WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.130 --> 00:00:03.950 All witnesses, suspects, and persons of interest are considered innocent 2 00:00:04.049 --> 00:00:05.769 until proven guilty in a. 3 00:00:05.769 --> 00:00:09.330 Court of law. Welcome to Primetime Crime. I'm your host, Kylie. 4 00:00:09.490 --> 00:00:12.029 Let's talk right now on true crime, and then together, 5 00:00:12.050 --> 00:00:14.609 we're gonna work on warming up some cold cases. 6 00:00:14.929 --> 00:00:15.449 Let's go. 7 00:00:15.470 --> 00:00:19.149 Hey guys, welcome to this week's episode of Primetime Crime. 8 00:00:19.300 --> 00:00:19.980 It's Kylie. 9 00:00:20.050 --> 00:00:23.140 We are going to get into a couple of really 10 00:00:23.179 --> 00:00:26.140 quick little updates right now on true crime-wise before we 11 00:00:26.179 --> 00:00:31.480 get into... this week's case. So, Lindsay Clancy update. We 12 00:00:31.640 --> 00:00:36.619 are officially in Verdict Watch. The jury got the case today. 13 00:00:36.740 --> 00:00:40.369 I'm recording this Thursday. Honestly, just a couple of hours 14 00:00:40.450 --> 00:00:44.109 before it's released because I wanted to make sure I 15 00:00:44.170 --> 00:00:45.929 didn't miss any of the latest news. 16 00:00:46.030 --> 00:00:47.670 The jury officially. 17 00:00:47.270 --> 00:00:51.350 Has gone home for the night, so court will resume tomorrow, 18 00:00:51.590 --> 00:00:56.119 and we could very easily have a verdict tomorrow, meaning Friday. 19 00:00:56.729 --> 00:00:59.770 I really don't know the direction that this one is going. 20 00:00:59.909 --> 00:01:01.890 I do think it's going to be really hard to 21 00:01:01.929 --> 00:01:05.590 get all 12 members to agree that Lindsay was suffering 22 00:01:05.670 --> 00:01:10.099 from postpartum psychosis. I also think that it's going to 23 00:01:10.140 --> 00:01:12.799 be hard for all of them to say that without 24 00:01:12.819 --> 00:01:15.719 a reasonable doubt that she is guilty of murder. There 25 00:01:15.859 --> 00:01:20.159 is a manslaughter charge up on the table. That could 26 00:01:20.180 --> 00:01:22.819 be a possibility, but I don't know. There's something in 27 00:01:22.859 --> 00:01:25.079 my gut that tells me that it's going to be 28 00:01:25.120 --> 00:01:28.859 a hung jury. But stranger things have happened. Stay tuned 29 00:01:28.980 --> 00:01:31.560 to social media. As soon as there is a verdict, 30 00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:34.060 I will be sure to post it. But that is 31 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:42.319 the latest. In the Jared Brinegan trial against Mario Fernandez-Saldana, 32 00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:46.430 he has been officially found guilty of his role in 33 00:01:46.590 --> 00:01:51.109 Jared's death. And that is a charge of first-degree murder 34 00:01:51.250 --> 00:01:55.359 and solicitation of murder. The jury deliberated a little under 35 00:01:55.439 --> 00:01:59.159 four hours in Mario's case, so I think they pretty 36 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:02.700 quickly came to a decision that he was obviously guilty, 37 00:02:02.719 --> 00:02:09.430 and his sentencing is scheduled for October 5th. Now, Shana Gardner, 38 00:02:09.590 --> 00:02:13.830 who was the ex-wife of Jared, is scheduled for her 39 00:02:13.909 --> 00:02:17.330 trial to start in September. So I am going to 40 00:02:17.370 --> 00:02:19.719 be following that one, but I think if this one 41 00:02:19.780 --> 00:02:24.360 is any indication, hopefully... It will go pretty similarly to 42 00:02:24.460 --> 00:02:29.039 Mario's trial, and we will finally have justice for Jared. 43 00:02:29.430 --> 00:02:32.150 Because the gunman, the one who is the one who 44 00:02:32.210 --> 00:02:35.169 carried out the murder of Jared, did take a guilty plea. 45 00:02:35.689 --> 00:02:38.689 So two down and one to go. I will be 46 00:02:38.750 --> 00:02:41.520 sure to keep you guys updated on that one. So 47 00:02:41.560 --> 00:02:44.819 there has been a little bit breaking in the Siders 48 00:02:44.919 --> 00:02:48.520 family drama out of Ohio. That is the house in 49 00:02:48.599 --> 00:02:52.330 Ohio where they found the 16 children who were living 50 00:02:52.629 --> 00:02:57.330 in basically squalor, and the adults in the home were 51 00:02:57.370 --> 00:03:01.969 taken into custody. That includes a mother, a father, their son, 52 00:03:02.270 --> 00:03:05.819 and his wife, who allegedly mothered all of these children. 