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

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Sonny Crockett said:
Good points & clarifications. OK, so one of the "facts" that I always thought was true about this case may not have actually been verified.

I.e., at the least it seems like both the neighbor & JJ's brother actually saw him pulling the garbage cans up to the house - while in the driveway. However, it may not be 100% verified that either one actually saw him walking down the street. So, if this is the case - then there is no way to confirm which direction he was walking towards when he left the house.

I also agree that we don't know the exact time(s) that everything happened that morning.

By all accounts, it appears that it would take JJ roughly 15-20 minutes to walk to the H.S. parking lot from his house - without taking any side-trips along the way. Also by all accounts, the weather was clear that morning - so it shouldn't have taken him longer than usual to get the H.S. (as it possibly would have if there had been excessive rain/thunderstorms that morning, etc.)
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Tyler Matthew maybe you can weigh in on this interesting point re. direction JJ was seen taking if he was?
 
Andreee said:
Tyler Matthew maybe you can weigh in on this interesting point re. direction JJ was seen taking if he was?
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From what we've heard, the general consenus is that he was walking "towards Bedford". Logically, this would make the most sense because once you hit Bedford it's basically a straight walk all the way down. Had he taken Pinkney he would have to walk all the way down and then kind of zig-zag to the school. His brother was supposedly inside and saw Jason moving the trash cans from out the window, so who knows if his word is really reliable since he likely couldn't see all that well which way Jason went after. If Chester saw him outside, it's likely that he saw which direction Jason was actually going in. If he said he saw him walking "towards Bedford" I'd believe that. Again, it's logically the most likely route anyway, provided he wasn't making a pre-planned pit stop on the way.
 
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I’m Australian and have only recently heard of this case and it’s so frustrating!

Trying to think of all the possible scenarios.

I wondered if there was any possibility of mistaken identity?

Anyone with a similar name or looked similar to JJ?
 
Awakening said:
I’m Australian and have only recently heard of this case and it’s so frustrating!

Trying to think of all the possible scenarios.

I wondered if there was any possibility of mistaken identity?

Anyone with a similar name or looked similar to JJ?
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Some time ago, i speculated about the possibility of mistaken identity wrt jason and a newly released prisoner, fwiw, imo, speculation..
www.websleuths.com

NE - NE - Jason Jolkowski, 19, Omaha, 13 June 2001 - #2

I always suspected it was someone who knew him, because I think I read somewhere he was shy. It didn't sound like he would have gone off with just anyone, so I'm thinking it was an opportunist who Jason knew, just waiting for the right time. I'm just surprised no one saw anything after he...
www.websleuths.com www.websleuths.com

''Another s-t-r-e-t--c-h but,
could Jason have been mistaken for this person released from jail on the same day Jason went missing?''
Jeremy Sheets | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers
1702736219482.png
Jeremy Sheets

On June 13, 2001 Jeremy Sheets was released after prosecutors decided not to retry his case. Sheets had been sentenced to death for the September 23, 1992 kidnaping and murder of Kenyatta Bush.
Click to expand...

​

 
dotr said:
Some time ago, i speculated about the possibility of mistaken identity wrt jason and a newly released prisoner, fwiw, imo, speculation..
www.websleuths.com

NE - NE - Jason Jolkowski, 19, Omaha, 13 June 2001 - #2

I always suspected it was someone who knew him, because I think I read somewhere he was shy. It didn't sound like he would have gone off with just anyone, so I'm thinking it was an opportunist who Jason knew, just waiting for the right time. I'm just surprised no one saw anything after he...
www.websleuths.com www.websleuths.com

''Another s-t-r-e-t--c-h but,
could Jason have been mistaken for this person released from jail on the same day Jason went missing?''
Jeremy Sheets | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers
View attachment 468418


​

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I wondered this, too.
 
I am wondering if Jason saw some guy at the park watching the kids (maybe thinking about kidnapping one of them), and then Jason confronted him, and the guy took him (use of a knife or gun maybe?) because he is a SO and didn't want to get into trouble.
 
I even wondered about a parent or vigilante hunting down an online predator and mistaking JJ for them.

I seem to remember internet safety wasn’t as big on safety and some kids would be enticed to meet pedophiles.

Jason is a reasonably common name.

Or the offender could have asked him if he was going to meet a girl and he was.

I know it’s a stretch just desperate to work out what may have happened.

Any sex offenders in the area?
 
I was thinking, Jason was carrying his red shirt and had on a blue baseball cap. Those were never located either. That suggests to me there wasn't a struggle (at least outside) or he would have most likely dropped the shirt and possibly lost the hat.
 
kbitar said:
I was thinking, Jason was carrying his red shirt and had on a blue baseball cap. Those were never located either. That suggests to me there wasn't a struggle (at least outside) or he would have most likely dropped the shirt and possibly lost the hat.
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Good thinking about the shirt and hat.
 
