NE-Jason Jolkowski #2

[christine2448]

The old thread was 29 pages long! Please continue here.

Link to thread #1
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5044&highlight=Jason+Jolkowski

[Kelly]

I thought some of my WS friends might want to know about this.

Mother Wonders If Remains That Of Missing Son

Jason Jolkowski disappeared in 2001

Feb 21, 2008

Human remains found last Sunday under the Veterans Memorial Bridge is particularly unnerving for an Omaha family still waiting for the answer to a mystery.

The human skull has yet to be identified. "You have to prepare yourself."

After hearing about the skull, Kelly Jolkowski contacted Omaha Police wanting to know if it is her missing son Jason. No one knows. "We've been used to waiting for over six years now."

It's not the first time the question has come up. Jason Jolkowski was 19 when he got called in to work and was walking to Benson High School for a ride on June 13, 2001. He hasn't been seen since. "I've just only heard very minimal,” says Kelly.

Law enforcement sources tell Channel 6 News the remains are that of a man with big feet and good teeth, a description that could fit many missing people, including Jason.

"That is kind of hard to hear. You always kind of hope you hear something that it couldn't be him, like it's female. When we saw him last he had no cavities and no fillings."

No one is saying this is a break in the Jason Jolkowski case. It's another roller coaster of waiting for a family that's been waiting for an answer for nearly seven years.

The Douglas County coroner performed an autopsy on the remains Monday, but found no cause of death. Still no word on possibly how long ago that person passed away.

http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/15832757.html

[CarpeDiem]

Prayers for you.

[Cubby]

Prayers for you and your family Kelly.
You are an amazing woman.

[UCFAlumni2002]

Prayers for you, your family and Jason.

[mysteriew]

No matter how long it has been Kelly, I know the news and the waiting again is hard. You are one of the strongest women I know, but you are repeatedly put through tests that are almost unbearable. My thoughts are with you.

[MCDRAW]

My thoughts and prayers are with Jason's family.

[Anita Richman]

(((((((((Kelly)))))))))))) I hope it comforts you, during this time, to know that your Websleuths family is holding you up in prayer and in their hearts. We're standing beside you as you wait.

[LionRun]

Kelly, does this mean that you are awaiting tests to determine whether or not this is Jason? I can't imagine what you are thinking and feeling, and I praying for you and your family, dear lady:blowkiss:.

Lion

[christine2448]

I thought some of my WS friends might want to know about this.

Mother Wonders If Remains That Of Missing Son

Jason Jolkowski disappeared in 2001

Feb 21, 2008

Human remains found last Sunday under the Veterans Memorial Bridge is particularly unnerving for an Omaha family still waiting for the answer to a mystery.

The human skull has yet to be identified. "You have to prepare yourself."

After hearing about the skull, Kelly Jolkowski contacted Omaha Police wanting to know if it is her missing son Jason. No one knows. "We've been used to waiting for over six years now."

It's not the first time the question has come up. Jason Jolkowski was 19 when he got called in to work and was walking to Benson High School for a ride on June 13, 2001. He hasn't been seen since. "I've just only heard very minimal,” says Kelly.

Law enforcement sources tell Channel 6 News the remains are that of a man with big feet and good teeth, a description that could fit many missing people, including Jason.

"That is kind of hard to hear. You always kind of hope you hear something that it couldn't be him, like it's female. When we saw him last he had no cavities and no fillings."

No one is saying this is a break in the Jason Jolkowski case. It's another roller coaster of waiting for a family that's been waiting for an answer for nearly seven years.

The Douglas County coroner performed an autopsy on the remains Monday, but found no cause of death. Still no word on possibly how long ago that person passed away.

http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/15832757.html

I have been thinking of you, as always. Sending you much love and strength...as you do that for so many.

I have email alerts for UID's and when I rec'd this I thought of Jason immediately. I can't ever bring myself to bring such things here on Jason's thread, 1st. I always wait for you to post, I know you are up on everything that is going on relating. I have been praying for you and yours and there are so many people thinking of you and sending you love and strength during this time.

[sleuthin4fun]

Prayers and hugs for you and your family Kelly:blowkiss:

[aj1020]

Thinking of you! I was hoping we would have news by now. The waiting is never easy.

[Gabby]

Kelly You are in my thoughts and my prayers...

[petra]

Extra prayers and hugs to the Jolkowski family and friends.

[KrisNine]

Thinking of you and your family, Kelly.

[WholeLottaRosie]

Kelly - My thoughts and prayers are with you. ((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))))))

[concernedperson]

Kelly, thinking of you. Sending prayers your way.

[hoppyfrog]

And prayers from me too for you and your family, Kelly. In fact, prayers for whatever family to whom this person belongs.

Hoppy

[kholloway]

Kelly........I'm thinking of you and your family and holding you very close to my heart always....

[Kelly]

Hello friends,

It was so nice to stop in and see so many messages! Yes, prayers are keeping us going and helping us to deal with the waiting.

I am told the remains and nearby soil have been sent to a lab for further analysis. I don't know the time frame for this and they say they do not know how long the person had been there.

I hope they will be successful at IDing this person so some family has their answers. For now, we will take it one day at a time until we know.

Thanks again, and many blessings to you and yours,
Kelly

[ShowerSinger]

Dear Kelly and Family,
Many prayers for you all. Thank you for keeping us updated. So many of us have followed your journey. You are a true inspiration for all you do!

[Gabby]

Hello friends,

It was so nice to stop in and see so many messages! Yes, prayers are keeping us going and helping us to deal with the waiting.

I am told the remains and nearby soil have been sent to a lab for further analysis. I don't know the time frame for this and they say they do not know how long the person had been there.

I hope they will be successful at IDing this person so some family has their answers. For now, we will take it one day at a time until we know.

Thanks again, and many blessings to you and yours,
Kelly


Kelly

Can they give you some idea of when you will know something?

Meanwhile, you and your family are in my thoughts and my prayers..

[englishleigh]

Praying so hard for you and your family, Kelly. :blowkiss:

[JBean]

(((kelly))) I am praying for you and your family.Bless you dear lady.

[LionRun]

Kelly thank you for the update, and you and your family are in my prayers each day:blowkiss:.

