Where is Jason Jolkowski?

Often, the eeriest missing-persons cases are the ones where there is the least information about them.  One minute, someone is going about their ordinary life, the next minute…they’re gone.  And no one seems to be able to find out why.

19-year-old Jason Anthony Jolkowski lived in Omaha, Nebraska.  He is described as an intelligent, shy, pleasant young man who had a happy family life.  He had no issues with drugs or alcohol, and no enemies.  He was a part-time student at Iowa Western Community College, where he was enrolled in their radio broadcasting program.  (He had hopes of eventually becoming a DJ.)  He also worked at a local Fazoli’s restaurant, but he was scheduled to soon begin another job at a radio station, which he was said to be very happy about.

On June 13, 2001, the restaurant called Jolkowski into work early.  As his car was in the repair shop, Jolkowski initially thought of walking to work, but then he made arrangements with a co-worker to pick him up at Benson High School, about eight blocks from his home.  (The co-worker did not know where Jolkowski lived, so Jason, who had difficulty giving directions, thought it easiest for them to meet at a local landmark they both knew.)  While leaving his home, at about 10:45 a.m., a neighbor saw Jolkowski helping his younger brother Michael take trash bins into their garage.  It is presumed that he then left for the high school, although there do not appear to be any witnesses who actually saw him leave.  His route took him through an ordinary residential area, full of people going about their normal workday routines.

Some 30 or 45 minutes after Jolkowski would have left his home, his co-worker called both his family and their workplace to find out why he didn’t meet her at the high school.  The school’s security cameras showed that although the co-worker arrived on the campus, Jason never did. During that eight-block walk, Jolkowski simply vanished.

To date, the young man has never been seen again, and neither the police or a slew of amateur internet sleuths have been able to find the slightest clue what happened to him.  He probably had very little cash on him at the time of his disappearance, and none of his personal items were missing, so the idea that he left voluntarily seems extremely unlikely.  His bank account containing $650 remained untouched, and his car was unclaimed from the repair shop.

Unsurprisingly, this baffling case has attracted any number of online theories, usually involving the possibility of a stranger abducting him, or some sort of foul play involving neighbors, friends, or family members, but they all seem to be based on nothing but baseless speculation and rumor.  Every now and then, I come across a disappearance where I find myself muttering about things like alien abduction and invisible portals into another dimension.  The ongoing mystery of Jason Jolkowski is one of them.