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

[Vital Forces]

Furthermore, Jason's car was in the shop because of a hailstorm. We can treat that as a random event.

If someone wanted to abduct Jason, why wait for a random event like that? Why not create the opportunity yourself by sabotaging his car?

So our potential conspirators just happen to have the perfect opportunity and just happen to get their timing perfectly and Jason just happened to not see anything strange in this mystery ride showing up after he had made other plans. Our pizza-serving conspirators managed to pull off the perfect crime without leaving a shred of evidence and then completely stumped both police and private investigations.

 

[Vital Forces]

Devil's Advocate: Person X could have told Jason he would send someone straight to his house and then told investigators that he was to meet his ride at Benson High School.

But that just brings up other problems. Why didn't the brother and/or neighbor see him waiting for this ride or enter the vehicle? Again, why wait for a random event to disable his vehicle instead of sabotaging it yourself?

Was it mentioned anywhere who he spoke to on the phone with was?

 

[Vital Forces]

Interesting.

According to Weather Underground, there was little precipitation in the three weeks prior to his disappearance. Hail typically forms during a thunderstorm. The only day with significant rainfall in the three weeks before his disappearance was May 30, 2001. That must have been the day of the hail damage.

I wonder what day he took it into the shop and how long he was expecting his car to be out.

 

[MatthewTyler]

I think his mom had said that it was the manager on the phone? Not entirely sure though. Also, to answer your other point, it might not have been a stranger that picked him up to go to the high school. What if it was another coworker.. Jason would have likely gotten into the car then and not asked questions. The coworker could have just said "I'm actually going to take you to the restaurant" or something and then just could have abducted him. Another thing too, is that Jason did not immediately start heading over after making the plans. The general account of the story says that he spoke to his work, arranged for the ride, and then "showered and got dressed" to go. That would be at least 10-20 minutes after the phone call, which would be plenty of time for someone to get to his house. And we don't actually even know if he was taken by his house or closer to the school. For all we know, he could have made it a block or so from the school (since we only know he didn't actually make it there) before his abductor got him.

 

[MysteryMaven]

I don't think anyone in Jason's family has anything to do with his disappearance at all. When I brought up his little brother it was just because I would be interested in hearing the day recounted by him. Kids have a different perspective on things and also talk about things with each other that they may not mention to an adult. Such as "Kids are talking about a weird person in the neighborhood who gives people the creeps" kind of stuff. That's all. Wouldn't it be nice to have him jump on with his thoughts.
Yes I too have road blocks when it comes to Jason being set up by Fazoli's. The person who would be intercepting him would have to know his exact route and exactly what time he would be at various points in the route. Also someone may notice Jason getting into a car with someone who could give a description of the car, etc. There is a problem with pretty much every scenario I can think of.

1. Walk Away: extremely unlikely, Jason was starting a new job he was excited about, didn't take anything extra with him, didn't withdraw large amount of money from bank, etc.,
2. Neighbor Predator: Very unusual for a predator to target an adult male. They would run the risk of some other neighbor seeing Jason enter their house too. What if nosey Marge was looking out the window when Bad Guy asks Jason to pop in and help with some task?
3. Hit Run and Hide: Has been discussed here a lot, doesn't click with me as very likely although literally anything is possible
4. Gets Lost: Jason tries to take a shortcut or something, gets lost and....? Is never heard from again or sighted in Omaha? He did have some cognitive difficulty with direction.
5. Random crime of opportunity ending in murder: Someone robs Jason...then makes him get in the car and kills him and disposes of the body. On a summer morning in a nice residential area, just don't see this.

I wish LE would release some new scrap of information. I just wonder if they have made everything they know about Jason's disappearance public or if there is something they are withholding because they think a crime occurred. It's always the exact same info repeated over and over. There doesn't seem to be any local chatter or anything. Maybe no crime took place at all and Jason wandered off.

 

[ekardh]

I wish LE would release some new scrap of information. I just wonder if they have made everything they know about Jason's disappearance public or if there is something they are withholding because they think a crime occurred. It's always the exact same info repeated over and over. There doesn't seem to be any local chatter or anything. Maybe no crime took place at all and Jason wandered off.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was no new information. It's as if Jason simply disappeared into the void.