Lion

[MagicRose99]

Kelly, I am praying for you and your family. I hope that answers come soon for someone who's looking for a missing loved one.

[Opie]

More prayers coming from this corner.

[Kelly]

Thanks so much everyone. You're all a blessing in my life.

I asked about the timeframe, but they said they don't know. I suppose this would depend on a few factors:

1) What else they are working on
2) The degree of difficulty of extracting DNA, other data from these remains
3) How they prioritized it

[lisag]

I can't even begin to imagine how difficult this must be. I hope you have answers soon..

[christine2448]

Thinking of you. :blowkiss:

[LionRun]

Thanks so much everyone. You're all a blessing in my life.

I asked about the timeframe, but they said they don't know. I suppose this would depend on a few factors:

1) What else they are working on
2) The degree of difficulty of extracting DNA, other data from these remains
3) How they prioritized it

I understand, Kelly. Thank you for letting us know, and we care a great deal about you and that dear Jason has been missing for so long.

Lion

[LadyLuck]

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family as always.

[englishleigh]

Kelly,
I know you are all desperate for answers and I know this is a mixed bag of emotions for you at this time...you want answers, but not this kind. I have already posted but I wanted you to know I have just passed your name and situation along to a friend of mine who is on his way to church to say special prayers for your family. Be strong, as you always are, and know we are all here for you, and waiting along with you.

Leigh :blowkiss:

[Gabby]

Sunday prayers are with you Kelly, and your family as once again, you experience limbo, not knowing if this is Jason, hoping and praying it is not Jason, but wanting an end to these past 6 years of "not knowing"... God bless each of you.

[2XL]

kelly, I am praying for strength and courage for you and your family.

Tammy

[Love_Mama]

Kelly......prayers for you and your family today. I think of Jason all the time and I know how you all must be feeling today.

Sending my hugs......loves and prayers to you all.

xxxxxxxoooo
mama
:blowkiss: :blowkiss:

[Gabby]

Bumping for Kelly, her family, her friends and JASON

[LMax]

Prayers for Kelly and her family

[Tranaice]

Kelly, I too think of Jason all the time. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

[Gabby]

Heard anything else at all Kelly? Can't they give you a time when they will or can let you know SOMETHING? My prayers are with you and your family and friends ... wish I were close enough to give you a huge hug

[Kelly]

Hello all,

I just found out from media reports that the human remains found in Omaha on Feb. 17th are not that of my son, Jason Jolkowski. I just wanted to thank all of you for your prayers and support during this time of waiting.

The remains were identified as Michael O' Connor, missing from Omaha for one year. This was our case, and we worked with his wife to offer awareness and support. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers as they deal with this difficult answer.

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
http://www.projectjason.org
Read our Voice for the Missing Blog
http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/

http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/15955062.html

Remains Identified As Missing Omaha Man
Michael O'Connor disappeared last February

Posted: 5:56 PM Feb 25, 2008

Human remains found near the Veterans Memorial Bridge February 17th have been identified as an Omaha man missing for a year.

Michael O’Connor was 40 years old when last seen on video surveillance walking from a parking garage at 13th and Farnam on February 13, 2007.

He had dropped his wife off at work and then headed to his own job. He arrived, parked his car and vanished.

An autopsy done last week by the Douglas County Coroner’s Office was inconclusive. After further forensic examination, the remains were identified as those of O’Connor.

A human skull was discovered under the bridge near Gibson Road and Missouri Avenue. Detectives responding to the scene located additional skeletal remains.

Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to contact the Homicide Unit at 444-5656.

"He was also just laid back, very easy going, joked around with everybody and everybody liked him," former co-worker Laurie Venditte told Channel 6 News two weeks ago for a story about O'Connor.

Venditte said it was out of character for him. "It still just flabbergasts us to think he just walked away."

Pictures were posted all over the metro and searches were organized. Those efforts came up empty and police had no leads so O'Connor's family hired a private investigator.

That investigator told Channel 6 that O'Connor left his parents in Louisiana years ago. He bounced around the country landing in Colorado where he had a girlfriend, a baby and steady job. But he didn't stay and ended up in Omaha.

O'Connor was employed by Vocational Rehabilitation in Omaha for three years and was married for seven. His wife told Channel 6 News earlier this month, "I'm just trying to do the best I can to move on. In my heart I don't believe Michael is still alive."

[JBean]

OH gosh thank you for the update kelly. prayers as always to everyone.

[MCDRAW]

I'll keep this family in my prayers.

[LionRun]

Kelly, thank you for updating us:blowkiss:. I will keep Michael's wife and all in the O'Connor family in my prayers tonight.

Lion

[christine2448]

Mixed emotions....thinking of you all. :blowkiss:

[englishleigh]

Kelly, this is so bittersweet. So sad for the O'Connors, but so glad hope is still alive for Jason. Much love to you as we continue to wait with and support you in waiting for Jason. I just know that someday the answers will come. :blowkiss:

[Anita Richman]

I agree with Englishleigh and Christine. The emotions are mixed and are bittersweet. Thankfully Mrs. Oconnor doesn't have to wonder if her husband "wandered off" to another life somewhere else; thankfully there is still hope for Jason, only we still don't know!

(((((((Kelly & family)))))))

[Tranaice]

Kelly, this is so bittersweet. So sad for the O'Connors, but so glad hope is still alive for Jason. Much love to you as we continue to wait with and support you in waiting for Jason. I just know that someday the answers will come. :blowkiss:

englishleigh said it better than I could. My thoughts and prayers are still with you and your family.

[Gabby]

Kelly

My prayers to the O'Conner family

Prayers to you and to you family also. I know the emotional rollercoaster must be so difficult, wanting answers but dreading them at the same time.

Jason will be found someday...he will come home to you. I truly believe this with my whole heart.

[sherryggg]

Hi,
I just want to say my prayers are with you and your family. This is the best group of people in the world to have on your son's case, and they will help you find the answers your family needs.

[Gabby]

bumping up for Jason, Kelly and friends

[JanetElaine]

Thanks for bumping this up, Gabby.

Kelly, I'm not on here a lot right now because a couple of IRL things keep me quite occupied, and I did not see this new thread until now.
You and your family are in my prayers every day, but I still wished I could have prayed over this specifically.