53 00:03:06.349 --> 00:03:09.150 So there has been a lot of questions about what 54 00:03:09.189 --> 00:03:12.009 led investigators there in the first place. I heard a 55 00:03:12.090 --> 00:03:14.620 lot of different rumors about why law enforcement went to 56 00:03:14.659 --> 00:03:17.300 that home to begin with, because it wasn't to find 57 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:17.860 the children. 58 00:03:17.900 --> 00:03:19.599 They didn't even know the children were there. 59 00:03:20.620 --> 00:03:23.900 But they were in the process of investigating something else 60 00:03:24.099 --> 00:03:28.379 when they happened upon the kids. So this something else 61 00:03:28.509 --> 00:03:33.310 was two men that were connected to the extended Siders family. 62 00:03:34.009 --> 00:03:37.650 They are named Josh Saunders, who was 23, and Brandon 63 00:03:37.750 --> 00:03:43.680 Henderson Sr., who was 40. So Josh is Gary Sider Jr. 64 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:44.400 's nephew. 65 00:03:45.020 --> 00:03:51.680 Josh's mother, who is named Virginia Saunders, was formerly Virginia Siders. 66 00:03:51.960 --> 00:03:53.560 She is Gary Jr. 67 00:03:53.560 --> 00:03:54.219 's sister. 68 00:03:55.030 --> 00:03:58.849 So that makes Josh part of the extended family of 69 00:03:59.090 --> 00:04:02.819 these children who were basically removed from this home. Brandon 70 00:04:02.860 --> 00:04:08.169 Henderson is Virginia's longtime partner that makes him also part 71 00:04:08.289 --> 00:04:11.400 of this family circle. So both of these men now 72 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:17.290 have been arrested and are facing extremely serious allegations. Josh 73 00:04:17.310 --> 00:04:20.629 Saunders was indicted on three counts of rape and one 74 00:04:20.709 --> 00:04:26.079 count of gross sexual imposition. Court records indicate that the 75 00:04:26.500 --> 00:04:31.660 offenses allegedly happened on January 27th of 2020. Brandon Henderson 76 00:04:31.779 --> 00:04:35.899 was indicted on 21 charges that include sexual battery, gross 77 00:04:35.939 --> 00:04:41.050 sexual imposition, and child endangerment. Both men have pled not guilty. 78 00:04:41.639 --> 00:04:47.060 So in December of 2025, Ohio BCI began investigating allegations 79 00:04:47.139 --> 00:04:51.589 that two children had been sexually abused. And this investigation 80 00:04:51.689 --> 00:04:55.589 focused on these two men. While investigators were working on 81 00:04:55.649 --> 00:04:58.970 that case, they uncovered some information that caused them to 82 00:04:59.089 --> 00:05:03.379 open another investigation in March of 2026. And that one 83 00:05:03.459 --> 00:05:07.529 involved Gary Siders Jr. and Elizabeth Siders. They are the 84 00:05:08.189 --> 00:05:11.129 son and the son's wife of the couple that owned 85 00:05:11.189 --> 00:05:15.529 this home. So Gary and Elizabeth are now also charged 86 00:05:15.589 --> 00:05:18.389 with two counts of sexual battery and two counts of 87 00:05:18.569 --> 00:05:22.889 unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. Prosecutors are saying that 88 00:05:22.930 --> 00:05:25.509 the alleged victim was more than 10 years younger than 89 00:05:25.550 --> 00:05:28.899 them and was not one of their immediate children. The 90 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:33.779 alleged conduct happened between January and September of 2022. So 91 00:05:33.939 --> 00:05:36.930 upon investigating all of this, that is how they came 92 00:05:37.110 --> 00:05:39.879 to go to the Sider's home And that is how 93 00:05:39.939 --> 00:05:43.399 they found these 16 children who were not really doing 94 00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:47.930 well physically. They had been living in their own human 95 00:05:47.990 --> 00:05:53.009 waste and they were severely, severely neglected. Now, interestingly enough, 96 00:05:53.089 --> 00:05:56.529 despite them finding all that they found, this really wasn't 97 00:05:56.569 --> 00:05:59.209 the first time that the Siders family had been on 98 00:05:59.350 --> 00:06:03.569 the radar. In 2020, child service officials reported were involved 99 00:06:03.629 --> 00:06:06.720 with Gary and Elizabeth over concerns that they were not 100 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:11.079 properly addressing some of their children's educational and mental health needs. 