Jason Jolkowski

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All witnesses, suspects, and persons of interest are considered innocent
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until proven guilty in a.
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Court of law. Welcome to Primetime Crime. I'm your host, Kylie.
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Let's talk right now on true crime, and then together,
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we're gonna work on warming up some cold cases.
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Let's go.
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Hey guys, welcome to this week's episode of Primetime Crime.
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It's Kylie.
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We are going to get into a couple of really
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quick little updates right now on true crime-wise before we
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get into... this week's case. So, Lindsay Clancy update. We
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are officially in Verdict Watch. The jury got the case today.
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I'm recording this Thursday. Honestly, just a couple of hours
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before it's released because I wanted to make sure I
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didn't miss any of the latest news.
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The jury officially.
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Has gone home for the night, so court will resume tomorrow,
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and we could very easily have a verdict tomorrow, meaning Friday.
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I really don't know the direction that this one is going.
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I do think it's going to be really hard to
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get all 12 members to agree that Lindsay was suffering
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from postpartum psychosis. I also think that it's going to
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be hard for all of them to say that without
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a reasonable doubt that she is guilty of murder. There
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is a manslaughter charge up on the table. That could
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be a possibility, but I don't know. There's something in
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my gut that tells me that it's going to be
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a hung jury. But stranger things have happened. Stay tuned
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to social media. As soon as there is a verdict,
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I will be sure to post it. But that is
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the latest. In the Jared Brinegan trial against Mario Fernandez-Saldana,
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he has been officially found guilty of his role in
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Jared's death. And that is a charge of first-degree murder
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and solicitation of murder. The jury deliberated a little under
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four hours in Mario's case, so I think they pretty
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quickly came to a decision that he was obviously guilty,
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and his sentencing is scheduled for October 5th. Now, Shana Gardner,
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who was the ex-wife of Jared, is scheduled for her
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trial to start in September. So I am going to
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be following that one, but I think if this one
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is any indication, hopefully... It will go pretty similarly to
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Mario's trial, and we will finally have justice for Jared.
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Because the gunman, the one who is the one who
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carried out the murder of Jared, did take a guilty plea.
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So two down and one to go. I will be
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sure to keep you guys updated on that one. So
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there has been a little bit breaking in the Siders
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family drama out of Ohio. That is the house in
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Ohio where they found the 16 children who were living
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in basically squalor, and the adults in the home were
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taken into custody. That includes a mother, a father, their son,
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and his wife, who allegedly mothered all of these children.
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So there has been a lot of questions about what
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led investigators there in the first place. I heard a
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lot of different rumors about why law enforcement went to
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that home to begin with, because it wasn't to find
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the children.
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They didn't even know the children were there.
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But they were in the process of investigating something else
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when they happened upon the kids. So this something else
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was two men that were connected to the extended Siders family.
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They are named Josh Saunders, who was 23, and Brandon
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Henderson Sr., who was 40. So Josh is Gary Sider Jr.
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's nephew.
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Josh's mother, who is named Virginia Saunders, was formerly Virginia Siders.
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She is Gary Jr.
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's sister.
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So that makes Josh part of the extended family of
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these children who were basically removed from this home. Brandon
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Henderson is Virginia's longtime partner that makes him also part
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of this family circle. So both of these men now
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have been arrested and are facing extremely serious allegations. Josh
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Saunders was indicted on three counts of rape and one
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count of gross sexual imposition. Court records indicate that the
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offenses allegedly happened on January 27th of 2020. Brandon Henderson
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was indicted on 21 charges that include sexual battery, gross
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sexual imposition, and child endangerment. Both men have pled not guilty.
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So in December of 2025, Ohio BCI began investigating allegations
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that two children had been sexually abused. And this investigation
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focused on these two men. While investigators were working on
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that case, they uncovered some information that caused them to
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open another investigation in March of 2026. And that one
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involved Gary Siders Jr. and Elizabeth Siders. They are the
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son and the son's wife of the couple that owned
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this home. So Gary and Elizabeth are now also charged
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with two counts of sexual battery and two counts of
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unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. Prosecutors are saying that
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the alleged victim was more than 10 years younger than
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them and was not one of their immediate children. The
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alleged conduct happened between January and September of 2022. So
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upon investigating all of this, that is how they came
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to go to the Sider's home And that is how
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they found these 16 children who were not really doing
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well physically. They had been living in their own human
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waste and they were severely, severely neglected. Now, interestingly enough,
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despite them finding all that they found, this really wasn't
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the first time that the Siders family had been on
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the radar. In 2020, child service officials reported were involved
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with Gary and Elizabeth over concerns that they were not
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properly addressing some of their children's educational and mental health needs.
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Nine children were part of those cases. There was also
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school issues. In 2021-2022, that school year, six of the
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children were enrolled in school. According to court records, they
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missed every single day up until truancy complaints ended up
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being filed. Then they weren't able to find them. By
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early 2022, the cases were dismissed because they couldn't locate
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Gary and Elizabeth to actually serve them. So this story
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and this case obviously spans a lot of time, a
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lot of years, and there was probably red flags and
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warning signs all around, but Again, it's one of those
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situations where hindsight's 20-20, and once you see the bigger picture,
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you realize it is way more than just the four
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of these people who had all of these kids living
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in this house. This goes way deeper, and there are
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some real sick people out there, and they're all entangled
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in the Siders family, allegedly, at this point in time.
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I'm going to be sure to try to stay on
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top of this one. There is a lot of information
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coming out here. There was even initial reports that people
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thought that maybe Elizabeth herself was being abused. None of
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that has been officially confirmed whatsoever. But there was a
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lot of horrible things going on behind the doors of
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that Ohio home.
