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

[studebkr]

We have three active searches going on in the area for young men who went missing in the last month. Unrelated, but the resources have been focused there. It would not surprise me if Project Jason got involved in Ryan Larsen case.

Papillion, NE (Omaha, suburb) Ryan Larsen search: La Vista community gathers in support

Carter Lake, IA (Omaha suburb) Iowa man missing, last seen in Carter Lake

Montezuma, IA (Few hours from Omaha) Public search for boy scheduled for Sunday

I don't know if any chat boards have been opened on these active cases or not. They sure can use your thoughts and prayers.

 

[dotr]

We have three active searches going on in the area for young men who went missing in the last month. Unrelated, but the resources have been focused there. It would not surprise me if Project Jason got involved in Ryan Larsen case.

Papillion, NE (Omaha, suburb) Ryan Larsen search: La Vista community gathers in support

Carter Lake, IA (Omaha suburb) Iowa man missing, last seen in Carter Lake

Montezuma, IA (Few hours from Omaha) Public search for boy scheduled for Sunday

I don't know if any chat boards have been opened on these active cases or not. They sure can use your thoughts and prayers.

NE - NE - Ryan Larsen, 11, w/ autism, La Vista, 17 May 2021

IA - IA - Xavior Harrelson, 10, Montezuma, 27 May 2021

Just started thread..
IA - IA- Richard Dennis Sutton II, 27, Carter Lake, 28 May 2021

 

[MatthewTyler]

We have three active searches going on in the area for young men who went missing in the last month. Unrelated, but the resources have been focused there. It would not surprise me if Project Jason got involved in Ryan Larsen case.

Papillion, NE (Omaha, suburb) Ryan Larsen search: La Vista community gathers in support

Carter Lake, IA (Omaha suburb) Iowa man missing, last seen in Carter Lake

Montezuma, IA (Few hours from Omaha) Public search for boy scheduled for Sunday

I don't know if any chat boards have been opened on these active cases or not. They sure can use your thoughts and prayers.

Not much info on Richard Sutton, but it's nice to see that the Carter Lake PD actually took a missing adult male case seriously within a reasonable amount of time, and didn't wait 10 days before doing anything. As for other two, it's really quite sad. I don't know the full details of the Ryan Larsen case, but that one seems a little fishy tbh. But that's for another thread. Not sure what's going on in the midwest, but it's definitely concerning.

 

[CountSnap]

I think about Jason's disappearance a lot. It's definitely the most mysterious missing person's case IMO. It's just really unsettling.

I was in Omaha that day, strangely enough. I was in town for the College World Series, which was going on at the time, and was headed home that morning. I was likely flying over whatever happened to Jason as I recall my flight was a late morning one.

If I could solve any unsolved missing persons case, it would be Jason Jolkowski. Whatever happened to him was something extraordinary and awful.

Whoah..... So...... you're telling me, that the College World Series was going on that day? In Omaha?....
Ok. So, a young man, on one of his last days at a job.
The coworker says, "You better be there." For some reason.
And, JJ likes baseball....
Could it be..... JJ says heck with this, college world series is on and skips that work noise to attend that?
HOW, in the world full of skunks and me beautiful bride, did I miss this?


Jun 13, 2001 Omaha, Nebraska Stanford 4, Cal State Fullerton 1


Could that, even be the real reason he wore the Cubs shirt. Maybe he was planning on getting up to the game early, wearing his Cubs shirt and all.
Was planning on saying later to the kind folks at Fazzoli's, "Hey, I was there, she wasn't. Must have just missed eachother. Weird."

Does this put a new spin on things?

 

[CountSnap]

There is a bus stop, very close by to the Jolkowski home.
45 minutes from that area to Rosenblatt Stadium.
Did JJ ever, ever take the bus anywhere? I'm assuming no, but can't say for sure. But, that also of course, begs the question and brings us back to the original question of, did he catch a ride with someone?