101 00:06:11.980 --> 00:06:16.399 Nine children were part of those cases. There was also 102 00:06:16.519 --> 00:06:19.019 school issues. In 2021-2022, that school year, six of the 103 00:06:19.079 --> 00:06:25.259 children were enrolled in school. According to court records, they 104 00:06:25.300 --> 00:06:28.699 missed every single day up until truancy complaints ended up 105 00:06:28.750 --> 00:06:32.310 being filed. Then they weren't able to find them. By 106 00:06:32.410 --> 00:06:36.449 early 2022, the cases were dismissed because they couldn't locate 107 00:06:36.949 --> 00:06:41.050 Gary and Elizabeth to actually serve them. So this story 108 00:06:41.189 --> 00:06:44.629 and this case obviously spans a lot of time, a 109 00:06:44.930 --> 00:06:48.389 lot of years, and there was probably red flags and 110 00:06:48.430 --> 00:06:52.610 warning signs all around, but Again, it's one of those 111 00:06:52.649 --> 00:06:57.740 situations where hindsight's 20-20, and once you see the bigger picture, 112 00:06:57.800 --> 00:07:01.040 you realize it is way more than just the four 113 00:07:01.079 --> 00:07:03.759 of these people who had all of these kids living 114 00:07:03.779 --> 00:07:07.379 in this house. This goes way deeper, and there are 115 00:07:07.430 --> 00:07:11.290 some real sick people out there, and they're all entangled 116 00:07:11.569 --> 00:07:15.189 in the Siders family, allegedly, at this point in time. 117 00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:17.550 I'm going to be sure to try to stay on 118 00:07:17.589 --> 00:07:19.829 top of this one. There is a lot of information 119 00:07:19.870 --> 00:07:23.149 coming out here. There was even initial reports that people 120 00:07:23.189 --> 00:07:27.920 thought that maybe Elizabeth herself was being abused. None of 121 00:07:27.959 --> 00:07:32.790 that has been officially confirmed whatsoever. But there was a 122 00:07:32.889 --> 00:07:35.939 lot of horrible things going on behind the doors of 123 00:07:35.980 --> 00:07:37.120 that Ohio home. 124 00:07:37.449 --> 00:07:38.680 And I'm glad that. 125 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:42.680 At least for now, the kids are hopefully safe and 126 00:07:42.920 --> 00:07:45.839 they are being protected. So we are going to go 127 00:07:45.899 --> 00:07:48.920 ahead and call that good for right now in true crime. 128 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:52.750 And we're going to get into this week's episode. All righty, guys, 129 00:07:52.790 --> 00:07:55.610 we are getting in to a brand new unsolved case. 130 00:07:55.990 --> 00:07:59.129 In this week's episode, I'm going to be telling you 131 00:07:59.310 --> 00:08:06.129 about the baffling disappearance. of 19-year-old Jason Jokowski out of Omaha, 132 00:08:06.170 --> 00:08:11.230 Nebraska in 2001. He remains missing to this day, and 133 00:08:11.290 --> 00:08:14.509 his case is referred to by one of the investigating 134 00:08:14.670 --> 00:08:19.209 officers as the most baffling case he has seen in 135 00:08:19.209 --> 00:08:20.120 30 years. 136 00:08:20.750 --> 00:08:22.459 And that is a very bold. 137 00:08:22.279 --> 00:08:26.040 Statement coming from somebody whose job it is to investigate 138 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:30.839 missing persons. So Jason's case is very much that. It 139 00:08:30.920 --> 00:08:34.740 is very baffling. Jason was just days away from his 140 00:08:34.980 --> 00:08:39.440 20th birthday, and he just up and vanished. As always, 141 00:08:39.460 --> 00:08:42.090 I list all of my source material below in the 142 00:08:42.149 --> 00:08:46.169 show notes, and I'm also going to credit the Unfound podcast. 