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

[Andreee]

Thank you for the insight.

The good neighbour who last saw Jason with the garbage bin seemed like a nice and concerned man; and I too saw him in the one video working outside his (still) home. I think he must've found it sad in the aftermath thinking about seeing young JJ that day doing a normal weekly chore, never to return.

 

[Gilderoy Lockhart Jr]

It was very eery how the neighbor was out in his yard in that recent YT video of the podcaster who walked from JJ's home to the school. Same as when JJ left.

I do wonder if he or his brother actually saw Jason walking in the direction of the school. Or just saw him putting the trash cans away. I doubt they paid much attention at the time. The actual time of when Jason left would be good to know too.

 

[Andreee]

It was very eery how the neighbor was out in his yard in that recent YT video of the podcaster who walked from JJ's home to the school. Same as when JJ left.

I do wonder if he or his brother actually saw Jason walking in the direction of the school. Or just saw him putting the trash cans away. I doubt they paid much attention at the time. The actual time of when Jason left would be good to know too.

I know right?! I was so taken aback to see that neighbour in the recent video. I bet the podcaster didnt realize that was the 'witness' man! I think the time JJ left the house was pinned down pretty closely and that he was seen walking in a certain direction by the brother or neighbour. Can't recall which but others here might remember.

 

[Sonny Crockett]

Only thing I don't buy is that Jason took his own life or that he left to start a new life somewhere since Jason, by all accounts, was not street savvy at all, and just wouldn't have been able to pull off secretly running away without anyone ever finding him (even if he did want to).

Agree completely. The theories that JJ ended things or that he ran away are simply not plausible & maybe even impossible - especially given that he vanished 22 years ago:

1) If JJ was so despondent that he chose to end things on the way to a pre-arranged pick-up with his co-worker (which I don't believe), where is the body?! The area was extensively searched by the authorities & the neighborhood/community after he disappeared. And, I believe if he had done something to himself someone would have found him eventually. And, if they hadn't found him then - he would definitely have been found in the 22 years since he vanished. I.e., it's evident that when people end things they can't hide their own bodies.

2) JJ had never lived away from home & didn't seem to have a lot of life experience outside of his home/family/school/job. So, I don't see him just suddenly "skipping town"; discarding his cell phone & not drawing any $ out of his bank account; starting a new life somewhere...and not telling his family what he's doing or where he was going - for 22 years.

Going along with this, his family obviously had no idea what happened to him because they were proactive in getting the word out & actively searching for him. This included going on TV shows to talk about his disappearance (most notably the MW show in 2004); etc.

 

[thegromble]

I know this is just a random comment I found on YouTube, but could there really be something to it?

"Rumour has it that a jealous male friend of the girl (who was innocently giving him a lift-nothing more), intercepted him before he got to the school where he was to meet the girl, intending to scare him or teach him a lesson, but killed him and buried him far away."

 

[Sonny Crockett]

I know this is just a random comment I found on YouTube, but could there really be something to it?

"Rumour has it that a jealous male friend of the girl (who was innocently giving him a lift-nothing more), intercepted him before he got to the school where he was to meet the girl, intending to scare him or teach him a lesson, but killed him and buried him far away."

Interesting "theory", and one I may have heard before. However, IMHO this is extremely far-fetched & I honestly don't buy this at all. Remember, JJ's female co-worker picking him up was completely unplanned prior to that morning. I.e., he was called into work early that day & he was originally going to walk to work. But, his co-worker offered to pick him up (or she was told to do this by the restaurant). The original idea was for her to pick him up @ his house. However, due to his not wanting her to get lost on her way since she didn't know where she lived), they mutually decided it would be easier to have her meet him @ a central location they both knew: the H.S. they had both attended.

So, for this story to be true this "jealous male friend" would have have needed to have known she was going to pick up JJ at the last minute & also would needed to have known she was going to meet him at the H.S. (instead of going to pick him up from his home). And, this "jealous male friend" would have also needed to have a rough idea of where JJ lived - so he could have intercepted him on his walk to the H.S....before he got there.

IMHO the only way this would have even close to being plausible is if this "jealous male friend" worked with both of them @ the restaurant & rushed out of there right when he found out the co-worker was going to pick up JJ. And, I don't see this being that likely at all. And, the timing just doesn't really work that well here.

Also notable: If JJ hadn't been called into work early that day, my understanding is that he was originally going to get a ride with one of his parents to work - when they got home from their job(s). This is given that he was originally scheduled to be at work later that day.

 

[Vital Forces]

I know this is just a random comment I found on YouTube, but could there really be something to it?