Just wanted to send you my continued support and some hugs. {{{{Kelly}}}}

JE

[Kelly]

http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/16432931.html

Missing Person Photos Posted On Bus Benches
Project Jason kicks off awareness campaign, contest

Posted: 5:11 PM Mar 9, 2008

MAT bus stop benches around the metro will feature the faces of local missing people. It's all part of an effort to raise awareness and maybe help find them.

In conjunction with the bench photos, Project Jason also started a contest Sunday called "Where in Omaha?" You can look for certain landmarks around the city and for a $10 entry fee, win $500.

"It's really all about awareness," says Kelly Jolkowski of Project Jason. "Do we notice those things, would you notice if Jason walked by you, would you see him because we are so busy in today's world."

Project Jason helps the families of missing persons and was started after Kelly's son Jason disappeared in 2001.


Project Jason: http://www.projectjason.org/


Where In Omaha?: http://whereinomaha.com/

[MCDRAW]

http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/16432931.html

Missing Person Photos Posted On Bus Benches
Project Jason kicks off awareness campaign, contest

Posted: 5:11 PM Mar 9, 2008

MAT bus stop benches around the metro will feature the faces of local missing people. It's all part of an effort to raise awareness and maybe help find them.

In conjunction with the bench photos, Project Jason also started a contest Sunday called "Where in Omaha?" You can look for certain landmarks around the city and for a $10 entry fee, win $500.

"It's really all about awareness," says Kelly Jolkowski of Project Jason. "Do we notice those things, would you notice if Jason walked by you, would you see him because we are so busy in today's world."

Project Jason helps the families of missing persons and was started after Kelly's son Jason disappeared in 2001.


Project Jason: http://www.projectjason.org/


Where In Omaha?: http://whereinomaha.com/


"Where in Omaha" sounds like a great idea. I hope it helps.

[Kelly]

Here’s your chance to win $500, help a local nonprofit organization, and potentially solve a mystery, all at the same time!

How often do we really see what is all around us? We drive by beautiful buildings with unique or interesting architecture, stately trees, and unusual settings. Life goes rushing by us, often taking our senses and powers of observation with it. Where in Omaha? encourages awareness of our surroundings and appreciation for beauty, both man-made, and natural.

There is another, much more important reason to encourage awareness, and that is in the cases of missing persons. Generally, when the investigation winds down and media has nothing to report, the family then must rely on the public to be their eyes and ears. They need others to see and be aware of the faces of our missing loved ones in order to have a chance to find those persons.

Where In Omaha reminds us to “see” beyond our own hectic lives and potentially unlock a mystery. It is not just a contest, but the launching pad for Project Jason’s new local awareness program for missing persons, which utilizes area MAT bus bench advertising to display information and photos of local missing persons.

Each bench, strategically placed near the area where the person was last seen or was known to frequent, includes a photo, pertinent physical data, and the phone number to call with information about that missing person. Four different Omaha missing persons cases will be featured in the initial program launch, and more will be added if the program is supported by the public and corporate sponsors.

We need your help to be able to continue the program. Your entry in the WhereInOmaha? contest is one way you can support the program and help us continue these efforts.

This is one of the most unique contests in Omaha’s history. You’ll pay an entry fee of $10.00 and then guess the location of photos of landmarks, buildings, public places, and other outdoor places of interest within the Omaha city limits.

45 photos plus 4 tiebreaker photos are displayed in the gallery. You can either mail in your entry form or submit it online with your payment of the $10.00 entry fee. The entrant with the most correct guesses wins the $500.00 Grand Prize.

There will be special tie-breaker photos included. If there is still a tie, the prize money will be distributed evenly among the winners. The contest will begin on Sunday, March 9th, 2008 and ends on Saturday, April 12th, 2008. All entries must be received by 6:00pm CDT on Saturday, April 12th, 2008. The winner will be announced at Westroads Mall at 3:00pm on Saturday, April 19th, 2008.

Thank you for your consideration of this unique fundraiser and for sending this information on to your friends and family. We hope that you will play an important part in helping us to fulfill our mission statement.

Project Jason is an Omaha-based nonprofit organization which offers assistance to families of missing persons nationwide, plus provides educational materials, such as personal id kits, free of charge. Through their guidance, 5 states, with several more in progress, have passed laws which help facilitate recoveries of missing persons. Since their inception in 2003, they have played a vital role in the location of many missing persons, including a sister missing for seven years, and a son missing for twelve. They have created several unique awareness programs, have monthly features in national trucking magazines, and have the only free online counseling service for families of the missing in the US.

Help us by copying the above text and sending it in an email to your family and friends along with the link to our site - http://whereinomaha.com.

[Kelly]

Thanks, McDraw.

PS: We will roll this program out to other cities if we are successful here in terms of public and corporate support.

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
www.projectjason.org
Help us for free when you shop online or do a websearch:
http://www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=857029

[Kelly]

http://www.action3news.com/Global/story.asp?S=7989743&nav=menu550_2

Project Jason Contest Aims to Help Find More Missing People

Posted: March 9, 2008 10:50 PM CDT


Omaha, NE - If you could win $500 and help find missing adults and children, would you do it? Project Jason is launching "Where in Omaha," a contest to test your knowledge of Omaha with photos. Each entry will cost $10. Project Jason will then use that money to put photos of missing people on bus benches around the city.

"it's a fact that one out of every six missing person cases is solved by some kind of visual awareness," Kelly Jolkowski, founder of Project Jason and mother of a missing man says.

The deadline to enter is April 12th.

[mysteriew]

Just wanted to let you know I was thinking of you Kelly.

[MistyM]

This is the only boy who's story makes me cry. Seriously. The girl was Samantha Runion.

I think because I have a son who looks like Jason, and my daughter looked like Samantha and they were the same age.

I really feel so sad for you Kelly. I am not in your shoes, but I think if my son Jordan disappeared like Jason did, I would never have the strength and determination to do what you do. I would hide under my bed forever.

I do admire you.

[Bobbisangel]

I just don't understand how people can vanish into thin air without a clue anywhere. How does this happen? One minute Kelly's son was there and the next he was gone. No enemys...didn't have a car...just gone when he was going to work. I don't think I could survive a missing child either. I have a lot of respect for Kelly and what she is doing. You have more strength then I could have ever had Kelly.