143 00:08:46.360 --> 00:08:50.470 They did an interview. with Jason's mom and also covered 144 00:08:50.649 --> 00:08:54.210 Jason's story. And in the interview, his mom did share 145 00:08:54.309 --> 00:08:57.750 quite a bit that isn't in other news articles. So 146 00:08:57.889 --> 00:09:01.889 I did use that as a source for this episode 147 00:09:01.990 --> 00:09:04.389 as well. And we're going to talk about some other 148 00:09:04.429 --> 00:09:06.690 things later in the episode that I'm also going to 149 00:09:06.730 --> 00:09:07.590 give credit to. 150 00:09:08.009 --> 00:09:08.669 But we are going to. 151 00:09:08.629 --> 00:09:13.190 Go ahead and get into the episode now. Jason Anthony 152 00:09:13.250 --> 00:09:18.970 Jokowski was born on June 24th of 1981 in Grand Island, Nebraska, 153 00:09:19.389 --> 00:09:23.220 to his parents, Jim and Kelly. Jason had a younger 154 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:26.080 brother named Michael, who was 12 years old at the 155 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:28.659 time of his brother's disappearance, so there was about a 156 00:09:28.779 --> 00:09:32.840 seven-year age gap between them. Jason lived with his family 157 00:09:33.019 --> 00:09:38.570 at 48th and Pinconny Street in the Benson neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. 158 00:09:39.190 --> 00:09:42.830 The Benson neighborhood is described as a historic neighborhood in 159 00:09:42.870 --> 00:09:47.019 North Omaha. Jason was described as shy and quiet with 160 00:09:47.100 --> 00:09:50.580 a small handful of friends. His mom describes him as 161 00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:54.019 a great kid who didn't really ever cause any trouble. 162 00:09:54.519 --> 00:09:57.570 Even when he was entering his teenage years, he just 163 00:09:57.669 --> 00:10:00.200 wasn't the kind of kid that ever really was. went 164 00:10:00.220 --> 00:10:04.100 through anything where he was not a very nice teenager. 165 00:10:04.159 --> 00:10:07.750 He was always a really, really good kid. He also 166 00:10:07.809 --> 00:10:08.149 spent a. 167 00:10:11.370 --> 00:10:15.190 Now, Jason did have some learning disabilities, which did cause 168 00:10:15.250 --> 00:10:18.809 him to get bullied in high school. They are described 169 00:10:18.870 --> 00:10:23.240 by his mom, Kelly, as speech and language-related disabilities. But 170 00:10:23.279 --> 00:10:27.080 despite these difficulties, Jason went on to eventually get his 171 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:30.740 driver's license, and he graduated from high school and enrolled 172 00:10:30.820 --> 00:10:34.470 in community college as a part-time student. Jason was in 173 00:10:34.710 --> 00:10:39.690 the radio broadcasting program at Iowa Western Community College, and 174 00:10:39.710 --> 00:10:44.220 that was located in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Jason's goal was 175 00:10:44.259 --> 00:10:48.169 to eventually become a full-time radio DJ and work for KIWR, 176 00:10:50.159 --> 00:10:54.370 which was an alternative rock station in Omaha. When Jason 177 00:10:54.409 --> 00:10:57.669 was on the radio, he very much came to life, 178 00:10:57.970 --> 00:11:00.169 and that is really where he was in his element, 179 00:11:00.269 --> 00:11:03.470 and he truly thrived. On air, he was known by 180 00:11:03.490 --> 00:11:07.019 the nickname JJ, and despite him being a very shy, 181 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:10.419 quiet individual, when he was on the radio, that is 182 00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:14.440 when he was super in his element. Another thing that 183 00:11:14.600 --> 00:11:19.649 Jason thrived in was his interest in sports, especially sports trivia. 184 00:11:20.250 --> 00:11:23.389 He knew everything about everything when it came to sports 185 00:11:23.809 --> 00:11:27.820 and even thought that if he didn't go into the DJing, 186 00:11:27.960 --> 00:11:31.759 he would maybe eventually become a sports broadcaster. 