"Rumour has it that a jealous male friend of the girl (who was innocently giving him a lift-nothing more), intercepted him before he got to the school where he was to meet the girl, intending to scare him or teach him a lesson, but killed him and buried him far away."

The "jealous male friend," if he was driving, could have simply given Jason the ride to work. Plus everything Sonny Crockett pointed out.

I would put this one behind Jason leaving on his own and ahead of alien abduction.

 

[Gilderoy Lockhart Jr]

I don't think it should be discounted. The way I envision this happening is they are all at home and nobody has arrived to work yet. It was before 11:00 AM. Did Fazoli's serve breakfast? No, I don't think so. If his co-worker was at home and her FWB/boyfriend/whatev was there too and all communications (manager/co-worker/Jason) were naturally done over phone, then the guy would be privy to what was going on. I could easily see some unhinged guy get angry about this. Perhaps this guy is a with a record or is involved in criminal activity. Maybe he remembers Jason from a time he was hanging out at Fazolis and Jason came on to her or the guy perceived him as coming on to her? Maybe it had nothing to do with romantic advances and he saw Jason as an easy mark? Perhaps she left to go to the school and he decided to take matters into his own hands without her even knowing about it. Sadly, pointless acts of violence happen all the time.

I don't think this is what happened; however, Jason's vanishing is one of the most mysterious of all time. It's not that far-fetched tbh.

By the way, when did Fazoli's open for business? 12 noon?

oh yeah, there was a post on the R board where someone who worked with Jason mentioned some odd things. I can't recall exactly, but when asked about Jason's experience/relationship with his co-worker,s this person said something like "out of respect for Jason and his family, I don't wanna talk about his work experience." Matthew Tyler, do you remember seeing that post? I took it to mean that it was not a positive work environment for Jason.

 

[MatthewTyler]

oh yeah, there was a post on the R board where someone who worked with Jason mentioned some odd things. I can't recall exactly, but when asked about Jason's experience/relationship with his co-worker,s this person said something like "out of respect for Jason and his family, I don't wanna talk about his work experience." Matthew Tyler, do you remember seeing that post? I took it to mean that it was not a positive work environment for Jason.

I vaguely remember that posting. The poster was describing the people who worked there I remember: teenagers working the counter, and older spanish workers in the back kitchen area. Don't recall him saying anything specific about Jason having a hard time there, but it's possible. Fazoli's is always a tempting party to blame in this because of how they changed his schedule and were privy to his whereabouts, but I just can't help but feel that they're just a bunch of teenagers who aren't criminal masterminds. The rumor mill would likely spin quickly if Fazoli's was involved in any way.

 

[Valiant]

I don't think it should be discounted. The way I envision this happening is they are all at home and nobody has arrived to work yet. It was before 11:00 AM. Did Fazoli's serve breakfast? No, I don't think so. If his co-worker was at home and her FWB/boyfriend/whatev was there too and all communications (manager/co-worker/Jason) were naturally done over phone, then the guy would be privy to what was going on. I could easily see some unhinged guy get angry about this. Perhaps this guy is a with a record or is involved in criminal activity. Maybe he remembers Jason from a time he was hanging out at Fazolis and Jason came on to her or the guy perceived him as coming on to her? Maybe it had nothing to do with romantic advances and he saw Jason as an easy mark? Perhaps she left to go to the school and he decided to take matters into his own hands without her even knowing about it. Sadly, pointless acts of violence happen all the time.

I don't think this is what happened; however, Jason's vanishing is one of the most mysterious of all time. It's not that far-fetched tbh.

By the way, when did Fazoli's open for business? 12 noon?

oh yeah, there was a post on the R board where someone who worked with Jason mentioned some odd things. I can't recall exactly, but when asked about Jason's experience/relationship with his co-worker,s this person said something like "out of respect for Jason and his family, I don't wanna talk about his work experience." Matthew Tyler, do you remember seeing that post? I took it to mean that it was not a positive work environment for Jason.

I worked in restaurants that opened at 10:30 AM and we started prep work at 5 AM. I’m sure Fazoli employees were on site several hours before service started.

 

[Gilderoy Lockhart Jr]

ok but has it been verified the co-worker he was supposed to meet was already at work?

 

[Andreee]

ok but has it been verified the co-worker he was supposed to meet was already at work?

That was always what I thought from various writeups. That the female coworker was already at work. I know our longtime poster Tyler here said he reached out to the
coworker via fbk but she did not respond. Which is understandable but sure would luv to hear her take on what may have happened.

 

[Alleykins]

Hm. This gives me pause. I've always assumed the coworker was coming from Fazoli's to pick Jason up, but now that I think back, I can't really recall anything that stated she was coming from work. If someone has a link stating for sure she was coming from Fazoli's, please post it. So now I'm wondering if she were asked to swing by Jason's to pick him up on her way to work. That could be why he had trouble giving directions, because they weren't from Fazoli's to his house, but from her place to his.