It's just a such baffling case. In a lot of missing person cases you can always fit some kind of angle to the crime. If it's a young child, it's usually a sexual predator or an accidental death/cover-up by a relative. Young women are often the victims of sexual predators or crimes of passion by an ex-partner, etc. Old/disabled people have been murdered by their carers. People fitting Jason's profile just don't have those same risk factors. And it's not like Jason had any history of criminal activity, gangs, etc. If we're not dealing with a Randy Kraft or John Wayne Gacy type who had a taste for young men, I can't think of what possible motive anyone would have for targetting Jason.

 

[zencompass]

I am thinking of Jason's family today and sending prayers of strength and love.

 

[MatthewTyler]

I wonder if LE ever considered checking the sewer system in the city. I know this might sound strange (and probably doesn't help that I recently saw IT) but could he have been dumped down a drainage pipe? Omaha's sewer system has two separate routes to it, according to the city website: waste gets brought to the treatment plant and rainwater/various debris that goes down storm drains get dumped into the Missouri River. Is it possible that he could have somehow ended up in the River and just never resurfaced? I don't know, but I don't think I've seen anyone say anything about the Missouri River

 

[MysteryMaven]

I wonder if LE ever considered checking the sewer system in the city. I know this might sound strange (and probably doesn't help that I recently saw IT) but could he have been dumped down a drainage pipe? Omaha's sewer system has two separate routes to it, according to the city website: waste gets brought to the treatment plant and rainwater/various debris that goes down storm drains get dumped into the Missouri River. Is it possible that he could have somehow ended up in the River and just never resurfaced? I don't know, but I don't think I've seen anyone say anything about the Missouri River

I wonder if LE ever considered checking the sewer system in the city. I know this might sound strange (and probably doesn't help that I recently saw IT) but could he have been dumped down a drainage pipe? Omaha's sewer system has two separate routes to it, according to the city website: waste gets brought to the treatment plant and rainwater/various debris that goes down storm drains get dumped into the Missouri River. Is it possible that he could have somehow ended up in the River and just never resurfaced? I don't know, but I don't think I've seen anyone say anything about the Missouri River

Anything is possible but I would think a body would surface or be noticed at some point. There was a recent case where a man disappeared while on vacation in Greece. After 12 years his body was found at the botom of a well.
I wonder if Jason is just somewhere like that? Either by accident or foul play.

 

[Vital Forces]

I wonder if LE ever considered checking the sewer system in the city. I know this might sound strange (and probably doesn't help that I recently saw IT) but could he have been dumped down a drainage pipe? Omaha's sewer system has two separate routes to it, according to the city website: waste gets brought to the treatment plant and rainwater/various debris that goes down storm drains get dumped into the Missouri River. Is it possible that he could have somehow ended up in the River and just never resurfaced? I don't know, but I don't think I've seen anyone say anything about the Missouri River

I've also thought about that. It's impossible that he accidentally wound up in the sewer, but the body could have been disposed of via the system. However he met his end, however, I believe his body was buried somewhere remote like in the middle of a forest.

 

[ekardh]

At least in Zebb Quinn's case there was a clear suspect from the start (Owens), and a few other suspects tbh. Apart from the guy whose home was searched, there's no one in Jason's case.

 

[geojeffrey]

At least in Zebb Quinn's case there was a clear suspect from the start (Owens), and a few other suspects tbh. Apart from the guy whose home was searched, there's no one in Jason's case.

Agreed!

And, I really wish we knew more about the person whose home was searched. In my mind, I see the perp as a neighbor that Jason may not have known personally, but who he had seen around the neighborhood enough to be comfortable with. As I said before, perhaps the neighbor aasked for help with the garbage cans or something along those lines…


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[MatthewTyler]

It bothers me to no end that the neighbor whose home was searched was mentioned but never expanded on. Who are they? Why was their home searched? Do they have any history with the Jolkowskis? Was it the same neighbor who saw him take in the trash cans? Jason's mom used to come on here and answer some questions; I wish she still did that.

 

[Jim1981_GR]

The problem is that apparently police investigators haven't searched other homes (apart from this neighbor) from Jason's home up to Benson High School or at least I can't find any information about that. And I cant understand why. Since this kind of fast, sudden and unnoticed disappearance strongly suggests that it occurred inside a house or a vehicle these two possible scenes should be thoroughly investigated. By ignoring the houses they let half part of possible crime scenes pass uninvestigated. I understand that it is extremely difficult to find a vehicle which may have been moved miles away now. But the houses? They stand there, they will always be. Go search them dear police.