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And I'm glad that.
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At least for now, the kids are hopefully safe and
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they are being protected. So we are going to go
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ahead and call that good for right now in true crime.
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And we're going to get into this week's episode. All righty, guys,
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we are getting in to a brand new unsolved case.
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In this week's episode, I'm going to be telling you
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about the baffling disappearance. of 19-year-old Jason Jokowski out of Omaha,
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Nebraska in 2001. He remains missing to this day, and
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his case is referred to by one of the investigating
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officers as the most baffling case he has seen in
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30 years.
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And that is a very bold.
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Statement coming from somebody whose job it is to investigate
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missing persons. So Jason's case is very much that. It
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is very baffling. Jason was just days away from his
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20th birthday, and he just up and vanished. As always,
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I list all of my source material below in the
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show notes, and I'm also going to credit the Unfound podcast.
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They did an interview. with Jason's mom and also covered
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Jason's story. And in the interview, his mom did share
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quite a bit that isn't in other news articles. So
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I did use that as a source for this episode
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as well. And we're going to talk about some other
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things later in the episode that I'm also going to
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give credit to.
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But we are going to.
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Go ahead and get into the episode now. Jason Anthony
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Jokowski was born on June 24th of 1981 in Grand Island, Nebraska,
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to his parents, Jim and Kelly. Jason had a younger
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brother named Michael, who was 12 years old at the
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time of his brother's disappearance, so there was about a
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seven-year age gap between them. Jason lived with his family
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at 48th and Pinconny Street in the Benson neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska.
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The Benson neighborhood is described as a historic neighborhood in
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North Omaha. Jason was described as shy and quiet with
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a small handful of friends. His mom describes him as
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a great kid who didn't really ever cause any trouble.
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Even when he was entering his teenage years, he just
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wasn't the kind of kid that ever really was. went
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through anything where he was not a very nice teenager.
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He was always a really, really good kid. He also
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spent a.
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Now, Jason did have some learning disabilities, which did cause
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him to get bullied in high school. They are described
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by his mom, Kelly, as speech and language-related disabilities. But
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despite these difficulties, Jason went on to eventually get his
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driver's license, and he graduated from high school and enrolled
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in community college as a part-time student. Jason was in
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the radio broadcasting program at Iowa Western Community College, and
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that was located in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Jason's goal was
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to eventually become a full-time radio DJ and work for KIWR,
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which was an alternative rock station in Omaha. When Jason
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was on the radio, he very much came to life,
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and that is really where he was in his element,
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and he truly thrived. On air, he was known by
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the nickname JJ, and despite him being a very shy,
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quiet individual, when he was on the radio, that is
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when he was super in his element. Another thing that
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Jason thrived in was his interest in sports, especially sports trivia.
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He knew everything about everything when it came to sports
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and even thought that if he didn't go into the DJing,
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he would maybe eventually become a sports broadcaster.
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I am now going to insert.
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A clip that Kelly has shared on one of her
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YouTube videos of Jason on the air truly doing what
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he loved to do, which was to be on the radio.
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The River, the new music evolution. My name is JJ.
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We're in the middle of the row.
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We got music coming up from R.E.M., Papa Roach.
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And whatever else you want to hear. Let me know.
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323-4100 or pound for 89.70 at Verizon Wireless Phone. And
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that's how you get it done. That's what makes you
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just a little bit happier. That's why I go all around.
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I just make everybody as happy as I can. There's
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some sick issues with chili peppers.
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So that is Jason truly in his element being on
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the radio and like he said, making people happy and
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bringing people joy. That is what he wanted to do
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and that is what he enjoyed. So Jason's future was
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bright and he was headed in a direction that would
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help fulfill his dreams. In order to help offset some
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expenses of college, he had taken a job at a
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Fazoli's that was located in Omaha. It was located at
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8002 Cass Street. Now, that location of Fazoli's is actually
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still open and operational, which when I initially researched this case,
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I was kind of surprised to find out it was
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still open because I was under the impression that Fazoli's
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was no longer in business.
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I thought they had all closed.
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We had a Fazoli's nearby me and it has been
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gone since I want to say the late 90s, early 2000s.
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So for those that are not familiar, Fazoli's is a
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fast food type of take on Italian. So Jason had
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taken this job at Fazoli's, like I said, to try
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and offset some of the college expenses because college obviously
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is expensive. It was expensive back in 2001 and it's
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even more expensive now. So Jason was doing everything he
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could to try and help pay for college. He had
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also taken another job that he was set to start
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shortly thereafter as well. A job that would offer tuition
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benefits so that he could continue to go through his
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schooling and further his education.
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So that takes us.
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To Wednesday, June 13th of 2001. Jason's car had recently
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had some hail damage, so it was in the process
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of getting fixed at the body shop, which left Jason
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without a car. It was summer, so both of the
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boys were home while their parents were at work. Jason
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was set to work the 5.30 p.m. shift that day
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at Fazoli's, But that morning, Jason received a call from
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his boss asking him if he could come into work
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early due to them being shorthanded. Jason agreed and jumped
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on the opportunity, but knew that he would have to
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try and find a way to get there. He told
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his boss that he would come in, but he would
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have to walk to work, which was about a four
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and a half mile walk. He then got a call
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from his coworker, Teresa, who said that she could leave
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00:14:39.629 --> 00:14:42.000
work for a few minutes and come pick him up.