You have all done amazing work on this with some excellent thoughts and it's wonderful to see a local who is so proactively involved in giving such great info. So I don't have too much to add that could possibly compare to those of you who know this case by heart.
Except to say that I don't see any way in hell that Jason would get into someone's car willingly, even someone he knew well. And definitely not someone offering him a ride to work....he already had a ride to work! And it would have been rude and irresponsible to accept a ride from someone knowing another person had made a special journey to collect him. Possibly someone offered him a ride to the school, but I'm very unconvinced as it was such a short distance I don't think anyone would bother nor would he accept. And anyway...as soon as the car stopped heading to the school there'd have been a commotion from Jason.
Someone in a car with a weapon who forced him in? It just seems so unlikely that someone would be lingering in a residential area at 10.45am with a weapon...

I can only see one viable option here; someone on his route. A neighbour he was at least semi acquainted with. <modsnip: no link> But to me someone who was living at or staying in one of the homes on his route would be my no.1 suspect. I'm not even convinced it was murder if this is the case. He could have gone to help someone, died accidentally, and a terrified person covered it up.

Buuuut....
I can't shake the feeling that none of these people would have known Jason would be passing by that day. So it would be a very random act. So...I keep being drawn into thinking that it was someone who knew he was heading to that high school and there is some key info about something in his personal life that has never been discovered.

Whatever happened it was by someone he trusted, or it was quick. Because Jason never tried to use his cellphone to call for help, nor did he fight anyone in broad daylight and make a run for it. I feel this would have been witnessed.


OK...that's just my brain stumbling through some ideas that struck me as I read this thread.
 
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BethAnn777 said:
Would Jason have passed by the church he attended on his way to the high school to catch his ride? Or passed by any other businesses? Or is the area all residential?
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Not on the most direct route. The main route he would've likey taken down Bedford is all residential. If he had taken Fontenelle blvd down to Maple then he would've passed Holy Name, but it's double the time and distance. Unless he had a specific reason to be over there, he probably didn't go that far out of the way.

kbitar said:
I was thinking, Jason was carrying his red shirt and had on a blue baseball cap. Those were never located either. That suggests to me there wasn't a struggle (at least outside) or he would have most likely dropped the shirt and possibly lost the hat.
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I shutter to think that his hat is probably a trophy for the perp to this day. The shirt is too damning of evidence to keep, but something like a Cubs hat is perfect because it's so common. You can wear it around and nobody would be any the wiser.
 
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Ciriii57 said:
<modsnip: quoted post was removed>
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But in all honesty, still not sure I fully subscribe to the neighbor luring him theory. Randomly deciding to abduct after a grown man in broad daylight like that is just not something that typically happens. With no prep time, someone just figures they'll invite him in on a whim and kill him? Just seems odd. I always flip-flop between thinking he was making a pit stop due to his schedule change, and thinking that at least SOMEONE at Fazoli's might be involved somehow, simply because of how well everything aligned.
 
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MatthewTyler said:
<modsnip> But in all honesty, still not sure I fully subscribe to the neighbor luring him theory. Randomly deciding to abduct after a grown man in broad daylight like that is just not something that typically happens. With no prep time, someone just figures they'll invite him in on a whim and kill him? Just seems odd. I always flip-flop between thinking he was making a pit stop due to his schedule change, and thinking that at least SOMEONE at Fazoli's might be involved somehow, simply because of how well everything aligned.
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Actually I was more thinking he may have innocently gone to help someone and tragically died in an accident on the property and that person just panicked rather than call an ambulance, but tbh it sounds preposterous as I type it haha
It was such a tight window he had to get from home to his ride that stopping anywhere seems unlikely.

Fazoli's....yes AGREE that just seems the obvious doesn't it and also possibly least explored idea? Because not only did they know where he was going to be but also had a car there waiting for him. But again, without knowing each employee and their relationship to Jason it is difficult to pin point anyone.

You know what I always pinpointed as really really strange. The girl who was giving Jason a lift said she waited half an hour. That is a really long time to just sit there in your car. I would be P***ed after him being 10 mins late, but 30 mins. I din't believe it. But...I am guessing this was confirmed on the school's CCTV that she did sit there for that long.
I guess just because she was there waiting, it doesn't preclude the possibility that someone else he knew from Fazoli's intercepted him and said "oh (female co-worker) couldn't come so they sent me instead, hop in" but...I don't see why anyone would have it in for him?
 
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  • Jessica Wade Omaha World-Herald May 23, 2023 rbbm
  • Family of Omaha man who disappeared 20 years ago plans memorial event
  • ''There were no clues surrounding Jolkowski’s disappearance. His credit cards, bank account and cellphone were untouched, his car was left in the repair shop and his last paycheck was left at work.

    Kelly Jolkowski said her son, who graduated from Benson High and worked part time as JJ the DJ at KIWR, wasn’t the type to run away.
    “We really, truly never have had viable leads,” she said near the 10th anniversary of her son’s disappearance. “Most times in a missing person case, you have an idea, you have a theory. But in our case, we don’t have a finger to point at anybody at all. It’s just very, very mysterious.”

Missing teen's parents help other families cope - CNN.com

When their 19-year-old son, Jason, disappeared eight years ago, any concept of a normal life ceased for the Jolkowski family.
www.cnn.com
  • ''According to his mother, Jason had walked that seven-block route before. It took him along quiet, residential streets with little pedestrian or vehicle traffic.