187 00:11:31.779 --> 00:11:34.220 I am now going to insert. 188 00:11:34.039 --> 00:11:37.350 A clip that Kelly has shared on one of her 189 00:11:37.389 --> 00:11:41.590 YouTube videos of Jason on the air truly doing what 190 00:11:41.669 --> 00:11:44.750 he loved to do, which was to be on the radio. 191 00:11:46.059 --> 00:11:48.580 The River, the new music evolution. My name is JJ. 192 00:11:48.600 --> 00:11:49.639 We're in the middle of the row. 193 00:11:50.120 --> 00:11:53.169 We got music coming up from R.E.M., Papa Roach. 194 00:11:53.230 --> 00:11:54.809 And whatever else you want to hear. Let me know. 195 00:11:54.830 --> 00:11:59.970 323-4100 or pound for 89.70 at Verizon Wireless Phone. And 196 00:11:59.990 --> 00:12:02.149 that's how you get it done. That's what makes you 197 00:12:02.169 --> 00:12:04.289 just a little bit happier. That's why I go all around. 198 00:12:04.370 --> 00:12:06.659 I just make everybody as happy as I can. There's 199 00:12:06.679 --> 00:12:08.639 some sick issues with chili peppers. 200 00:12:09.940 --> 00:12:13.860 So that is Jason truly in his element being on 201 00:12:13.899 --> 00:12:17.539 the radio and like he said, making people happy and 202 00:12:17.580 --> 00:12:20.090 bringing people joy. That is what he wanted to do 203 00:12:20.190 --> 00:12:24.090 and that is what he enjoyed. So Jason's future was 204 00:12:24.169 --> 00:12:27.029 bright and he was headed in a direction that would 205 00:12:27.090 --> 00:12:31.570 help fulfill his dreams. In order to help offset some 206 00:12:31.610 --> 00:12:34.350 expenses of college, he had taken a job at a 207 00:12:34.389 --> 00:12:40.149 Fazoli's that was located in Omaha. It was located at 208 00:12:40.149 --> 00:12:44.509 8002 Cass Street. Now, that location of Fazoli's is actually 209 00:12:44.610 --> 00:12:49.379 still open and operational, which when I initially researched this case, 210 00:12:49.480 --> 00:12:51.480 I was kind of surprised to find out it was 211 00:12:51.559 --> 00:12:55.019 still open because I was under the impression that Fazoli's 212 00:12:55.179 --> 00:12:56.980 was no longer in business. 213 00:12:57.019 --> 00:12:58.639 I thought they had all closed. 214 00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:02.210 We had a Fazoli's nearby me and it has been 215 00:13:02.250 --> 00:13:07.009 gone since I want to say the late 90s, early 2000s. 216 00:13:07.789 --> 00:13:10.809 So for those that are not familiar, Fazoli's is a 217 00:13:10.909 --> 00:13:15.620 fast food type of take on Italian. So Jason had 218 00:13:15.679 --> 00:13:18.500 taken this job at Fazoli's, like I said, to try 219 00:13:18.519 --> 00:13:22.559 and offset some of the college expenses because college obviously 220 00:13:22.940 --> 00:13:26.590 is expensive. It was expensive back in 2001 and it's 221 00:13:26.669 --> 00:13:30.090 even more expensive now. So Jason was doing everything he 222 00:13:30.149 --> 00:13:32.929 could to try and help pay for college. He had 223 00:13:33.070 --> 00:13:37.549 also taken another job that he was set to start 224 00:13:38.029 --> 00:13:41.919 shortly thereafter as well. A job that would offer tuition 225 00:13:41.960 --> 00:13:45.200 benefits so that he could continue to go through his 226 00:13:45.240 --> 00:13:47.159 schooling and further his education. 227 00:13:47.860 --> 00:13:48.820 So that takes us. 228 00:13:48.840 --> 00:13:54.179 To Wednesday, June 13th of 2001. Jason's car had recently 229 00:13:54.299 --> 00:13:57.590 had some hail damage, so it was in the process 230 00:13:57.690 --> 00:14:00.929 of getting fixed at the body shop, which left Jason 231 00:14:00.970 --> 00:14:04.309 without a car. It was summer, so both of the 232 00:14:04.350 --> 00:14:08.009 boys were home while their parents were at work. Jason 233 00:14:08.029 --> 00:14:11.350 was set to work the 5.30 p.m. shift that day 234 00:14:11.509 --> 00:14:15.070 at Fazoli's, But that morning, Jason received a call from 235 00:14:15.110 --> 00:14:17.789 his boss asking him if he could come into work 236 00:14:17.990 --> 00:14:23.450 early due to them being