[Gabby]

Bumping this tread for Jason and those who love and continue to pray for his return.

[Kelly]

Thanks for the kind words of support. There is nothing more we can do but go on and never forget him. I feel that when faced with adversity, we are given the strength we need to carry on.

Here’s your chance to win $500, help a local nonprofit organization, and potentially solve a mystery, all at the same time!

How often do we really see what is all around us? We drive by beautiful buildings with unique or interesting architecture, stately trees, and unusual settings. Life goes rushing by us, often taking our senses and powers of observation with it. Where in Omaha? encourages awareness of our surroundings and appreciation for beauty, both man-made, and natural.

There is another, much more important reason to encourage awareness, and that is in the cases of missing persons. Generally, when the investigation winds down and media has nothing to report, the family then must rely on the public to be their eyes and ears. They need others to see and be aware of the faces of our missing loved ones in order to have a chance to find those persons.

Where In Omaha reminds us to “see” beyond our own hectic lives and potentially unlock a mystery. It is not just a contest, but the launching pad for Project Jason’s new local awareness program for missing persons, which utilizes area MAT bus bench advertising to display information and photos of local missing persons.

Each bench, strategically placed near the area where the person was last seen or was known to frequent, includes a photo, pertinent physical data, and the phone number to call with information about that missing person. Four different Omaha missing persons cases will be featured in the initial program launch, and more will be added if the program is supported by the public and corporate sponsors.

We need your help to be able to continue the program. Your entry in the WhereInOmaha? contest is one way you can support the program and help us continue these efforts.

This is one of the most unique contests in Omaha’s history. You’ll pay an entry fee of $10.00 and then guess the location of photos of landmarks, buildings, public places, and other outdoor places of interest within the Omaha city limits.

45 photos plus 4 tiebreaker photos are displayed in the gallery. You can either mail in your entry form or submit it online with your payment of the $10.00 entry fee. The entrant with the most correct guesses wins the $500.00 Grand Prize.

There will be special tie-breaker photos included. If there is still a tie, the prize money will be distributed evenly among the winners. The contest will begin on Sunday, March 9th, 2008 and ends on Saturday, April 12th, 2008. All entries must be received by 6:00pm CDT on Saturday, April 12th, 2008. The winner will be announced at Westroads Mall at 3:00pm on Saturday, April 19th, 2008.

Thank you for your consideration of this unique fundraiser and for sending this information on to your friends and family. We hope that you will play an important part in helping us to fulfill our mission statement.

Project Jason is an Omaha-based nonprofit organization which offers assistance to families of missing persons nationwide, plus provides educational materials, such as personal id kits, free of charge. Through their guidance, 5 states, with several more in progress, have passed laws which help facilitate recoveries of missing persons. Since their inception in 2003, they have played a vital role in the location of many missing persons, including a sister missing for seven years, and a son missing for twelve. They have created several unique awareness programs, have monthly features in national trucking magazines, and have the only free online counseling service for families of the missing in the US.

Help us by copying the above text and sending it in an email to your family and friends along with the link to our site - http://whereinomaha.com.

It is imperative that we have a good response to this request for support. If we do not, we will not be able to continue this program in Omaha or begin it in other cities as is our goal.

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
www.projectjason.org
Help us for free when you shop online or do a websearch:
http://www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=857029

All missing persons are loved by someone, and their families deserve to find the answers they seek in regards to the disappearance.

[Kelly]

From our friends at the Center for Human Identification: (DNA lab)

http://www.hsc.unt.edu/news/Connections/20080321Connect/Links/TopStory02.html

New Jersey signs law requiring use of Health Science Center DNA Lab services

A new law in the State of New Jersey aims to identify missing persons through a partnership between New Jersey law enforcement agencies and the UNT Center for Human Identification here on the UNTHSC campus. Patricia’s Law, which passed in January, requires New Jersey law enforcement agencies to submit reference DNA samples from family members of people missing more than 30 days to the UNT Center for Human Identification’s DNA lab for analysis and uploading into CODIS. Patricia’s Law is the first of its kind in the country to offer a comprehensive plan for collecting DNA evidence.

The law was signed by New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine at a press conference on Wednesday. Also in attendance were several New Jersey lawmakers, law enforcement representatives and the family of Patricia Viola, for whom the law is named.

Viola was a 42-year-old New Jersey wife and mother who disappeared Feb. 13, 2001. She left her home between 1 and 2:30 pm without identification, keys, credit cards, or her medication. No one knows what happened to her, and she has not yet been found.

Patricia’s Law was born from model legislation designed in 2005 at the first National Strategy Meeting on Identifying the Missing, which brought together federal, state and local law enforcement, medical examiners and coroners, victim's advocates, forensic scientists, key policymakers, and families who have lived through this tragic experience.

ProjectJason.org, a not-for-profit missing persons organization, then called for volunteers in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia to retain a sponsor to support the model missing persons' legislation at the state level. Patricia’s husband, Jim, took on New Jersey, and State Sen. Loretta Weinberg immediately embraced the new proposed legislation, making New Jersey the first state to obtain sponsorship.

[Kelly]

A Project Jason News Brief

Project Jason's Kelly Jolkowski on International Broadcast Radio Show

In her role as one of the nation's most outspoken advocates against the use of psychics in missing persons' cases, Kelly Jolkowski will be a guest on this Friday's Catholic Answers Live call-in radio program. Kelly will share the hour with Angelo Stagnaro, a magician/mentalist who investigates and exposes fraudulent spiritualists and psychics. Kelly will cover the emotional angle and how psychics harm, and Angelo will demonstrate how psychics are able to fool so many. Both will emphasize the Church teachings in respect to this typically forgotten issue.

The first part of the show will feature interviews with Kelly and Angelo, and then listeners will be able to call in with their questions.

Angelo Stagnaro is the editor of Smoke & Mirrors, the Internet’s largest electronic magazine for professional stage card and coin magicians. He has also published three textbooks on stage magic, including Conspiracy, Something from Nothing and The Other Side.

