In this week's edition of "The Missing," we will be revisiting the mysterious disappearances of Jason "J.J." Jolkowski, a 19-year-old resident of Omaha, Nebraska, who vanished in 2001 and 20-year-old Branson Kayne Perry of Skidmore, Missouri, who also vanished in 2001.
Jason "J.J." Jolkowski
On the morning of June 13, 2001, Jason was called in to work at Fazoli's, a local restaurant at 80th and Cass Streets. Since his car was in the shop for repairs, Jason made arrangements to catch a ride with Teresa Redd, a co-worker at Fazoli's. Jason told Teresa he would meet her at 11:00 a.m. at Benson High School.
After a quick shower and change of clothes, Jason walked out the front door of his family's home at about 10:45 a.m. Jason's 13-year-old brother, Michael, saw Jason dragging the garbage cans back in from the curb before walking away from his N. 48th Street house.
Teresa waited 30 minutes for Jason, but he never showed up at the school. Jason's employer called his house looking for him, but no one had seen Jason since he left earlier that day. Somewhere along the eight-block walk to the school, Jason Jolkowski vanished without a trace.
"No one has seen or heard from Jason since then," Jason's mother, Kelly Jolkowski, wrote in an e-mail. "He has not touched his bank account, used his cell phone, picked up his checks from work, or inquired about or attempted to pick up his car from the body shop."
According to Jason's mother, he had a close relationship with his family and had no reason to run away. The week he disappeared, he was excited about starting a new job and looking forward to going to college. Despite the fact that Kelly does not believe her son ran away, she prefers that scenario to most others.
"We hope that it is just a case of Jason just wanting to get away from life's pressures for a while, as the alternative to that scenario is unbearable to think about," Kelly wrote. "It just seems odd that if he had run away, that at the very least, he would have taken his checkbook or picked up his checks from work. As we have no leads, we are trying to reach every citizen because someone has to have seen him. We love our son and just want him back home with us."
Jason is described as a white male with brown hair and brown eyes. He is 6'1" and weighs 165 lbs. He was last seen wearing a blue Cubs hat and a white Cubs or Sammy Sosa t-shirt, black pants, and black dress shoes.
Following Jason's disappearance, Kelly and her husband founded Project Jason, a nonprofit organization that works to increase public awareness of missing person cases. The organization's Web site can be found at www.projectjason.org.
Anyone with information about this case should contact the Omaha Police Department at 402-444-5818.