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00:14:42.580 --> 00:14:46.250
but she didn't know exactly where Jason lived, and Jason
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00:14:46.330 --> 00:14:51.710
wasn't great at giving directions. Also remember, this was pre-GPS days,
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00:14:51.929 --> 00:14:54.909
so looking up an address wasn't as easy as it
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00:14:55.009 --> 00:14:58.649
is now. So Jason had told Teresa that they should
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00:14:58.710 --> 00:15:02.500
meet at Benson High School around 11 a.m. so she
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00:15:02.539 --> 00:15:05.820
could pick him up and they could go to work together. Now,
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00:15:05.919 --> 00:15:09.870
Benson High School was where Jason had graduated from, and
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00:15:10.019 --> 00:15:13.210
it was also a location that Teresa was familiar with
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00:15:13.269 --> 00:15:17.169
because she had also graduated from there. Jason told his
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00:15:17.210 --> 00:15:20.649
brother Michael goodbye and to let their parents know that
254
00:15:20.730 --> 00:15:23.429
he was going into work early and would need one
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00:15:23.450 --> 00:15:28.149
of them to pick him up later. Then at 10.45 a.m.,
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00:15:28.509 --> 00:15:31.669
Jason walked out the door. He then went to the
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00:15:31.740 --> 00:15:34.440
curb and brought the trash bins up from the curb
258
00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:38.460
to the garage. Michael heard him outside pulling the cans
259
00:15:38.700 --> 00:15:41.639
up and looked out the window to see what was
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00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:44.720
going on. And that was the last time that Michael
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00:15:44.899 --> 00:15:48.840
ever saw his big brother again. Then Jason started on
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00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:51.980
his trek to the high school, which was about a
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00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:56.210
10-minute walk and only eight short blocks away. And just
264
00:15:56.259 --> 00:16:01.779
like that, Jason vanished into literal thin air. Jason had
265
00:16:01.899 --> 00:16:05.710
about $ 60 on him when he left. In his mind,
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00:16:05.909 --> 00:16:08.669
he was going to walk to the high school, grab
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00:16:08.809 --> 00:16:11.570
a quick ride to work, and then work his shift
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00:16:11.669 --> 00:16:16.409
at Bizzoli's. But unfortunately, he never arrived at that high school.
269
00:16:17.210 --> 00:16:22.299
No neighbors saw anything suspicious. But by 1130, Teresa had
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00:16:22.379 --> 00:16:25.360
waited for Jason at the high school for a while.
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00:16:26.090 --> 00:16:29.500
But after he didn't arrive, she made a phone call
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00:16:29.659 --> 00:16:32.899
using a payphone across the street to the restaurant to
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00:16:32.980 --> 00:16:36.960
see what exactly she should do. She ultimately ended up
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00:16:37.019 --> 00:16:41.139
returning to the Fazoli's and called the Jolkowski home looking
275
00:16:41.179 --> 00:16:44.809
for Jason, but of course he wasn't there. Michael said
276
00:16:44.950 --> 00:16:48.289
he had left around 11.45 in order to walk to
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00:16:48.309 --> 00:16:52.470
the high school. They ended up checking with Jason's parents,
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00:16:52.570 --> 00:16:55.740
Jim and Kelly. but they said they hadn't heard anything
279
00:16:55.799 --> 00:16:59.970
from Jason, but they wouldn't have expected to. They both
280
00:17:00.019 --> 00:17:03.269
work jobs where they couldn't take calls during the day,
281
00:17:03.450 --> 00:17:06.789
and it wasn't common for Jason or Michael to call
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00:17:06.829 --> 00:17:10.589
their parents at work. So this was not unusual in
283
00:17:10.769 --> 00:17:13.890
any way, shape, or form, especially in the summer, for
284
00:17:14.109 --> 00:17:17.450
them not to have contact with their parents during the workday.
285
00:17:18.089 --> 00:17:20.609
As the day turned to night, it was apparent that
286
00:17:20.730 --> 00:17:25.269
something was seriously wrong. Jason's parents reported him missing to
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00:17:25.309 --> 00:17:30.609
the Omaha Police Department the next morning. And in typical fashion, unfortunately,
288
00:17:30.710 --> 00:17:34.089
his parents were told that given his age, he was
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00:17:34.210 --> 00:17:38.440
probably just a runaway and would turn up. Although this
290
00:17:38.500 --> 00:17:41.599
was very out of character for Jason, he was very
291
00:17:41.660 --> 00:17:44.480
reliable at work and he was very close.
292
00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:45.039
With his family.
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00:17:45.740 --> 00:17:49.680
Running away didn't exactly fit in with who Jason was.
294
00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:53.299
This was somebody who was making plans for his future
295
00:17:53.619 --> 00:17:57.119
and working hard to try and support the education that
296
00:17:57.220 --> 00:18:00.500
he wanted to get in order to achieve the goals
297
00:18:00.539 --> 00:18:03.859
that he wanted. Now, I'm going to throw it way
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00:18:03.900 --> 00:18:07.400
back to one of the very first episodes I did
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00:18:07.559 --> 00:18:11.769
about Allie Lowitzer. Her parents were told the exact same
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00:18:11.849 --> 00:18:16.390
thing when she went missing in 2010. Law enforcement told
301
00:18:16.450 --> 00:18:20.369
them that they just needed to let them know when
302
00:18:20.450 --> 00:18:23.329
she came back. And this was a girl who was
303
00:18:23.410 --> 00:18:27.480
in constant communication with her friends and family. And it's
304
00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:31.480
been 16 years since she went missing, and she has
305
00:18:31.569 --> 00:18:35.369
not come back because she was not a runaway. And
306
00:18:35.549 --> 00:18:39.190
that is the same in Jason's case. Both of these cases,
307
00:18:39.349 --> 00:18:43.029
although they are miles and miles and miles apart, one
308
00:18:43.069 --> 00:18:48.529
in Texas, one in Omaha, Nebraska, they're treated pretty much identically.