Catholic Answers Live, one of the most popular Christian radio shows, is carried on hundreds of stations nationwide. It is also a part of EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network, can be heard on the Sirius Satellte Network, as well as numerous shortwave radio stations. The show airs at 4pm PST (6pm CST), and can be listened to online at http://www.kvss.com/ , http://www.ewtn.com/radio/index.asp , or http://www.catholic.com/radio/catholic_answers_live.ram .

Kelly Jolkowski, President and Founder, Project Jason a 501 c 3 nonprofit organization

Kelly's son, Jason Jolkowski, disappeared on June 13, 2001, at age 19, from the driveway of their home in Omaha, NE. Over 6 years later, the Jolkowski family lives with no leads or clues in Jason's disappearance. Since then Kelly has become an active advocate for families of the missing. She created several unique awareness programs for Project Jason to help locate the missing, including the 18 Wheel Angels, Adopt a Missing Person, and Come Home. Kelly is currently spearheading the Campaign for the Missing, a 50 state grassroots effort to pass the missing person legislation developed by the DOJ. Several states have now passed this legislation with her guidance, and several more are in progress. She also developed Healing Harbor, a free online counseling benefit for families of the missing, the only service of its kind in the U.S. She also speaks at conferences across the country about issues pertaining to missing persons, and has been a guest on several national radio shows, and FOX News.

Kelly, a lifelong Catholic, not only faced a life-changing tragedy with the mysterious disappearance of her son, but came face-to-face with persons claiming to have psychic abilities who victimized the family with horrid tales of Jason's death and suffering. Although surrounded by a society accepting of persons claiming pyschic abilities, Kelly came to publically embrace the Catholic position on psychics and truly place her faith in God and His Will for her family. Through her work with Project Jason, Kelly educates the families of the missing so they can feel at peace with the decision not to pursue use of pychics in their own missing loved one's case. Thousands worldwide have read her Psychics and Missing People blog series, located at http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/2006/03/30606-pmp-introduction-to-psychics-and.html

Project Jason Policy Regarding Psychics

There is not one proven case in which a psychic, using special powers or abilities not given to the typical person, has located a missing person, whether dead or alive. It may be possible that some persons have an ability that defies science and logic, but there is no known scientific evidence of this. These persons re-victimize families by taking away hope where it should stand, and giving hope where there is none. No person has the right to do this to another.

Psychics and other users of purported paranormal phenomena, cause unnecessary and damaging pain and anguish to families of the missing. They can also add to financial stress if they charge fees. We're already on a roller coaster ride of events and emotions, and we should have no desire to add to it.

Understanding what goes on behind the scenes should decrease any guilt feelings for not accepting offers of "help" from these persons, whether it is fee-based or not. We want to lessen the pain already present in our every breath, and arm families with the information to defend themselves against these persons. The evidence that psychics are not helpful and in some cases even harmful, is overwhelming.

In our mission to provide support and assistance to the families of the missing, we stand firm that it is not in their best interest to pursue the use of psychics in their case. We won't ride the status quo train of popular belief that it's ok and is not harmful.

Project Jason stands firm in their policies that since psychics play no proven part in solving a missing person’s case, we will not refer them to family members, family members to them, nor “advertise” their claimed services.

Additional Information: http://projectjason.org/interviews.html#psychics

[Kelly]

FYI: We have extended the contest to go to May 10, 2008. I know we have many Omaha area readers here. Please do consider taking a look at the www.whereinomaha.com site and helping out.

Thank you.

Kelly

PS: What if it was your son, daughter, brother, or sister?

[Gabby]

Bumping for Jason and those who continue to pray for his return. Kelly you are remarkable.

[LionRun]

For anyone living in the Omaha area this could be a great way to help make a difference and take action concerning what most of care deeply about--the missing.

Kelly, I would help you if only I could. But, I am in Texas.

Lion

[Blink34]

For anyone living in the Omaha area this could be a great way to help make a difference and take action concerning what most of care deeply about--the missing.

Kelly, I would help you if only I could. But, I am in Texas.

Lion

Kelly, fellow unwilling club member to "loving someone that was missing"
Thread #1 http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60192&page=27

Thread #2 http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63214&page=7

As brutal and devastating as it is, I promise you, brininging your loved one home vs. the unknown is better for the family and I pray for yours.

[christine2448]

Lit a candle for Jason and family tonight...BUMP...thinking of you Kelly.

http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=WS

Please include Group WS if you light a candle for Jason or another missing or UID.

[Kelly]

http://www.nptelegraph.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19500695&BRD=377&PAG=461&dept_id=601696&rfi=6

Anguish of not knowing lasts decades for families

04/19/2008

The worst part is not knowing.

In the nearly 43 years since Jacqueline Rains Kracman and Melvin Uphoff disappeared from their Nebraska homes, their families have been seeking answers.


Where are they? Did they leave willingly? Did they leave together? Are they still alive?

The missing Nebraskans, their families and their ordeal are the subject of a new documentary film, “Closure: Can It Really Be Possible?”

Family members recently attended a private screening to see the results of months of interviews, research and editing by filmmaker Stacy Heatherly of Papillion.

Heatherly’s film takes viewers through the questions the families have been facing for years.

Michele Sells, Uphoff’s daughter, was just 2 years old when her father disappeared in the fall of 1965. In the film, her mother, Myrna Dey, details the last day they spent with him.

The Rising City, Neb., man treated his children to a family day filled with pheasant hunting, roller skating and lunch in nearby Shelby, Neb. Dinner that evening was at the home of Uphoff’s parents.

That night, when Dey was getting the children ready for bed, Uphoff told her he was going to Shelby for beer.
He was 31. His family never saw him again.

Kracman, 18, disappeared around the same time as Uphoff — after telling her family that she was going to Glenwood, Iowa, for a weekend with her roommate.

Kracman, who was separated from her husband, left her children with her family. As far as the family can tell, she never went to Glenwood.

They never saw her again. Kracman’s car was found outside her home in Columbus, Neb.

In the film, Leo Meister, who was Butler County sheriff in

1965, is the first one to mention rumors that Kracman and Uphoff had been having an affair.

At the time, people thought they had left together. Uphoff took only his coin collection and his car; Kracman took most of her clothes. Uphoff’s 1954 Oldsmobile was never recovered. He was declared legally dead in the 1970s.
For years, the disappearances weren’t discussed within the Rains and Uphoff families.

