael admits it's actually Michael, and then Teresa calls the boss at Fazoli who told her to return?

 

[Andreee]

Something isn't adding up here.

On wikipedia: Disappearance of Jason Jolkowski - Wikipedia - it says: "At 10:45 a.m., Jolkowski was last seen by a neighbour, who saw him help his younger brother pull trash cans from the curb back to the house."

but in this video:

Kelly (Jason's mum) says "Michael (Jason's brother) was the last person to see him dragging our trash cans up from the kerb while waiting for a carpool ride to his part-time job"

Now in this video, In this video, Kelly's (Jason's mum) story changes:

she says that Jason was going to meet his co-worker at Benson and says that Jason's brother heard a noise and saw Jason out the window at Jason taking trash cans in

Story conflicts:

Neighbours story: claims to have saw Jason taking in trash cans with his younger brother
Kelly's story: claims that Jason's brother heard a noise and saw Jason taking in trash cans and looked out the window

Then Jason's mother says that Jason was waiting for a pool-car ride, again, suggesting Jason was just hanging around the driveway

But in the final video linked, Jason's mum says that Jason had arranged to walk to Benson High School to meet the co-worker.

3 min 15 sec into the video, Montel (host) says: "so he had on his uniform to go to work?" and his mother replies: "that's exactly right" - except it isn't.... all accounts say that he was carrying his work-shirt.

The dad says in the video he got home at 3pm, I've seen other reports that he got home at 5pm.

The stories don't add up to me. Too many contradictions before he has even left the street. Something seems off. The brother pretending to be Jason also doesn't sit well with me. <modsnip>

Finally - Jason's dad says 2 neighbours witnessed Jason that morning. I thought it was 1? Who is the 2nd? And where did that sighting take place?

Ah gotcha, thanks for the correction. Do you happen to know if there's footage on youtube of the neighbour opposite stating what he saw?

I have never seen any, just read it in various news reports. The only footage I have seen is of the neighbour giving a few words in an interview with media years later at one of the memorial type gatherings. Not sure off the cuff where to find it though.

 

[Andreee]

Ah gotcha, thanks for the correction. Do you happen to know if there's footage on youtube of the neighbour opposite stating what he saw?

edit: wait, does that mean this is wrong: What Happened To Jason Jolkowski? ?

'By the time 11:15 am rolled around, his co-worker grew impatient and as the time neared 11:30 am she became worried. Jason’s co-worker exited her vehicle, destined for a nearby phone. She found an available line at a nearby gas station and called the Jolkowski residence. Firstly, Michael answered the phone pretending to be Jason, but when he noticed the panic in her voice he quickly dropped the act and soon became just as concerned. Jason had never made it to the high school at the agreed time. Michael would tell Jason’s co-worker that he had left more than a half hour ago and suggested that he should be there any moment. After her conversation with Michael, Jason’s co-worker phoned her boss at Fazolis, and he would have her return. Jason Jolkowski has not been seen since.'

The article suggests Teresa called the Jolkowski home, spoke to Michael (pretending to be Jason) then Michael admits it's actually Michael, and then Teresa calls the boss at Fazoli who told her to return?

Well, over the years there have been various versions of the disappearance, with little details reported differently Ive noticed. The police have the official version I guess with the correct facts. I wonder if a person could put in a Freedom of Information request but being Im in another country I have no idea and would never be so bold as to try lol.

 

[dotr]

I have never seen any, just read it in various news reports. The only footage I have seen is of the neighbour giving a few words in an interview with media years later at one of the memorial type gatherings. Not sure off the cuff where to find it though.

@Approx 0:50 neighbour who was '' one of the last people to see him that day'', Just prior to that, Jason's cousin speaks.

 

[Andreee]

@Approx 0:50 neighbour who was '' one of the last people to see him that day'', Just prior to that, Jason's cousin speaks.

Thanks dotr. It is nice to see the former neighbour and Jasons cousin again in this interview, heartwarming that those people and others gathered years later like that with their memories of Jason.

 

[puzzleworldplanet]

@Approx 0:50 neighbour who was '' one of the last people to see him that day'', Just prior to that, Jason's cousin speaks.

thanks for the video link!

so this gets even more strange. Jason's cousin says that Michael (Jason's brother) didn't just see him bringing in trash cans (like Kelly said in some videos above) , but that Michael saw Jason walking "towards Benson". hmm. Every time we hear a story about Michael, the story changes.

The neighbour (Chester) in the video above doesn't personally say he saw him walking towards school, but the narrator/news anchor says that's what Chester has said.

I wish we had a newspaper clipping or video of Chester actually saying something like: "I saw X happening" out of his own mouth

 

[BethAnn777]

If Jason wasn't seen bringing up the trash cans or walking towards Benson, does that lead to any additional ideas on how he disappeared?

My guess is that none of the statements were meant to be contradictory and they aren’t suspicious, it’s just that some statements were made before or after more thought or info. Sometimes you say things based upon what you assumed happened and then you get more or different info so that changes your explanations a bit.

