NE NE - Jason Jolkowski, 19, Omaha, 13 Jun 2001 - #3

[deadinthewater]

Isn't it then maybe a bit strange that Jason initially said he would walk to Fazoli's (4 miles) rather than take a bus?

 

[ekardh]

Isn't it then maybe a bit strange that Jason initially said he would walk to Fazoli's (4 miles) rather than take a bus?

If Jason was originally planning to walk to Fazioli's, that definitely supports the theory he was making a detour. When Fazioli's said they'd collect him, he moved the meeting point to Benson High to buy himself time. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a "no phonecalls or emails" policy with the person Jason saw that day.

 

[studebkr]

Isn't it then maybe a bit strange that Jason initially said he would walk to Fazoli's (4 miles) rather than take a bus?

Yes. It is. You're 19 and the company that you gave your two weeks notice calls you for an extra shift. You try to get out of it by telling them the truth. Your car is in the shop. You can walk, but it will take a couple hours to get there. They offer to send a ride and you agree to meet at a public place you and the driver both know. The driver says, "You better better be there." Which maybe he had been a no-show in a previous ride offer? We never have gotten an answer to that question.

 

[CountSnap]

Yes. It is. You're 19 and the company that you gave your two weeks notice calls you for an extra shift. You try to get out of it by telling them the truth. Your car is in the shop. You can walk, but it will take a couple hours to get there. They offer to send a ride and you agree to meet at a public place you and the driver both know. The driver says, "You better better be there." Which maybe he had been a no-show in a previous ride offer? We never have gotten an answer to that question.

This!
I wonder, fully if JJ truly intended to show up there at the HS.?
Sure, he took his uniform. But yeah that "You better be there," indicates something. It could be that other people didn't show up and things like that. But, just have to wonder what that truly, really meant.
Someone said on Facebook how he rapped and made people laugh at lunch.
Who was Jason Jolkowski?

 

[Alleykins]

Yes. It is. You're 19 and the company that you gave your two weeks notice calls you for an extra shift. You try to get out of it by telling them the truth. Your car is in the shop. You can walk, but it will take a couple hours to get there. They offer to send a ride and you agree to meet at a public place you and the driver both know. The driver says, "You better better be there." Which maybe he had been a no-show in a previous ride offer? We never have gotten an answer to that question.

What you're saying makes sense to me. When posited that way, it sounds like he might have been trying to get out of the shift.
I still wonder when his last scheduled shift was, and what he did in the days following his disappearance.

 

[CountSnap]

And if he was just not ever truly intending to go the restaurant then that opens up a literal world of other possibilities as to what happened to him.
Wouldn't have to be someone local. Could have been someone on the other side of the city.
I would like to know if JJ knew his was around the bus routes.

 

[deadinthewater]

If there was something going on in Jason's personal life that his family wasn't privy to, I just wonder how much and how far his family/LE investigated. There's really nothing to go off of. No information about the days preceding Jason's disappearance, no potential suspects brought up by Jason's family, no deeper delve into JJ's 4 mile walks, etc.

Maybe they did find something out about him, but it ultimately had nothing to do with his disappearance and therefore not made public.

 

[Alleykins]

Jason's mother did say in a podcast/interview that everyone whoever knew Jason was questioned. So it sounds like to me they were as thorough as they could be, and she sounded confident about it. However, there's always casual acquaintances and friends of friends to account for, and people his family may not have known about, and who the term "everyone" includes only goes so far as the family's knowledge of them, and those folks' willingness to come forward if the family didn't know about them.

 

[fisher458]

Hi, new here.

Few questions:
Were his parents at work and their alibi checked out?
Is there a wooded area anywhere nearby big enough to fall and have the body get lost in? Someone mentioned the area is steep? Maybe it doesn't need to be that big, but his body just happens to be miraculously well concealed?
Is there a body of water nearby capable of concealing a body? I noticed a few rivers nearby.
How old was the brother? Any other siblings? Are the eyewitnesses from that morning reliable? Is it possible he left the house much earlier than assumed? I believe his work called him and spoke with him - do we know for sure they called on the house phone?

Not trying to accuse anyone of anything, just trying to keep an open mind to options not talked about much. Is there a family angle here that people have been skipping over?

 

[ChatteringBirds]

@fisher458
Welcome to Websleuths!
I hope someone knows this case so well that they can answer your questions.

 

[Alleykins]

Hi, new here.

Few questions:
Were his parents at work and their alibi checked out?
Is there a wooded area anywhere nearby big enough to fall and have the body get lost in? Someone mentioned the area is steep? Maybe it doesn't need to be that big, but his body just happens to be miraculously well concealed?
Is there a body of water nearby capable of concealing a body? I noticed a few rivers nearby.
How old was the brother? Any other siblings? Are the eyewitnesses from that morning reliable? Is it possible he left the house much earlier than assumed? I believe his work called him and spoke with him - do we know for sure they called on the house phone?

Not trying to accuse anyone of anything, just trying to keep an open mind to options not talked about much. Is there a family angle here that people have been skipping over?

I can't speak to the terrain, as I've never been to Omaha, so maybe @studebkr can answer those questions.
Both of Jason's parents were at work. We can only assume their schedule was checked out, since I don't recall any news articles where the Omaha PD gave a statement to go over details like that, and I scoured Newspapers dot com. (if someone has an archived article where the OPD gave a press conference on Jason's case, I would love read it)
His brother was 13 at the time. He is Jason's only sibling.
We only have 2 eyewitnesses from that morning, the brother and the neighbor across the street. And two "ear" witnesses, for lack of a better term, Jason's manager and the coworker who was supposed to pick him up, both who spoke to him on the phone. I can't speak to how reliable the recall of a 13 year old boy is, nor the 10 day old memory of the neighbor across the street. I believe the calls were made to the house on the house phone, which could be confirmed by the phone company, if the records were pulled. This would also confirm the times Jason was called. I know this is SOP for LE in my area, can't speak for the Omaha PD. Plus we have the coworker's statement.
Websleuths is victim/family friendly, we can only discuss the family angle in those terms unless something changes with the case.