But Sells has spent much of her adult life compiling information on the disappearances and trying to find Uphoff and Kracman.

There is no consensus among family members about what happened. Some think the couple ran off together; others think they were harmed. They all say answers would have been easier to come by if the disappearances had been thoroughly investigated in 1965.

“I really don’t think there was an investigation,” said Sharon Henggeler, Kracman’s sister. “If there was, it didn’t amount to much.”

The film has two goals, Heatherly said: to tell the story of Uphoff and Kracman, and to bring awareness to the (Project Jason's) Campaign for the Missing, an effort to establish protocols for dealing with adult missing persons cases.

The campaign has been spearheaded by Kelly Jolkowski, an Omaha woman whose 19-year-old son, Jason, disappeared almost seven years ago.

The protocols being promoted were drafted by the U.S. Department of Justice.

States need step-by-step instructions on handling missing persons cases involving adults, Jolkowski said, because they aren’t always taken as seriously as missing children cases.

Such laws have been adopted in at least 11 states. Jolkowski hopes to see one passed in Nebraska.

Also, law enforcement agencies sometimes overlook available resources, such as the Center for Human Identification, a federally funded lab in Texas that processes DNA of family members of the missing and enters the results in a national database for free.
The Nebraska State Patrol’s cold case unit investigated the Uphoff and Kracman cases a few years ago at the urging of Sells and others. The patrol has now turned the matter back to the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, Sells said.
State Patrol Sgt. Robert Frank, who investigated the disappearances and who appears in the documentary, did not return calls requesting comment.

“There’s nothing anywhere to show that a homicide occurred,” Frank says in the film.

According to the documentary, law enforcement officials did not interview Kracman’s husband, Dennis Kracman, or her roommate, Sally Fisher, in 1965. Melvin Uphoff was Dennis Kracman’s boss at a service station in Rising City.
It wasn’t until years later, when the State Patrol did its cold case investigation, that Dennis Kracman and Fisher were questioned. Those interviews weren’t fruitful.

Frank urged the families to accept the idea that Uphoff and Jacqueline Kracman left.

“They need to come to terms with it and accept it,” he said.

[Kelly]

For those of you who missed my broadcast on the radio show Catholic Answers Live, (noted several posts above this one) here are the links to listen to the archived audio.

The subject matter was Refuting Psychic and Occult Charlatans.

Real Audio: http://www.catholic.com/audio/2008/Real/ca080404b.ram

MP3: http://www.catholic.com/audio/2008/MP3/ca080404b.mp3

[Kelly]

Good Morning Family Members and Friends,

You might be interested in listening to this "World, Have Your Say" interview with families of the missing from all over the world who talk about hope, and giving up or going on. The show's title is "When is it time to say goodbye?" and was broadcast live yesterday afternoon on BBC World Radio as well as the Sirius and XM satellite radio networks.

The show's host, Peter Dobbie, posed thought provoking questions on the one year anniversary of Madeline McCann's disappearance:

"But when does the time come to move on? Does there come a point when the family of someone who’s missing must accept what’s happened ? Can a family survive the kind of emotional stress that must be involved in losing someone, without saying goodbye. Do they have to assume that the person has died, to safeguard their own emotional wellbeing ? The McCanns have now attained a kind of celebrity, for them, and indeed for anyone else who’s lost a relative, is that celebrity worth it, if it keeps hope alive ? Or, at what time, does hope die, and become something else ? Once we accept that there is no hope, is that when we begin to find comfort ?"

Guests on the show included several family members of international missing person's cases, Project Jason's Kelly Jolkowski, and the President of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Ernie Allen.

You can read more about the show here: http://worldhaveyoursay.wordpress.com/2008/05/01/when-is-it-time-to-say-goodbye/#more-492

Listen to the show here: http://www.projectjason.org/downloads/whys_20080501-2000.mp3

With Hope, Always,

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
http://www.projectjason.org
Read our Voice for the Missing Blog
http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/

[LionRun]

Kelly, the excerpt you posted from Peter Dobbie's show is indeed thought provoking. Thank you.

Lion

[Kelly]

A Project Jason Brief:

Project Jason has been selected as the Omaha Royals baseball team Community Organization of the Night. The game against Portland begins at 7:05pm tonight at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha.

Board members will be present at the organization’s display table in the concourse to answer questions about their mission. Michael Jolkowski, son of Project Jason founders, Jim and Kelly, and brother of missing Jason Jolkowski, will throw out the first pitch. A pre-game and a third inning interview with Kelly will be broadcast.

Project Jason would like to thank the Omaha Royals for this opportunity to share information about the plight of the missing and how they are working for positive changes within the cause.

Tickets cost $6.00 and up for the game.

[JanetElaine]

Wow that's awesome Kelly. What a great way to get attention for what Project Jason is doing. How cool that Michael gets to throw the first pitch! Hope he's not nervous, lol. I'm sure he'll do great. :) Good luck with your interview!

[Cubby]

Kelly,

that is so awesome! I'm going to have to check the Omaha Royals schedule to see if they play against either the Schaumburg Flyers or Kane County Cougars, both minor league teams outside of Chicago and very close for both Cub and White Sox fans. If the Royals minor team plays away, and we ask, is there something we can do for Project Jason when the Royals are a visiting team should they be playing in our city?

Wishing you and PJ all that comes with the Cub fans and Wrigley... too many times I have said I would give "another century" without a world series to resolve many of these cases. So, 2108 is good too!

Will be looking for the Royals on minor league schedules.

TIA!

[Kelly]

Thanks, Janet, Lion, and Cubby.

The Omaha Royals Community Night is really a one time, local awareness event. We hope to be able to participate again in the 2009 season.

Michael didn't throw a perfect pitch, but he loved it just the same. It was a great experience all around, and we are appreciative for the local exposure.

Of course, at any time, you can support us in various ways, as seen here:
http://www.projectjason.org/help.html

Many blessings,
Kelly

[Texana]

Kelly, I hope the Where in Omaha project was a success, and congrats on Project Jason being picked for the team night.

Great words also on refuting psychics.

My heart goes out to you, know that we are all thinking and praying for you and Jason.

[Gabby]

Bumping for Jason, and those who love and continue to search to bring him home.