 

[studebkr]

The Omaha World Herald charges for copies of their archive unless you get older articles through the Omaha Public Library. My card is expired but I will see if I can get on the website. Many older articles are now digital.

I copied the text of a couple of those over here in the past but they got pulled either because I broke the rules of not citing my source or because they mentioned names family members. If you go back to the top of page 28 or 29 the moderator posted these rules.

After they posted that I wrote them about becoming a “forum insider” but the rules and responsibilities were pretty stiff.

There is also a National Newspaper Archve through the Library of Congress but I don’t know if the have any Nebraska papers newer than 1985 yet. UNL has a similar archive (I think the same source).

My understanding over the years was, the neighbor saw JJ pull the cans in. JJ’s brother saw him leave. The coworker called JJ’s home and the brother pretended to be him at first, until he understood JJ was not with her. She then called her boss. The boss checked back with the house throughout the day out of concern and reached the father when he was off work.

 

[Andreee]

If Jason wasn't seen bringing up the trash cans or walking towards Benson, does that lead to any additional ideas on how he disappeared?

My guess is that none of the statements were meant to be contradictory and they aren’t suspicious, it’s just that some statements were made before or after more thought or info. Sometimes you say things based upon what you assumed happened and then you get more or different info so that changes your explanations a bit.

The Omaha World Herald charges for copies of their archive unless you get older articles through the Omaha Public Library. My card is expired but I will see if I can get on the website. Many older articles are now digital.

I copied the text of a couple of those over here in the past but they got pulled either because I broke the rules of not citing my source or because they mentioned names family members. If you go back to the top of page 28 or 29 the moderator posted these rules.

After they posted that I wrote them about becoming a “forum insider” but the rules and responsibilities were pretty stiff.

There is also a National Newspaper Archve through the Library of Congress but I don’t know if the have any Nebraska papers newer than 1985 yet. UNL has a similar archive (I think the same source).

My understanding over the years was, the neighbor saw JJ pull the cans in. JJ’s brother saw him leave. The coworker called JJ’s home and the brother pretended to be him at first, until he understood JJ was not with her. She then called her boss. The boss checked back with the house throughout the day out of concern and reached the father when he was off work.

My understanding of the details you mention is the same as your, except for some reason I had thought the coworker called the boss from the local gas station, not JJs home. And in keeping with that, if she had only called Jasons number once earlier to discuss where to meet, maybe the number wasnt embedded in her memory as much as the restaurant number, so she called the boss. I dont really know though. Other than the police, the boss, the brother & coworker having the facts, hard to say for sure, and I guess it doesnt matter too much at this point!

 

[MatthewTyler]

It's not too weird that certain facts and personal accounts get misremembered/misconstrued through the years. It's hard to remember exactly what one might have seen that day when 23 years have passed. Unfortunately the only people that could POSSIBLY clear all this up are not on this thread. Michael, Chester, and the co-worker/manager are the only ones who know the timeline of that day. News articles and secondhand accounts (such as from Jason's parents) just simply aren't helpful.

The police have the official version I guess with the correct facts. I wonder if a person could put in a Freedom of Information request but being Im in another country I have no idea and would never be so bold as to try lol.

I tried a few years ago and was denied because the case was still considered open. Then I tried with Samuel Sherman and was also denied for that as well. Didn't end up needing their help to do their job for them on that one though

 

[puzzleworldplanet]

If Jason wasn't seen bringing up the trash cans or walking towards Benson, does that lead to any additional ideas on how he disappeared?

for me personally, this is key. it gives us a very good indication of how far Jason would have got. thats why it's so difficult when different statements from family/witnesses conflict a little. it really throws a spanner in the works.

My guess is that none of the statements were meant to be contradictory and they aren’t suspicious, it’s just that some statements were made before or after more thought or info. Sometimes you say things based upon what you assumed happened and then you get more or different info so that changes your explanations a bit.

that is possible

Ok, here are my thoughts:

if JJ really did walk away from his house, google says it's approx a 15 min walk, which means JJ went missing around 10:45am - 11:00am - although personally, I would actually close that gap further.... cctv didnt catch JJ at the high school - 11am would be the time he reached the high school. Again, as I said earlier, further walking = more potential witnesses

when you walk out of JJ's street, you open yourself up dramatically. i've attached a pic of how it would have looked in 2011 (cannot see an earlier date) of the very second you walk out of JJ's street (pic titled 2011.png).

now if you follow the route (most likely) taken by JJ towards Benson High School, you see that the area becomes extremely residential (pic taken in 2008, see 2008.png attached) and you are in full view of potential witnesses...

lets say for argument sake that JJ made it to Lake James Park (JPG.png attached) that is a 4 min walk. Again - we can be relatively sure he didn't make it to Benson High (good CCTV and it was checked with no sightings of JJ) and I don't believe he made it far whatsoever. Even Lake James Park (attached LJP-2.png) does not seem like a good area for kidnapping someone, there's potentially too many witnesses. Residential houses, dog walkers perhaps... it just isn't a place you'd attempt to kidnap someone

and then if you follow the road straight the way down, you are at the school.

i believe a couple of things are "likely" here (in moo)

1) jason didn't actually make it out of his house
2) if jason DID make it out of his street, he didn't make it far before someone asked him to A) go into their house, asking for help as a ruse to pray on Jason's good nature or B) someone offered him a ride and he took it

if we could 100% verify that the neighbour saw JJ leave his street... then I think we are dealing with option #2 and A) or B) are most likely

on a sidenote, there was talk on earlier posts of a man who used to befriend local men and lure them/ask them into his property, did this turn out to be a non-event?

note: i am speculating a little, but we have to in this case.