 

[Andreee]

Hi, new here.

Few questions:
Were his parents at work and their alibi checked out?
Is there a wooded area anywhere nearby big enough to fall and have the body get lost in? Someone mentioned the area is steep? Maybe it doesn't need to be that big, but his body just happens to be miraculously well concealed?
Is there a body of water nearby capable of concealing a body? I noticed a few rivers nearby.
How old was the brother? Any other siblings? Are the eyewitnesses from that morning reliable? Is it possible he left the house much earlier than assumed? I believe his work called him and spoke with him - do we know for sure they called on the house phone?

Not trying to accuse anyone of anything, just trying to keep an open mind to options not talked about much. Is there a family angle here that people have been skipping over?

No, no family angle. His mother has actually been on this thread awhile back sharing info. and ideas about what might have happened. Both parents at work. Yes, the boss did call the family home, as the younger brother answered the phone. No other siblings. I don't know much about the neighbour across the street who saw JJ bringing the garbage can in. Perhaps someone else here does. There is a small lake in the local park that I believe has been searched in the past. I can't recall all the details about that, as this case has been going on so long that it is easy to forget all the details. The time he left the house was basically pinned down correctly.

 

[CountSnap]

No, no family angle. His mother has actually been on this thread awhile back sharing info. and ideas about what might have happened. Both parents at work. Yes, the boss did call the family home, as the younger brother answered the phone. No other siblings. I don't know much about the neighbour across the street who saw JJ bringing the garbage can in. Perhaps someone else here does. There is a small lake in the local park that I believe has been searched in the past. I can't recall all the details about that, as this case has been going on so long that it is easy to forget all the details. The time he left the house was basically pinned down correctly.

The neighbor across the street is still there and was recently on a news segment about the twentieth anniversary.

 

[studebkr]

The neighbor across the street is still there and was recently on a news segment about the twentieth anniversary.

I always get confused about which neighbor as they lived on a corner. Their front door faced 48th Street, but their driveway faced Pinkney Street, which is where their garbage cans were usually at. I talked to the Pinkney neighbor from time to time. He was a retired railroad worker. Nice house, perfect yard and gardens. Nice guy.

Now that I look at the map, there was not a house directly across 48th Street as that block is irregularly shaped. I realize everyone is a potential suspect in a case like this, but I never got a bad vibe about that man. He would be the one to see Jason because he was always outside, and he paid attention to what was going on in the neighborhood.

 

[Trident]

If true, that's a very interesting story. Can you estimate the height/weight of the not-so-good samaritan?

 

[Aurora90]

I always get confused about which neighbor as they lived on a corner. Their front door faced 48th Street, but their driveway faced Pinkney Street, which is where their garbage cans were usually at. I talked to the Pinkney neighbor from time to time. He was a retired railroad worker. Nice house, perfect yard and gardens. Nice guy.

Now that I look at the map, there was not a house directly across 48th Street as that block is irregularly shaped. I realize everyone is a potential suspect in a case like this, but I never got a bad vibe about that man. He would be the one to see Jason because he was always outside, and he paid attention to what was going on in the neighborhood.

What is the insinuation here, that there isn't a house there, therefore no neighbour or the neighbour couldn't have seen him take out out trash? I am confused by this statement...

 

[Alleykins]

What is the insinuation here, that there isn't a house there, therefore no neighbour or the neighbour couldn't have seen him take out out trash? I am confused by this statement...

My interpretation of this post is there is only one possible neighbor who could have seen Jason take out the trash that day, because there is only one house facing the Jolkowski driveway where the trashcans were.

 

[Andreee]

My interpretation of this post is there is only one possible neighbor who could have seen Jason take out the trash that day, because there is only one house facing the Jolkowski driveway where the trashcans were.

I looked at the houses on the street in the past on google maps, and yes, there is one house directly across from the trashcan side of the former Jolkowski house. I don't recall how far the next one is.

 

[Andreee]

Yes. It is. You're 19 and the company that you gave your two weeks notice calls you for an extra shift. You try to get out of it by telling them the truth. Your car is in the shop. You can walk, but it will take a couple hours to get there. They offer to send a ride and you agree to meet at a public place you and the driver both know. The driver says, "You better better be there." Which maybe he had been a no-show in a previous rideit i

As the former neighbour of JJ, it is interesting to continue to hear your perspective. I can't recall now if you talked with Jason much, or just his parents and can give us any more insight into their family. What do you think happened in this case, and did you ever get to talk to the parents after Jason went missing and get their take on things. Sorry if you have already told us all this, but doesn't hurt to refresh our memories and for those new to this case. It is the kind of case that comes and goes on websleuths, and is one of the more perplexing ones. As for the street repairs, sounds like there wasn't much chance at the time for Jason to simply have a mishap in that regard. Thanks for your input.

 

[Andreee]

I always get confused about which neighbor as they lived on a corner. Their front door faced 48th Street, but their driveway faced Pinkney Street, which is where their garbage cans were usually at. I talked to the Pinkney neighbor from time to time. He was a retired railroad worker. Nice house, perfect yard and gardens. Nice guy.

Now that I look at the map, there was not a house directly across 48th Street as that block is irregularly shaped. I realize everyone is a potential suspect in a case like this, but I never got a bad vibe about that man. He would be the one to see Jason because he was always outside, and he paid attention to what was going on in the neighborhood.