Happy Mother's Day Kelly.... I think I can speak for Jason on this when I say


:blowkiss::blowkiss::blowkiss:

[Kelly]

A Project Jason Brief:

In 1995, a group of 7 men rode their bicycles from Utica, New York to Washington, D.C. in order to raise awareness about the plight of missing children and to bring a message of safety to the people they met along the way. They arrived on the steps of the Capitol on May 25th, the first National Missing Children’s Day. Two years later, inspired by that first Ride, a group of 43 riders rode their bicycles 100 miles from Albany to Utica NY with the same message of safety and awareness.

There are three purposes to “The Ride”, which takes place on May 16, 2008:

To honor the memory of all missing children,
To increase public awareness of the plight of all missing and exploited children and the need for child safety education, and
To raise funds to support the missing children poster distribution and mission of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children – New York/Mohawk Valley (NCMEC-NY/Mohawk Valley).

This year marks eleven years for the Ride for Missing Children. The 43 riders have grown to an astonishing 400! The unified team of bicyclists, riding 2 x 2 for 100-miles, is escorted by the New York State Police and local law enforcement of the jurisdictions along the route. The Ride stops at schools along the way for educational Rest Stops, and “Ride-By” other schools throughout the day. At each school visited, riders and volunteers bring the message of child safety and abduction prevention.

The parents of missing Omaha, NE teen Jason Jolkowski, and founders of nonprofit organization Project Jason, Jim and Kelly Jolkowski, will be participants for a 3rd year. Jim will be riding, and Kelly will speak at both the opening and closing ceremonies. The Jolkowskis will be among several family members of missing persons, including Doug and Mary Lyall, parents of missing Suzanne Lyall, and Shirlette Green, mother of missing Ivory Green.

For additional information about the Ride for Missing Children, please see http://www.rideformissingchildren.com/index.html

For more information about Project Jason, please visit http://www.projectjason.org/

[JanetElaine]

I hope everything went well yesterday. :)

[Kelly]

Thanks...yes, it went very well.

http://www.wktv.com/news/local/19009004.html

Parents of missing children inspire others taking part in Ride

By JOLEEN FERRIS

Story Created: May 16, 2008 at 11:43 AM EDT
Story Updated: May 16, 2008 at 12:12 PM EDT

ONEIDA - Parents of missing children from around the country attended the opening ceremonies for the Ride for Missing Children Friday morning at the State Police barracks in Oneida.

Kelly Jolkowski's teenaged son, Jason, disappeared without a trace in 2001. Friday, Jolkowski inspired the riders as they prepared to begin their journey.

She says that the work of these complete strangers on behalf of her son and other missing children has been a bright spot in the darkness of now knowing what happened to her son.

Also there Friday was Shirlette Green, of Utica. Police are still searching for her daughter, Ivory, who disappeared in March 2004.

[JanetElaine]

Bumping for Jason.

I'm glad it all went well, Kelly. :)

[Kelly]

Hello to our families,

I am so very pleased to tell you that the Project Jason board of directors has given their blessing to a proposal of mine, which is something I have wanted to do since we founded the organization.

Please mark your calendars for June 12-14 2009. On those dates, Project Jason will be hosting a retreat for family members of both missing children and adults. The retreat is open to adult family members who reside anywhere in North America, and will take place at a spacious, comfortable, and scenic retreat center near Omaha, NE.

The main goals of the retreat are for family members to gain an understanding of the body's reaction to the trauma of missing a loved one, to recognize and understand the emotions which surface, and learn methods of coping. Family members will also benefit from meeting and networking with others who can relate to this unique tragedy. Classes offered during the retreat will cover all aspects of living in the "not knowing", with a focus on mental, spiritual, and physical healing.

Duane Bowers, Project Jason's Healing Harbor counselor, and one of the nation's most knowlegeable and respected authorities on dealing with the emotional issues faced by the families of the missing, will teach the main courses during the retreat.

While there are many other courses and events in the planning process, we'll just mention a couple of other features now:

1) A law enforcement official will be present to take DNA samples from biological family members who have not yet done this. These DNA samples will be processed by our friends at the Center for Human Identification lab in TX, and will be entered free of charge into the national CODIS database.

2) Free chair massages will be available on day two of the retreat.

We feel this is such an important and needed venture. To our knowledge, there is no other open retreat for families in the US.

We'll be providing you with additional information about the retreat every few months, and registration details coming at the end of this year. We wanted to let you know now in case that would be helpful to you for planning purposes.

Feel free to pass this message along to other families of the missing you know. We're very excited about this, and hope that you are too.

With Hope, Always,

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
http://www.projectjason.org
Help us for free each time you shop online or do websearches by using this link:
http://www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=857029

[Salem]

Kelly - this is a lovely idea and I hope you have a hugh turnout!

Salem

[Kelly]

Project Jason Announces Presence in Virtual World Nonprofit Consortium

Project Jason is honored to be one of 44 nonprofit organizations and the first missing persons’ assistance organization to be selected as part of a new area of Nonprofit Commons, a section within the virtual world, Second Life. Among the other nonprofits represented there are Sustainable Harvest International, Kiva, Giving Circles Network, Grants Managers Network, the SPCA Maryland, America’s Second Harvest, Digital Campfires Foundation, and Preferred Family Healthcare. The grand opening is Wednesday, May 28.

The Project Jason office in Second Life has three purposes. One is to disseminate general information about the epidemic of missing persons – how many are missing and how difficult a situation it is for the families of missing persons. Another is to deliver presentations and other educational events and materials to participants within Second Life. Finally, Project Jason also developed a special theme for the office called “Every Face Tells a Story” and the site exhibits special posters of missing persons. These posters contain articles written exclusively for Project Jason in Second Life, and they are contributed by the families of each missing person featured.

Second Life is a 3D virtual world that offers powerful communications tools. Second Life is used extensively by global corporations such as IBM, Cisco, Sun Microsystems, and even NASA, for employee meetings (that save gas or airfare by meeting on the internet instead of at one office), for corporate communications, for marketing, and for research and development. There are over one million registered members.

The grand opening takes place within Second Life from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Pacific Time. The all-day and evening celebration will include live musicians from all around the world, whose performances will be broadcast into Second Life.