 

[MatthewTyler]

The problem is that apparently police investigators haven't searched other homes (apart from this neighbor) from Jason's home up to Benson High School or at least I can't find any information about that. And I cant understand why. Since this kind of fast, sudden and unnoticed disappearance strongly suggests that it occurred inside a house or a vehicle these two possible scenes should be thoroughly investigated. By ignoring the houses they let half part of possible crime scenes pass uninvestigated. I understand that it is extremely difficult to find a vehicle which may have been moved miles away now. But the houses? They stand there, they will always be. Go search them dear police.

The only issue with this is that the police cannot search homes just because they were on the route. They need reasonable suspicion, which is what makes me even more curious about that ONE neighbor whose house was searched. I wonder why they chose them out of everyone. Perhaps it was just that he was the closest house to theirs, and seeing as the Jolkowskis think Jason was taken right off the driveway it would stand to reason that's why he would be suspected. Problem is that we don't know how far Jason actually got, and there are a lot of house that may or may not be have been passed by him that day.

 

[MatthewTyler]

I'm still inclined to believe that Jason was lured into a car. I feel that a house (though not impossible) just seems to get more convoluted and with a much greater risk. A car provides for an easy kill and dump job, as you're able to get further away in a short period of time. It's possible that Jason isn't even buried in Omaha at all. The perp did not know that cops would wait 10 days before starting the investigation, so I'd be willing to bet they wanted to get rid of evidence as quickly as possible. This is easier to do in a car than in a home. I have no doubts that the driver was someone Jason knew, and I really can't rule out a Fazoli's connection somehow.

 

[ekardh]

I'm still inclined to believe that Jason was lured into a car. I feel that a house (though not impossible) just seems to get more convoluted and with a much greater risk. A car provides for an easy kill and dump job, as you're able to get further away in a short period of time. It's possible that Jason isn't even buried in Omaha at all. The perp did not know that cops would wait 10 days before starting the investigation, so I'd be willing to bet they wanted to get rid of evidence as quickly as possible. This is easier to do in a car than in a home. I have no doubts that the driver was someone Jason knew, and I really can't rule out a Fazoli's connection somehow.

Hey Matthew,

I think that's a definite possibility. This wasn't just some random abduction. Jason was a tall, 19 year-old man, not some small kid who could be easily duped and overpowered. I've never ruled out the Fazoli's connection, either. If Jason got into someone's car, then it was most likely with the intention of catching a ride to work. Someone he trusted.

What do you think the motive could be? Do you think this was a sexual predator?

 

[Vital Forces]

The problem is that apparently police investigators haven't searched other homes (apart from this neighbor) from Jason's home up to Benson High School or at least I can't find any information about that. And I cant understand why. Since this kind of fast, sudden and unnoticed disappearance strongly suggests that it occurred inside a house or a vehicle these two possible scenes should be thoroughly investigated. By ignoring the houses they let half part of possible crime scenes pass uninvestigated. I understand that it is extremely difficult to find a vehicle which may have been moved miles away now. But the houses? They stand there, they will always be. Go search them dear police.

There would have to be probable cause and a search warrant signed by a judge for each house.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment IV (1791)

It is disturbing that so many Webslueths users feel that the US Constitution can just be ignored when inconvenient.

 

[Jim1981_GR]

I understand the law and I respect everyone's privacy in their houses. But we're talking about someone's life here. I just have a feeling that police should have done a little more with the investigation of private properties at the time of Jason's disappearance. Back then any possible evidence would be fresh and easily recognizable, such as signs of struggle in the house, drops of blood or pieces of garments on the floor or below a sofa, broken decorative items, footprints or fingerprints and any items that could be connected to Jason. At least couldn't they search the main doors for Jason fingerprints? Anyway, now valuable time has passed. If the perpetrator was any of the neighbors he would have erase any signs of crime in his property until now. That's why it was important to investigate properties when the facts were fresh. I just wonder..if the missing person was the daughter of a prominent politician, business man or celebrity...would they have issued some warrants for a few more houses?

 

[Jim1981_GR]

Jason disappearance must have started either by entering a house or a car. But don't forget that the car poses two great risks for the perpetrator:
1) He (or they) could be stopped by traffic police for a usual check
2) He (or they) could have a car crash (not necessarily serious)

In both cases the risk of someone notices the tall body or the captive person in the car is great (the trunk can be searched by traffic police sometimes). And the longer distance you go with the car the more risk you take of being revealed. Especially during daytime.

In a house the perpetrator just hopes that nobody saw his victim entered. He can hide the body in his cellar or digging a grave on his cellar floor. He is a good and peaceful neighbor who does not raise suspicions. And his property is protected by the law.