    Jason was last seen at 10:15 that morning, standing at the end of his driveway. Less than an hour later, his boss called and spoke with Michael, complaining that Jason had not shown up for work and had never arrived at the high school to meet his ride.

    His parents arrived home from work to learn that Jason had been missing all day. They called Jason's friends. None of them had seen or heard from him that day.

    "Jason was a quiet boy," his mother said. "He only had a small handful of friends. He was shy."

    Jason did not have a girlfriend and was not the sort of person to take risks, like hitching a ride with a complete stranger, his mother insisted.
    1703257621418.png
 
IMHO JJ vanishing as a result of mistaken identity is unlikely but not impossible. For this to have occurred, it seems apparent that it needed to have happened in the relavitely short time that he was walking to the school. And, given that he was on foot, it would almost needed to have been a car passing by that mistook him for someone that the perp. had a grudge against, etc. So, this would have been a completely random coincidence. Sure, it may have happened this way.

However & as has been discussed, it's a lot more likely/plausible that JJ's vanishing involved someone in one of the houses he passed by in the neighborhood or someone that knew him who was passing by in a car.

That being said, without any hard, definitive proof (of which there is none) - there is no way to pin-point anyone/anything as being behind JJ's vanishing.

The theory that JJ went to help someone move something (for example) in a home & that a large object fell on him/crushed him accidentally (resulting in the neighbor panicking & covering up the death) is not something that I believe happened in this case. JJ was in a hurry, and even though he was known as helpful/thoughtful - I seriously doubt he would have taken the time to do something like this.

IMHO it does make sense that JJ's co-worker waited 1/2 hour in the school parking lot for JJ. Remember, by all estimates it would have taken him approximately 15 minutes to walk from his home to the school. So, given that:
a) This was a last-minute request (by his work);
b) She didn't know how long he would take to get ready;
c) She may not have been 100% sure how long he would take to walk to the school....

I can see why she waited 1/2 hour just in case he got held-up, etc. Going along with this, by giving him that additional time then the likely-hood of them missing each other was decreased.
 
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dotr said:
  • Jessica Wade Omaha World-Herald May 23, 2023 rbbm
  • Family of Omaha man who disappeared 20 years ago plans memorial event
  • ''There were no clues surrounding Jolkowski’s disappearance. His credit cards, bank account and cellphone were untouched, his car was left in the repair shop and his last paycheck was left at work.

    Kelly Jolkowski said her son, who graduated from Benson High and worked part time as JJ the DJ at KIWR, wasn’t the type to run away.
    “We really, truly never have had viable leads,” she said near the 10th anniversary of her son’s disappearance. “Most times in a missing person case, you have an idea, you have a theory. But in our case, we don’t have a finger to point at anybody at all. It’s just very, very mysterious.”

Missing teen's parents help other families cope - CNN.com

When their 19-year-old son, Jason, disappeared eight years ago, any concept of a normal life ceased for the Jolkowski family.
www.cnn.com
  • ''According to his mother, Jason had walked that seven-block route before. It took him along quiet, residential streets with little pedestrian or vehicle traffic.

    Jason was last seen at 10:15 that morning, standing at the end of his driveway. Less than an hour later, his boss called and spoke with Michael, complaining that Jason had not shown up for work and had never arrived at the high school to meet his ride.

    His parents arrived home from work to learn that Jason had been missing all day. They called Jason's friends. None of them had seen or heard from him that day.

    "Jason was a quiet boy," his mother said. "He only had a small handful of friends. He was shy."

    Jason did not have a girlfriend and was not the sort of person to take risks, like hitching a ride with a complete stranger, his mother insisted.
    View attachment 469623
Click to expand...
I just wish we knew if what his mom thinks is actually true. Million dollar question, I know. Thinking back to when I was his age, what my mom and all of my family would have said about me versus the truth, would have been vastly different. I repeat, vastly different. Totally might not be the case with him at all, ugh, this is all so mysterious.
 
Sonny Crockett said:
IMHO it does make sense that JJ's co-worker waited 1/2 hour in the school parking lot for JJ. Remember, by all estimates it would have taken him approximately 15 minutes to walk from his home to the school. So, given that:
a) This was a last-minute request (by his work);
b) She didn't know how long he would take to get ready;
c) She may not have been 100% sure how long he would take to walk to the school....

I can see why she waited 1/2 hour just in case he got held-up, etc. Going along with this, by giving him that additional time then the likely-hood of them missing each other was decreased.
Click to expand...
I'm not so sure, the request was made in plenty of time for him to get ready and leave. I don't know if it was ever established whether his co-worker was coming from work specifically to collect him, or if she was collecting him on her way to go to work?
But I belive a specific time must have been arranged between the two since I believe she had specifically told Jason not be late, which suggets they had discussed a time. And also that she may not have been in the mood to hang around.
I just think that whatever she did or didn't know about Jason's whereabouts and how long it would take that 30 mins is an awful long time to just sit in a car waiting.

Either way, it's a moot point as, since LE checked the school's cameras for signs of Jason, I assume they saw her sitting there in her car.
 
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