shorthanded. Jason agreed and jumped 237 00:14:23.529 --> 00:14:25.929 on the opportunity, but knew that he would have to 238 00:14:25.970 --> 00:14:28.429 try and find a way to get there. He told 239 00:14:28.490 --> 00:14:30.590 his boss that he would come in, but he would 240 00:14:30.629 --> 00:14:32.809 have to walk to work, which was about a four 241 00:14:32.850 --> 00:14:35.990 and a half mile walk. He then got a call 242 00:14:36.049 --> 00:14:39.580 from his coworker, Teresa, who said that she could leave 243 00:14:39.629 --> 00:14:42.000 work for a few minutes and come pick him up. 244 00:14:42.580 --> 00:14:46.250 but she didn't know exactly where Jason lived, and Jason 245 00:14:46.330 --> 00:14:51.710 wasn't great at giving directions. Also remember, this was pre-GPS days, 246 00:14:51.929 --> 00:14:54.909 so looking up an address wasn't as easy as it 247 00:14:55.009 --> 00:14:58.649 is now. So Jason had told Teresa that they should 248 00:14:58.710 --> 00:15:02.500 meet at Benson High School around 11 a.m. so she 249 00:15:02.539 --> 00:15:05.820 could pick him up and they could go to work together. Now, 250 00:15:05.919 --> 00:15:09.870 Benson High School was where Jason had graduated from, and 251 00:15:10.019 --> 00:15:13.210 it was also a location that Teresa was familiar with 252 00:15:13.269 --> 00:15:17.169 because she had also graduated from there. Jason told his 253 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 255 00:15:23.450 --> 00:15:28.149 of them to pick him up later. Then at 10.45 a.m., 256 00:15:28.509 --> 00:15:31.669 Jason walked out the door. He then went to the 257 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 260 00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:44.720 going on. And that was the last time that Michael 261 00:15:44.899 --> 00:15:48.840 ever saw his big brother again. Then Jason started on 262 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:51.980 his trek to the high school, which was about a 263 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, 266 00:16:05.909 --> 00:16:08.669 he was going to walk to the high school, grab 267 00:16:08.809 --> 00:16:11.570 a quick ride to work, and then work his shift 268 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 270 00:16:22.379 --> 00:16:25.360 waited for Jason at the high school for a while. 271 00:16:26.090 --> 00:16:29.500 But after he didn't arrive, she made a phone call 272 00:16:29.659 --> 00:16:32.899 using a payphone across the street to the restaurant to 273 00:16:32.980 --> 00:16:36.960 see what exactly she should do. She ultimately ended up 274 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 277 00:16:48.309 --> 00:16:52.470 the high school. They ended up checking with Jason's parents, 278 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 282 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 287 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 289 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. 293 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 298 00:18:03.900 --> 00:18:07.400 back to one of the very first episodes I did 299 00:18:07.559 --> 00:18:11.769 about Allie Lowitzer. Her parents were told the exact same 300 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 310 00:18:51.230 --> 00:18:54.130 the police department a little bit. Because we all know 311 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. 314 00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:04.980 Approached as just a runaway, we lose valuable time. When 315 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:09.259 families report their loved one missing, they need to listen, 316 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 318 00:19:15.170 --> 00:19:19.759 child or a missing adult returns home safely because everything 319 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 322 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 324 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 345 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 354 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 398 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