309
00:18:48.930 --> 00:18:51.210
And here is where I have to push back on
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00:18:51.230 --> 00:18:54.130
the police department a little bit. Because we all know
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00:18:54.150 --> 00:18:57.619
the first hours of a missing persons case are the
312
00:18:57.680 --> 00:18:58.519
most important.
313
00:18:59.099 --> 00:18:59.640
And when it's.
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00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:04.980
Approached as just a runaway, we lose valuable time. When
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00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:09.259
families report their loved one missing, they need to listen,
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00:19:09.660 --> 00:19:12.220
they need to respect, and they need to follow through
317
00:19:12.339 --> 00:19:15.069
on it. The worst that could happen is that a
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00:19:15.170 --> 00:19:19.759
child or a missing adult returns home safely because everything
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00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:21.579
was done to find them.
320
00:19:22.099 --> 00:19:24.000
That is of the utmost importance.
321
00:19:24.220 --> 00:19:29.960
And honestly, even if somebody does run away voluntarily, they
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00:19:30.029 --> 00:19:32.809
could still be in major danger. And I think that
323
00:19:32.849 --> 00:19:36.289
that needs to be taken seriously, especially when it's somebody
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00:19:36.329 --> 00:19:42.160
who's younger. So Jason left home wearing black pants that
325
00:19:42.200 --> 00:19:45.940
were part of his work uniform, black dress shoes, a
326
00:19:46.019 --> 00:19:47.759
Chicago Cubs t-shirt.
327
00:19:48.180 --> 00:19:49.420
And a blue baseball cap.
328
00:19:50.059 --> 00:19:52.950
Now, there are some sources that say the t-shirt he
329
00:19:52.970 --> 00:19:56.049
was wearing was a Sammy Sosa shirt, and he was
330
00:19:56.170 --> 00:20:01.000
also carrying his red Fazoli's work shirt. So it also
331
00:20:01.079 --> 00:20:03.500
doesn't make a whole lot of sense if Jason were
332
00:20:03.559 --> 00:20:05.720
to run away that A, he would do it with
333
00:20:05.720 --> 00:20:09.059
$ 60 in his pocket and B, that he would do
334
00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:12.410
it in his work pants and his work shoes that
335
00:20:12.470 --> 00:20:16.470
were probably not the most super comfortable pants and shoes
336
00:20:16.769 --> 00:20:21.769
to be wearing. So there really wasn't any investigation into
337
00:20:21.829 --> 00:20:27.170
Jason's disappearance for the first 10 days. And yes, 10
338
00:20:27.170 --> 00:20:31.119
days is what I said. Law enforcement didn't talk to neighbors.
339
00:20:31.319 --> 00:20:33.900
They didn't talk to coworkers. They didn't try and sort
340
00:20:33.960 --> 00:20:38.329
out what happened. They didn't retrace Jason's steps. After those
341
00:20:38.329 --> 00:20:42.670
10 days passed, they realized that maybe Jason didn't disappear
342
00:20:42.829 --> 00:20:46.009
on his own, and they started to officially search for him.
343
00:20:46.619 --> 00:20:51.539
But unfortunately, they had lost 10 days of very valuable time.
344
00:20:52.259 --> 00:20:54.660
There were no photos that had been put out to
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00:20:54.680 --> 00:20:59.079
the public of Jason missing. if somebody had seen something
346
00:20:59.690 --> 00:21:03.650
they were now having basically trying to backtrack, trying to
347
00:21:03.690 --> 00:21:06.529
figure out what could have happened to Jason. It is
348
00:21:06.569 --> 00:21:10.140
really difficult to backtrack 10 days after the fact, looking
349
00:21:10.200 --> 00:21:13.299
for somebody that might have seen something on an ordinary
350
00:21:13.400 --> 00:21:18.619
Wednesday morning, not realizing that they saw something. Whereas if
351
00:21:18.660 --> 00:21:22.279
there had been a photo of Jason put out right
352
00:21:22.420 --> 00:21:25.529
as soon as he disappeared, somebody might have realized, oh,
353
00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:29.970
I saw something Wednesday morning on my commute to go
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00:21:29.990 --> 00:21:33.069
get lunch or my commute to the doctor's office. But
355
00:21:33.130 --> 00:21:37.529
that unfortunately didn't happen because law enforcement waited such a
356
00:21:37.569 --> 00:21:42.380
long time. Law enforcement retraced Jason's path as well from
357
00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:45.319
the home to the high school. Now, in order to
358
00:21:45.359 --> 00:21:47.700
get to the high school, Jason would have had to
359
00:21:47.880 --> 00:21:51.059
also pass by a middle school. The high school and
360
00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:55.529
middle school as well did have cameras, but Jason was
361
00:21:55.609 --> 00:22:00.690
captured on neither one. meaning that he disappeared somewhere before
362
00:22:00.809 --> 00:22:04.019
he passed by the middle school, which did very much
363
00:22:04.119 --> 00:22:09.160
narrow down the window. But unfortunately, it was 2001. So
364
00:22:09.319 --> 00:22:13.960
that was the extent of the cameras. And these were
365
00:22:14.039 --> 00:22:16.680
streets that Jason was very familiar with.
366
00:22:17.180 --> 00:22:19.029
He walked that path.
367
00:22:18.750 --> 00:22:21.849
From his home to the middle school and high school
368
00:22:22.470 --> 00:22:26.589
so many different times in his years of living there.