 

[Andreee]

Ive looked closely before at the surroundings via google maps to see which nearby houses wouldve been able to see Jason leave his own house. There are a few kittycorner and across from him, where a person couldve jumped into their car and gone after him I suppose but hopefully those residents were checked out. I cant see anything nefarious happening in the park that is on his route, as it is very open, flat with houses on all sides. Like you mentioned, there was a very tight time frame for something to happen to Jason.

 

[studebkr]

Thanks for your work on the Samuel Sherman case, Mathew. One less person to worry about and one theory that can be removed from the list.

I saw on the news a couple months ago that the Omaha Police hired an intern to scour the internet for clues on cold cases. She worked out well and they are thinking on expanding that area. I’ve not found an internet article about the same, but if I can find her/them it would be worth letting them know we exist. (I bet they know)

 

[Andreee]

Thanks for your work on the Samuel Sherman case, Mathew. One less person to worry about and one theory that can be removed from the list.

I saw on the news a couple months ago that the Omaha Police hired an intern to scour the internet for clues on cold cases. She worked out well and they are thinking on expanding that area. I’ve not found an internet article about the same, but if I can find her/them it would be worth letting them know we exist. (I bet they know)

Interesting! Awhile back I had written to the contact listed on Namus re. this case and the last cold case investigator for it had moved on they said. Yes, I hope OP does get the intern to continue working for them and Im also thinking she would come across us at some point.

 

[Sonny Crockett]

Before reading a recent post, I didn't know that JJ was a skateboarder. Since he was walking to work when he vanished, it doesn't seem that his skateboarding had anything to do with this case. However, it's interesting nonetheless.

Glad that this case is generating so much new interest. I follow other cases as well, but this may be the most popular "cold" case (20+ years old) on this site, re: the amount of discussion it generates.

as i said in a previous post...more walking time means more witnesses. i am of the belief that whomever got him, did it very, very soon into the walk. would anyone agree / disagree?

Agree with this 100%, and I suspect that's the consensus of others who have spent a lot of time researching & following the case. As I've stated earlier, I don't think JJ got as far as the vicinity of the school or the gas station close to the school.

I'm still on the fence as to whether JJ's vanishing was due to his going into a house or being willingly picked up by a person/persons in a car. Either is definitely plausible. And, if this did indeed happen within 5-7 minutes of his starting on his walk, I can see how/why no one really saw (or at least didn't report) anything.

Given that it was mid-day in June & was presumably warm outside, I do think it's possible that JJ may have willingly gotten into a car - for the purpose of being taken to the H.S. I.e., this would have given him a break from walking & also would have gotten him to the H.S. much more quickly.

 

[Cat4]

What reason did the brother give for saying he was Jason on the telephone? Thank you

 

[Andreee]

What reason did the brother give for saying he was Jason on the telephone? Thank you

He is Jasons younger brother and from what Ive read, he was just fooling around as younger siblings do. Unfortunately, it wasnt the greatest time for a joke!

 

[Andreee]

Before reading a recent post, I didn't know that JJ was a skateboarder. Since he was walking to work when he vanished, it doesn't seem that his skateboarding had anything to do with this case. However, it's interesting nonetheless.

Glad that this case is generating so much new interest. I follow other cases as well, but this may be the most popular "cold" case (20+ years old) on this site, re: the amount of discussion it generates.



Agree with this 100%, and I suspect that's the consensus of others who have spent a lot of time researching & following the case. As I've stated earlier, I don't think JJ got as far as the vicinity of the school or the gas station close to the school.

I'm still on the fence as to whether JJ's vanishing was due to his going into a house or being willingly picked up by a person/persons in a car. Either is definitely plausible. And, if this did indeed happen within 5-7 minutes of his starting on his walk, I can see how/why no one really saw (or at least didn't report) anything.

Given that it was mid-day in June & was presumably warm outside, I do think it's possible that JJ may have willingly gotten into a car - for the purpose of being taken to the H.S. I.e., this would have given him a break from walking & also would have gotten him to the H.S. much more quickly.

Yes, Im on the fence too. I do think if he got into a car, it would be with someone who was an acquaintance, at the very least. Was it an acquaintance who happened to be out on the road driving by him though, or a neighbour acquaintance who saw Jason walk by and hopped in their car, catching up with him further along the route. Sounds a bit unbelievable even when I even write that.