 

[studebkr]

Fazoli’s has opened at 10:30 as long as I can remember. I ate there a couple weeks ago.

I would imagine they have one or two peoples start the prep as early as 9AM.

The place is not as busy as pre-Covid. I’m guessing that back, when they were busier they still only staffed 4-5 workers plus the bread stick lady. ;-)

Though I was under the impression the driver was sent from the store, a ride from the Benson area is plausible. I don’t buy the jealous BF thing but anything is possible. Hard to believe she would be able to keep a straight face when interviewed by the police if she knew something.

 

[Sonny Crockett]

Interesting. Since I first heard of this case last year, I always thought that the co-worker arranged to pick up JJ when she was @ the restaurant & drove from there to the H.S. I didn't consider that she may have driven directly from her home to the H.S.

That being said, I don't see that this makes much difference. Whether she drove from her home or from the restaurant, the point is that they were meeting at the H.S. (instead of @ JJ's home) because it was a central location that they were both extremely familiar with. IIRC both had graduated from this H.S. only a couple of years beforehand. The co-worker may have been unfamiliar with JJ's neighborhood & that may have held true whether she was driving from the restaurant or from her home. Again, remember that 2001 was before GPS was extremely prevalent. And, people during that era didn't have I-phones/Smart phones so they could look up directions at the touch of a few buttons, etc.

IMHO I don't see that anyone who worked at the restaurant (or was connected to the restaurant) was/is connected to JJ's disappearance. His going to work early that day was simply because they were short-staffed & needed him for an earlier shift/time. There was obviously nothing odd/nefarious about this. In my late teens, I used to work at a similar restaurant job & being called in early and/or on my day off happened on a semi-regular basis. This occurred because other employees had not come in/had quit/called in sick/etc. This was typical, and was the nature of the business.

Again, IMHO the alleged jealous friend/BF/SO theory isn't extremely plausible due to the timing & the unplanned nature of JJ's work schedule that day (see my earlier post).

 

[Alleykins]

@Sonny Crockett—I don't see how the coworker possibly coming from her home instead of Fazoli's makes much of a difference, either. The possibility may or may not, and I was thinking that same thing—what difference does it make?—even as I wrote my last post. For me, it was just one of those moments that got me to questioning and wondering what else I've assumed in this case, based on what little we know, that I may be wrong about.

 

[ekardh]

Is Jason's case the most baffling disappearance? Surely it's got to be up there?

We all have our theories. I'm 99% convinced it was foul play, but there's no suspect. Not a single name has been put forward as to who could be responsible and how it happened. There weren't any areas on his route where he could realistically have an accident and not be found. A voluntary disappearance doesn't appear likely given the circumstances.

Over two decades without a scintilla of evidence or clues. Will this mystery ever be solved?

 

[Sonny Crockett]

I'm actually 100% convinced that JJ's disappearance was due to foul play in some form. As has been discussed, I don't see any of the other options as being viable or plausible. The obvious question here is who/what/why?! I.e., what were the circumstances & what exactly happened here?! We may never know, unfortunately. Breaking this down, here is my take on this case with percentages. Obviously, this is IMHO only:

-Foul play that was premeditated or possibly spur of the moment - IMHO extremely likely:
99.99%
-Foul play due to botched robbery/assault by stranger/shooting/etc. - extremely unlikely:
.01%

-Suddenly left town & started a new life somewhere, with 0 family contact since 6/2001:
0%
-Accidental demise due to falling into a crevice/gap re: street construction/maintenance:
0%
-Accidental demise due to being hit by a car & removed from the scene:
0%
-Self-inflicted demise:
0%

 

[Andreee]

I think it could still be solved by accident. By a hunter or hiker out in the woods scenario finding JJ. Or hidden in the immediate residential area but IMO more likely in a remote spot out of town. There is still the id to be made of the skull found about a half hr away in a park but thats about all.

 

[Cupofcare]

Just realized the case of Claudia Lawrence ( UK ) reminds me a lot of Jason's case. Claudia's car also broke down forcing her to walk to work ( chef's kitchens)..In Claudia's case it was "3 miles to walk" and she had been walking to & from work that whole week...She had to report to work 6AM...now u can see what happened here...that was really early to walk, probably dark outside, and people would've noticed her walking that route. My guess is it was just a random perp who noticed her pattern of movements & took her..in Jason's case I'm not sure how long he was without a car...this does play an important role, as the longer he was without his car , the more people would've noticed he was gonna walk.