369
00:22:27.130 --> 00:22:31.680
But unfortunately, this time was different. It now seemed obvious
370
00:22:31.799 --> 00:22:35.640
that Jason had to have encountered someone along the way
371
00:22:35.859 --> 00:22:41.440
with not-so-great intentions. Although Jason was 19 years old, he
372
00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:45.140
was 6'1, he was a grown adult, he was only
373
00:22:45.140 --> 00:22:50.130
165 pounds, and his mom does describe him as very
374
00:22:50.210 --> 00:22:53.690
trusting and gullible. So it wouldn't be out of the
375
00:22:53.750 --> 00:22:57.160
realm of possibility for him to trust the intentions of
376
00:22:57.200 --> 00:23:00.859
a random stranger. He has always been described as a
377
00:23:00.920 --> 00:23:04.849
very nice guy who doesn't like conflict. And he's the
378
00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:09.109
type of guy who just flies under the radar. Jason's mom, Kelly,
379
00:23:09.190 --> 00:23:12.460
describes their neighborhood differently. and the general area that they
380
00:23:12.539 --> 00:23:16.920
lived as a neighborhood with very well-established homes and well-taken
381
00:23:16.980 --> 00:23:20.380
care of homes. But if you went in three, four,
382
00:23:20.460 --> 00:23:23.750
or five blocks in either direction, there were areas that
383
00:23:23.789 --> 00:23:27.710
had started to kind of decline. And about a mile away,
384
00:23:27.950 --> 00:23:30.650
there was an area that had started to get taken
385
00:23:30.789 --> 00:23:34.910
over by gang activity. But the route that Jason would
386
00:23:35.009 --> 00:23:37.430
have walked to get to the high school was.
387
00:23:37.369 --> 00:23:38.529
A very safe route.
388
00:23:39.150 --> 00:23:42.680
And she said in the interview with the Unfound podcast
389
00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:45.680
that she would even feel safe walking that way in
390
00:23:45.720 --> 00:23:50.039
the daytime by herself. So with everything going on with this,
391
00:23:50.180 --> 00:23:53.440
law enforcement had little to go off of. They did
392
00:23:53.619 --> 00:23:57.819
look into some nearby local sex offenders, and there was
393
00:23:57.920 --> 00:24:01.640
actually quite a few living in the area. And there
394
00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:04.359
was one that lived right across the street from the
395
00:24:04.420 --> 00:24:07.390
small neighborhood park that Jason would have had to cross
396
00:24:07.450 --> 00:24:09.890
by on his path on his way to the high school.
397
00:24:10.690 --> 00:24:13.890
They also checked into an older male that was at
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00:24:13.950 --> 00:24:18.049
Jason's previous job. He would often befriend and invite young
399
00:24:18.089 --> 00:24:21.490
males to his home. But this individual who has not
400
00:24:21.539 --> 00:24:24.279
been named that I am aware of has been cleared
401
00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:28.220
and they didn't find anything suspicious with him. They talked
402
00:24:28.299 --> 00:24:31.049
to all of the people in Jason's life. They talked
403
00:24:31.130 --> 00:24:33.839
to the people that he worked with at the restaurant.
404
00:24:34.359 --> 00:24:36.920
And nothing ever came of any of that. I also
405
00:24:36.980 --> 00:24:41.160
do want to be clear that Teresa, the co-worker who
406
00:24:41.400 --> 00:24:44.230
came to pick up Jason that day, was also talked
407
00:24:44.269 --> 00:24:45.049
to and cleared.
408
00:24:45.549 --> 00:24:47.809
She was young. She was a teenager as well.
409
00:24:48.289 --> 00:24:52.670
So she was thrust into this story.
410
00:24:52.529 --> 00:24:54.009
Just as much as Jason was.
411
00:24:54.130 --> 00:24:57.670
But she was cleared and she did exactly what she
412
00:24:57.710 --> 00:25:00.140
should have done. She got a hold of the restaurant.
413
00:25:00.299 --> 00:25:04.269
She ended up leaving, going back. She called Jason's home,
414
00:25:04.549 --> 00:25:09.339
and then from there, everything kind of snowballed into him
415
00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:13.039
being reported missing. So she did everything right in this scenario.
416
00:25:13.480 --> 00:25:17.519
So in Jason's case, there literally has been no suspects
417
00:25:17.779 --> 00:25:23.019
and no leads, nothing since 2001. Kelly talks about her
418
00:25:23.079 --> 00:25:26.089
mother's intuition and said that she's never really had a
419
00:25:26.160 --> 00:25:29.900
strong feeling either way about what happened to Jason. She's
420
00:25:29.940 --> 00:25:33.089
never really felt strongly about if Jason is out there
421
00:25:33.160 --> 00:25:37.369
still alive or not, but also said that very much
422
00:25:37.490 --> 00:25:40.369
could be a way of her just protecting herself from
423
00:25:40.430 --> 00:25:43.549
the feelings that go along with it. And I imagine
424
00:25:43.690 --> 00:25:45.789
it has to be so hard to let your mind
425
00:25:45.849 --> 00:25:46.269
go there.
426
00:25:46.849 --> 00:25:49.210
That is her child, her oldest son.
427
00:25:49.230 --> 00:25:52.869
And the not knowing, I think, has to be the
428
00:25:52.990 --> 00:25:55.809
hardest part of it all. And the fact that their
429
00:25:55.849 --> 00:25:58.970
family isn't whole anymore because Jason is gone and they
430
00:25:59.049 --> 00:26:03.630
still don't have answers. So unfortunately, that is where Jason's
431
00:26:03.690 --> 00:26:06.900
case stands. There is an age progressed photo that I
432
00:26:06.940 --> 00:26:09.799
will be sharing on social media. So please do me
433
00:26:09.839 --> 00:26:12.930
a favor and give it a look and also share it.