 

[ekardh]

Doesn't make sense that Jason would've accepted the shift at Fazoli's if he wanted to watch baseball.

 

[CountSnap]

It doesn't make sense on the face of things.
But, little story; was working at a retail shop years.......... ago, employee was coming down to his last shift. Skipped it. He knew he had to come in. But, no dice on that.
He was twenty.
Other time, a friend of mine was ON HIS WAY into his shift, friend stopped him how cars do in the middle of the road, you know, "How's it going? "Whatcha up to?"
The guy persuaded my friend, on his way in and on the spot, not to go in that day...
I was flabbergasted.
Ever hear the story of the pizza place workers who took off for a fishing trip, the Friday they were supposed to work the Fri-Sat shifts. That's busy time there. (Funny ending - shop owner paid them in pennies as their final payment)
People do wacky stuff all the time..... Alllllllllllllllllllllll the time.
Not saying it makes sense. I'm not saying it's what happened. But, in 3 days it will be twenty years. We're in the world of "doesn't make sense."

 

[Alleykins]

Sorry, I can't remember.
Did Jason have a cell phone but didn't have it on him at the time?
Or did he not have one at all?

 

[ekardh]

Not saying it makes sense. I'm not saying it's what happened. But, in 3 days it will be twenty years. We're in the world of "doesn't make sense."

Of course, but to me that particular idea doesn't ring true, and I doubt it will bring us closer to the truth. Simply my initial impression.

Sadly, unless there's a major breakthrough (e.g. remains found), I don't think this case will ever be cracked. Jason was most likely abducted by a sole perpetrator, who aside from a sudden attack of conscience, will take their secret to the grave. They might have done already for all we know!

 

[CountSnap]

Fair enough. There's ultimately not much of any way we could really look into it anyway.
All it does for me is say, maybe it wasn't someone on the walk to the school.
Maybe he went off somewhere else because he decided not to go in after all.

 

[CountSnap]

Will say this, though, it is incredibly possible this was on his radar. It would have been VERY large news around town.
Maybe Studebrk can confirm, or anyone else who lived in the area at the time:
---> "June 8, 2001: George W. Bush throws out the first pitch at the College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium. “President Bush was the first sitting president to attend the College World Series in 2001"
Also, would have been a lot of people in town who normally weren't. Maybe not in his specific area of Omaha, but who knows.
Now makes me think, on a smaller scale of the likely murder of Joey LaBute.
The Arnold Expo is enormous, tons of people around town who aren't normally there.
I dunno.

 

[Andreee]

Fair enough. There's ultimately not much of any way we could really look into it anyway.
All it does for me is say, maybe it wasn't someone on the walk to the school.
Maybe he went off somewhere else because he decided not to go in after all.

I still would really like to know if his parents had any theories as to what happened to their son. I'm pretty sure they have done interviews in the past, but I just can't recall where and what they said. Did they notice anything at all that might be a clue to anything regarding his disappearance?

 

[MatthewTyler]

There is a memorial event planned for the anniversary on Sunday. Rock painting. It's good to see his story finally made the news again.

Family of Omaha man who disappeared 20 years ago plans memorial event

 

[Andreee]

Will say this, though, it is incredibly possible this was on his radar. It would have been VERY large news around town.
Maybe Studebrk can confirm, or anyone else who lived in the area at the time:
---> "June 8, 2001: George W. Bush throws out the first pitch at the College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium. “President Bush was the first sitting president to attend the College World Series in 2001"
Also, would have been a lot of people in town who normally weren't. Maybe not in his specific area of Omaha, but who knows.
Now makes me think, on a smaller scale of the likely murder of Joey LaBute.
The Arnold Expo is enormous, tons of people around town who aren't normally there.
I dunno.

It did cross my mind when I first read about this big event being in JJ's town, that he might've headed to it. But I just didn't get the sense that he was the type of person to ignore his responsibilities. And being he did arrange to meet the coworker, I think he would've gone with that.