434
00:26:13.519 --> 00:26:16.740
It takes less than five seconds to share a social
435
00:26:16.779 --> 00:26:21.029
media post, especially an age progressed photo of somebody who's
436
00:26:21.049 --> 00:26:24.630
been missing for a long time. It takes no time
437
00:26:24.670 --> 00:26:27.470
at all to hit the share button and post it
438
00:26:27.490 --> 00:26:28.509
to your social media.
439
00:26:28.829 --> 00:26:29.890
It takes no time at all.
440
00:26:30.410 --> 00:26:32.900
And you really never know who's going to stumble across
441
00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:36.359
an image that could lead to a break in this case.
442
00:26:37.150 --> 00:26:40.609
So like so many other of the cases and stories
443
00:26:40.750 --> 00:26:43.109
I cover, the families who are left to pick up
444
00:26:43.150 --> 00:26:47.289
the pieces after a disappearance like this use what they
445
00:26:47.329 --> 00:26:51.220
have gone through to turn their tragedy into purpose. And
446
00:26:51.259 --> 00:26:54.240
that is exactly what Kelly has done. She started her
447
00:26:54.400 --> 00:26:57.980
advocacy with getting a law passed in Nebraska to set
448
00:26:58.180 --> 00:27:02.099
up a state database of missing persons. It passed officially
449
00:27:02.200 --> 00:27:06.380
in 2005, and they called it Jason's Law. Kelly also
450
00:27:06.460 --> 00:27:10.880
started Project Jason in honor of her son in 2003. Now,
451
00:27:10.940 --> 00:27:13.789
I'm going to read this directly from the description of
452
00:27:13.890 --> 00:27:19.069
what Project Jason is. Project Jason, founded in 2003, is
453
00:27:19.109 --> 00:27:23.750
a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting families of missing persons.
454
00:27:24.309 --> 00:27:28.519
The organization offers tactical guidance, emotional support, and hope for
455
00:27:28.579 --> 00:27:32.750
families continuing their search for answers. The families working with
456
00:27:32.809 --> 00:27:36.779
Project Jason benefit from increased public awareness of their missing
457
00:27:36.819 --> 00:27:40.579
loved ones through a variety of outreach and educational activities.
458
00:27:41.319 --> 00:27:45.220
The families are also guided towards existing resources available to
459
00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:49.160
help with their efforts. And this is about Project Jason.
460
00:27:49.769 --> 00:27:54.970
Project Jason is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and was established
461
00:27:55.069 --> 00:28:00.339
on October 6th of 2003. Our organization primarily focuses on
462
00:28:00.500 --> 00:28:04.319
case assessment, resources, and support for families of the missing.
463
00:28:04.900 --> 00:28:08.529
We are not an investigative agency, nor do we perform searches.
464
00:28:08.920 --> 00:28:12.730
We offer services we are trained to provide. Kelly Murphy,
465
00:28:12.910 --> 00:28:16.869
mother of missing son Jason Jolkowski, handles all interactions with
466
00:28:16.910 --> 00:28:21.019
family members and has over 100 hours of professional training
467
00:28:21.140 --> 00:28:26.599
in various aspects of missing persons, including emotional support, understanding
468
00:28:26.660 --> 00:28:33.069
of DNA, support tools, databases, related matters, case management, media interaction.
469
00:28:33.230 --> 00:28:35.930
And more. All of her services are free.
470
00:28:36.599 --> 00:28:40.480
As a nonprofit organization, we depend on the generosity of
471
00:28:40.519 --> 00:28:43.089
the public to support us so that we can continue
472
00:28:43.140 --> 00:28:47.130
this very important work. We ask that this support comes
473
00:28:47.190 --> 00:28:50.230
from other members of the community rather than the families
474
00:28:50.289 --> 00:28:54.130
of the missing. And this is a message from Kelly,
475
00:28:54.170 --> 00:28:58.559
the president and the founder of Project Jason. Before June
476
00:28:58.619 --> 00:29:01.859
13th of 2001, we were just an ordinary family living
477
00:29:01.940 --> 00:29:05.569
a peaceful, happy existence. My husband Jim and I worked
478
00:29:05.609 --> 00:29:08.750
outside of the home, spent time with our two wonderful sons,
479
00:29:09.289 --> 00:29:12.730
attended Mass every Sunday, and enjoyed the company of family
480
00:29:12.769 --> 00:29:17.349
and friends. On that fateful Wednesday, our lives changed forever.
481
00:29:17.569 --> 00:29:20.640
Our family unit was brutally ripped apart when our oldest
482
00:29:20.680 --> 00:29:25.259
son Jason, then age 19, disappeared without a trace.
483
00:29:24.980 --> 00:29:25.819
From our driveway.
484
00:29:26.599 --> 00:29:29.299
His younger brother, Michael, was the last to see him
485
00:29:29.480 --> 00:29:32.619
dragging our trash cans up from the curb while waiting
486
00:29:32.700 --> 00:29:36.210
for a carpool ride for his part-time job. No clues
487
00:29:36.309 --> 00:29:39.250
about Jason's disappearance have been found to this day and
488
00:29:39.309 --> 00:29:41.980
circumstances remain. do not point to him being a runaway.
489
00:29:42.759 --> 00:29:45.059
Words cannot describe what it is like to have a
490
00:29:45.099 --> 00:29:48.660
loved one disappear. We are not allowed a goodbye or
491
00:29:48.789 --> 00:29:52.509
one last hug. We receive no phone calls or or letters.
492
00:29:52.950 --> 00:29:55.849
We long to hear Jason's voice and know that he
493
00:29:55.930 --> 00:29:59.049
is doing well, but have only the endless grief of
494
00:29:59.150 --> 00:30:02.799
not knowing. The seasons come and go, oblivious to our
495
00:30:02.859 --> 00:30:07.319
constant pain. When icy winter covers the ground with its beautiful,
496
00:30:07.640 --> 00:30:10.539
deadly blanket of snow, we can't help but long to
497
00:30:10.619 --> 00:30:13.579
find out if he is safe and warm, yet we
498
00:30:13.640 --> 00:30:16.839
are not allowed to know. Our faith in God helps
499
00:30:16.940 --> 00:30:19.359
us hope that he is safe and well and lets
500
00:30:19.440 --> 00:30:22.480
us know that we will see him again someday. We
501
00:30:22.519 --> 00:30:24.960
choose to go on with our lives while striving to
502
00:30:25.019 --> 00:30:28.380
fulfill God's plan for our family. When we were not
503
00:30:28.519 --> 00:30:31.119
able to locate our son, we felt that God was
504
00:30:31.200 --> 00:30:34.619
calling us to help other families find missing loved ones and.
505
00:30:34.599 --> 00:30:35.920
Cope with their disappearance.
506
00:30:36.660 --> 00:30:39.339
Although we will never give up hope that Jason will
507
00:30:39.380 --> 00:30:43.289
be found or come home, we must move forward. Along
508
00:30:43.329 --> 00:30:46.519
the way, we have performed other tasks to fulfill our mission.
509
00:30:47.279 --> 00:30:51.460
After doing much research, we discovered that unlike many other states,
510
00:30:51.519 --> 00:30:56.220
Nebraska currently had no true clearinghouse to provide information about
511
00:30:56.279 --> 00:31:03.029
missing persons. Therefore, we presented LB111, Jason's Law, to the
512
00:31:03.069 --> 00:31:07.289
State Judiciary Committee. On National Missing Children's Day, May 25, 2005,
513
00:31:07.269 --> 00:31:12.869
Jason's Law was passed. It allows for the creation of
514
00:31:12.930 --> 00:31:18.089
a state missing persons clearinghouse to gather and disseminate information
515
00:31:18.190 --> 00:31:21.869
about missing persons of all ages. Jason's Law and its
516
00:31:21.910 --> 00:31:27.200
benefits began on September 3rd of 2005. Project Jason, founded
517
00:31:27.299 --> 00:31:31.019
on October 6th of 2003, continues on its mission to
518
00:31:31.059 --> 00:31:34.490
help locate missing people long after the law was enacted.
519
00:31:34.809 --> 00:31:39.119
The Project Jason mission statement is as follows. Our mission
520
00:31:39.319 --> 00:31:43.019
as a nonprofit organization is to create and increase public
521
00:31:43.059 --> 00:31:46.259
awareness of missing people through a variety of outreach and
522
00:31:46.380 --> 00:31:51.180
educational activities. Project Jason seeks to bring hope and assistance
523
00:31:51.240 --> 00:31:54.880
to families of the missing by providing resources and support.
524
00:31:55.460 --> 00:31:59.069
Our motto, all missing persons are loved by someone and
525
00:31:59.109 --> 00:32:02.029
their families deserve to find the answers they seek in
526
00:32:02.089 --> 00:32:03.650
regards to their disappearance.
527
00:32:04.470 --> 00:32:04.990
Our creed.
528
00:32:05.579 --> 00:32:08.240
We are the voice for the missing, speaking for those
529
00:32:08.359 --> 00:32:10.819
who are not among us but who are forever in
530
00:32:10.900 --> 00:32:14.799
our hearts. The cause of finding the missing sometimes seems
531
00:32:14.920 --> 00:32:18.569
to fall between the cracks of society's sidewalk. Having a
532
00:32:18.630 --> 00:32:23.190
family member or close friend inexplicably disappear does not happen
533
00:32:23.230 --> 00:32:26.430
to everyone, yet it happens more often than you would think.
534
00:32:27.089 --> 00:32:30.200
There are no boundaries of age or circumstance to prevent
535
00:32:30.359 --> 00:32:33.839
any family from suffering this fate. We never dreamed that
536
00:32:33.900 --> 00:32:36.539
we would become such a family, but here we are.
537
00:32:37.259 --> 00:32:39.299
In the U.S., there are over 105,000 active missing persons
538
00:32:39.359 --> 00:32:45.829
cases altogether. All of their families deserve help in facing
539
00:32:45.869 --> 00:32:49.630
the tragedy of a loved one's disappearance. With your assistance,
540
00:32:49.890 --> 00:32:53.210
Project Jason can play an active role in providing them
541
00:32:53.269 --> 00:32:57.599
with comfort, assistance, and resources while educating the public and
542
00:32:57.700 --> 00:33:02.059
increasing awareness of missing persons cases. Take a moment and
543
00:33:02.099 --> 00:33:04.619
try and put yourself in the place of these families.
544
00:33:05.119 --> 00:33:08.000
Please open your hearts to help us help them. Thank
545
00:33:08.019 --> 00:33:11.549
you for your support and generosity. And I just think
546
00:33:11.670 --> 00:33:12.609
all of that is.
547
00:33:12.670 --> 00:33:16.710
So well worded the way that it is described.