 

[MatthewTyler]

I still would really like to know if his parents had any theories as to what happened to their son. I'm pretty sure they have done interviews in the past, but I just can't recall where and what they said. Did they notice anything at all that might be a clue to anything regarding his disappearance?

I remember a year or 2 ago I saw a post on FB regarding JJ, and someone commented on it who worked with his dad at one point (or maybe still did?) and they said that his dad still holds out hope that he could potentially be alive. But that was a couple years ago.

 

[MatthewTyler]

Also, would have been a lot of people in town who normally weren't. Maybe not in his specific area of Omaha, but who knows.
Now makes me think, on a smaller scale of the likely murder of Joey LaBute.
The Arnold Expo is enormous, tons of people around town who aren't normally there.
I dunno.

This is an interesting point, but personally I feel that the hiding of his body seems to point towards someone local- either with property to hide it on or someone who knows the ins and outs of the area. If Jason was left out on the street then maybe, but a tourist probably wouldn't go through all that trouble in unfamiliar territory. Would they kill him in a hotel room? Personally if I were visiting a new area for some event, killing a random resident wouldn't be the first thing on my list. It might be third or fourth, after I'd have gotten a chance to try the local cuisine first.

 

[Andreee]

I remember a year or 2 ago I saw a post on FB regarding JJ, and someone commented on it who worked with his dad at one point (or maybe still did?) and they said that his dad still holds out hope that he could potentially be alive. But that was a couple years ago.

Thanks, and I do see in your latest posting re. event that the mom says she has no idea why Jason would've gone missing. I imagine a search of his room and computers in the home if there were any was done at the time. I don't think he was a runaway, especially not taking his last paycheque and personal effects with him. I do think it was foul play. JMO. Must be so frustrating for his family.

 

[MatthewTyler]

In regards to Jason potentially blowing off his shift... I still have yet to find anything that definitively states that he was planning on leaving Fazoli's. Assuming that the SITEL job would be Monday to Friday, couldn't Jason still work at the restaurant on weekends? If he was that in need of money then you'd think he'd want to hold on to that job as well, considering that he wasn't balancing work with school at the time.

 

[dotr]

There is a memorial event planned for the anniversary on Sunday. Rock painting. It's good to see his story finally made the news again.

Family of Omaha man who disappeared 20 years ago plans memorial event

From link, thanks..

Family of Omaha man who disappeared 20 years ago plans memorial event

''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.”

 

[morland_cath]

This is an interesting point, but personally I feel that the hiding of his body seems to point towards someone local- either with property to hide it on or someone who knows the ins and outs of the area. If Jason was left out on the street then maybe, but a tourist probably wouldn't go through all that trouble in unfamiliar territory. Would they kill him in a hotel room? Personally if I were visiting a new area for some event, killing a random resident wouldn't be the first thing on my list. It might be third or fourth, after I'd have gotten a chance to try the local cuisine first.

Let's assume that Jason did, in fact, blow off his shift to attend a CWS game (from what I've read seems unlike him, but let's go with it for now). College World Series games at the time would have been held at Rosenblat Stadium. Rosenblat was minutes away from the Missouri River. It's pretty noticeable so you wouldn't have to know the ins and outs to know the river was close by. A tourist who harmed Jason would have had a pretty convenient place to dispose of the body, rather than just leaving him on the street. IIRC (don't quote me on this), that also isn't the best part of town, so it could also be seedy locals who were to blame, not tourists.

Jason wasn't good with directions. Maybe he got turned around after the game was over and found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. There are multiple articles about how human trafficking increases around CWS, but his size probably wouldn't place him as an obvious victim for a crime of opportunity like that. Mugging gone wrong maybe? Hard to say.

I do think it's unlikely that no one would have remembered him, from either the bus or the game itself though. My money is still on him disappearing somewhere in his neighborhood.