548
00:33:16.869 --> 00:33:21.630
You are thrust into this situation and before you know it,
549
00:33:21.819 --> 00:33:24.700
you have a missing loved one and you never thought
550
00:33:24.720 --> 00:33:27.079
it would happen to you. But it happens a lot
551
00:33:27.180 --> 00:33:31.500
more than you think. So Kelly did retire from Project
552
00:33:31.539 --> 00:33:36.220
Jason in 2018, but Jason's whole family still fights for
553
00:33:36.369 --> 00:33:40.670
answers and remembers Jason for who he was and all
554
00:33:40.710 --> 00:33:44.269
that he was to them and their family. They rely
555
00:33:44.470 --> 00:33:46.809
on their faith in God to help them navigate the
556
00:33:46.910 --> 00:33:50.599
journey of missing Jason and hoping that one day they
557
00:33:50.640 --> 00:33:54.650
will all be reunited again. I also do want to
558
00:33:54.690 --> 00:33:57.470
shout out my friend Megan from A Simpler Time True
559
00:33:57.490 --> 00:34:00.720
Crime Podcast. She also covered Jason's case.
560
00:34:01.460 --> 00:34:02.299
And in her.
561
00:34:02.220 --> 00:34:06.339
Episode, she talks about a YouTube video where the gal
562
00:34:06.380 --> 00:34:11.050
basically walks you through Jason's path that day. And I'm
563
00:34:11.110 --> 00:34:14.010
such a visual person that this helped me a lot
564
00:34:14.329 --> 00:34:17.969
kind of understand what the town that Jason was walking
565
00:34:17.989 --> 00:34:21.389
through looked like and the path that he took to
566
00:34:21.429 --> 00:34:23.760
get to the high school in order to catch the
567
00:34:23.800 --> 00:34:27.960
ride to Fazoli's. Now, I am going to link that
568
00:34:28.039 --> 00:34:30.840
below in the show notes. It's about a 10-minute walk,
569
00:34:30.940 --> 00:34:33.539
and she tells you the story about Jason as she
570
00:34:33.659 --> 00:34:38.090
is taking the path from Jason's home to the high school.
571
00:34:38.989 --> 00:34:42.110
And keep in mind that when Jason made this walk,
572
00:34:42.369 --> 00:34:45.329
it was broad daylight, about 11 o'clock in the morning.
573
00:34:46.050 --> 00:34:49.889
The video is from a creator called True Crime Treadmill,
574
00:34:50.760 --> 00:34:53.039
and I thought it was really well done. So I'm
575
00:34:53.059 --> 00:34:56.230
going to link that below as well. Jason's case is
576
00:34:56.349 --> 00:35:00.989
still an open investigation. Although it is baffling, I really
577
00:35:01.070 --> 00:35:04.869
truly do believe that someone out there knows something. And
578
00:35:04.909 --> 00:35:08.260
that is why sharing these stories are so, so important.
579
00:35:08.719 --> 00:35:12.079
Somebody had to have seen something that day. Whether or
580
00:35:12.139 --> 00:35:15.380
not they realize it, they had to have seen something
581
00:35:15.679 --> 00:35:19.460
in Jason's path. They had to have seen something. So
582
00:35:19.539 --> 00:35:22.480
if you happen to be in the area that day
583
00:35:22.679 --> 00:35:27.269
on June in 2001, it was a Wednesday, and saw something,
584
00:35:27.769 --> 00:35:30.670
now is the time to come forward. It's never too
585
00:35:30.710 --> 00:35:33.630
late to do the right thing and share what you know.
586
00:35:34.369 --> 00:35:37.280
If you do have any tips, please contact the Omaha
587
00:35:37.320 --> 00:35:44.480
Police Department at 402-444-5657. Thank you guys so much for
588
00:35:44.539 --> 00:35:47.480
tuning in and listening to Jason's story today. I think
589
00:35:47.519 --> 00:35:51.219
it's a very important one to tell. And another example
590
00:35:51.420 --> 00:35:54.949
of somebody that literally did just vanish into thin air.
591
00:35:55.429 --> 00:35:58.750
But there is and has to be answers out there
592
00:35:58.909 --> 00:36:02.730
to what happened to Jason. And I'm hopeful that the
593
00:36:02.789 --> 00:36:06.929
more his story is shared, hopefully there will be somebody
594
00:36:06.969 --> 00:36:10.860
that comes forward with information that could literally break the
595
00:36:10.920 --> 00:36:15.710
case wide open. So thank you guys. Jason, I know,
596
00:36:16.190 --> 00:36:19.170
had a bright future ahead of him. He had so
597
00:36:19.190 --> 00:36:22.059
many plans for his future. And I truly do not
598
00:36:22.099 --> 00:36:25.440
believe that he willingly disappeared on his own, that that
599
00:36:25.480 --> 00:36:28.219
was a plan that he had. It doesn't make any
600
00:36:28.280 --> 00:36:31.349
sense to me whatsoever. He was very close to his family.
601
00:36:32.010 --> 00:36:36.769
So I personally think that the runaway claim is just
602
00:36:37.010 --> 00:36:40.469
unfound and it doesn't really make any sense in the
603
00:36:40.510 --> 00:36:43.409
grand scheme of the investigation. So I hope you guys
604
00:36:43.469 --> 00:36:46.440
will take a minute to look at Jason's age progress
605
00:36:46.480 --> 00:36:49.760
photo and please share it. Like I said, you never know.
606
00:36:50.460 --> 00:36:52.840
If somebody is going to see something, that could break
607
00:36:52.880 --> 00:36:55.780
the case wide open. This is how cases are getting
608
00:36:55.860 --> 00:37:00.230
solved all of the time. So as always, I appreciate
609
00:37:00.269 --> 00:37:03.150
you guys. I hope you have a great weekend up ahead,
610
00:37:03.289 --> 00:37:05.130
and I will see you next week for a brand
611
00:37:05.170 --> 00:37:06.210
new unsolved case.
612
00:37:06.349 --> 00:37:08.289
Have a good one, and I will see you then.
613
00:37:08.309 --> 00:37:08.380
Bye.