Joining Second Life is free. To do so, go to http://secondlife.com/ and download the program. You will need to register your account and choose an inworld “name,” which is a nickname you will use when you are logged in to Second Life. The address for Project Jason in Second Life is 251,33,25 which is located on Aloft Island.

To learn more about Project Jason, please see www.projectjason.org. You may also contact Kelly Jolkowski, President and Founder, at 402-932-0095, or by emailing kelly.jolkowski@projectjason.org.

[meowy]

Oh! Kelly!

I just came to do a search for Project Jason so I could tell you I saw your Project Jason shop in SL tonight, and then saw your post here. That is very awesome. I was out at the non profit area seeing if the Lupus Foundation had set up anything (apparently not!). There's a lot of great things on this island.

By the way, here's your SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Aloft%20Nonprofit%20Commons/246/25/26

You get that by standing where you want and click Map, then there is a button that says "copy slurl to clipboard". Then you'll have that link people can click to go right to it, as long as they're logged into the grid.

[Gabby]

bumping for Kelly, and family as the 7 year mark fast approaches. You all are in my thoughts and in my prayers...



Jason, please come home to all who love you.

[Tranaice]

Kelly, you are all in my thoughts and prayers, also. I hope the retreat is going well.

[Kelly]

Hi all,

Thank you for remembering us and the date. The retreat is actually next year. We need the time to try to get funding for it and just planning in general.

So as not to violate any membership rules, I will simply post a link that tells about this year's anniversary date. Be sure to scroll down in the link. You do not have to join to read.

http://www.projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=3021.0

Many blessings to one and all,
Kelly

[Tranaice]

Oops, my bad, I just looked at the dates, not the year. I hope it goes well. :)

[inquiringmindz]

Thinking of Jason and all who love and miss him...

[Kelly]

A Project Jason Media Brief:

The family of Jason Jolkowski requests the media's assistance to ensure that the public is aware that Jason is still missing, and has been for seven years as of June 13, 2001. We need the public's help to be our eyes and ears when we cannot, and to perhaps provide the clue that will be the key to unlocking this sad mystery.

Jason was 19 years old when he disappeared from the driveway of our Benson area home. No leads or clues have ever surfaced. While the evidence appears strong that Jason did not runaway, there is no evidence he was harmed. We still wait and hope.

Assisting the Omaha police and the family on this difficult anniversary month are the Carole Sund Foundation, offering a $5000.00 reward. In addition, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children have completed an update on Jason's age progression photo. This photo is an artist rendering of what Jason might look like today. A printable poster noting the reward and the new photo can be found on the Project Jason website. http://www.projectjason.org/downloads/JasonJolkowski0613.pdf

June 24th will mark his 27th birthday. Jason's parents, Jim and Kelly Jolkowski of Omaha, started nonprofit organization, Project Jason in the aftermath of Jason's disappearance. In honor of Jason's birthday, and to continue their mission to help families of the missing, Project Jason has launched a campaign to bring in donations which not only would pay general operating expenses, but would also allow them to enhance the services offered to families of the missing, including their bus bench program which was launched right here in Omaha, and a retreat to be held in 2009.

Detailed information about the Birthday Campaign, Project Jason's accomplishments and goals, as well as a moving personal letter to Jason, can be found at
http://www.projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=3021.0

For more information about Jason Jolkowski and Project Jason, please see www.projectjason.org

To contact Kelly Jolkowski, please email kelly.jolkowski@projectjason.org

[christine2448]

:HappyBday Kelly!

[emma l]

Hi Kelly- and all. Just wanted to say that I live in the UK and Jason and Mauras story was on Montel there last night. It broke me heart. I want you to know that I am thinking of you.XXXXXXX

[Kelly]

http://www.kptm.com/Global/story.asp?S=8550418

Remembering Jason: Helping Find Others

Posted: June 24, 2008 08:58 PM CDT
By Julie Hong

Omaha (KPTM) - He vanished without a trace seven years ago.

Jason Jolkowski would be 27 years old this June 24th.

So on his birthday, his family reflects on his life and want to share a very special gift.

"It would be so wonderful to be able to buy you a gift and sing Happy Birthday to you, even in our funny, off-key way," reads Kelly Jolkowski.

It's a birthday letter with words of love, hope and reflection Kelly wrote to her son.

"We reflect on him as a person. We miss his laughter and his kind generous spirit."

Tuesday, June 24th is the 7th birthday the Jolkowski's celebrate without him.

Jason Jolkowski disappeared without a trace from his Benson home seven years ago.

He would be 27 years old.

"It's still extremely difficult to not know anything to not know is he dead, is he alive, is he okay, did somebody hurt him. Why?" says Kelly.

And while the Jolkowski's don't have those answers, they do have Project Jason, a non-profit organization dedicated to help other families like theirs.

"We need the public's help to find Jason, to remember the missing, other families like ours and to help us accomplish our goals."

Kelly says since she can't give her son a gift this year, she hopes the public will give in his honor by donating at least $27 dollars to Project Jason.

It's a gift that Kelly says she hopes will help find Jason, and help other families.

But, more than anything it's a gift she says Jason would want.

"That's part of the birthday campaign we know that with his generous spirit, he would want us to do this," says Kelly.

The Carole Sund Foundation continues to offer a five-thousand dollar reward for any information that leads to Jason.

Money raised from Jason's Birthday Gift campaign will help with the operating costs of Project Jason pay for awareness programs, fund an upcoming retreat and help pay for ads of missing people on area bus benches.

You can donate by logging on to www.projectjason.org

You can donate through PayPal or mail a check.

Jason's mom also says there are updated posters with Jason's age progressed photo. The family would appreciate any help if people can print out the poster and put them up in their neighborhoods or where they work.

[Kelly]

Hi Kelly- and all. Just wanted to say that I live in the UK and Jason and Mauras story was on Montel there last night. It broke me heart. I want you to know that I am thinking of you.XXXXXXX

Thank you. That's interesting that the episode is still being broadcast somewhere.

[Kelly]

http://www.wahoonewspaper.com/site/tab7.cfm?newsid=19823375&BRD=2712&PAG=461&dept_id=557009&rfi=6

Missing person cases in Nebraska go unsolved


By: Jon Burleson
07/02/2008


In Douglas County, law enforcement lists 1,850 people missing. About half the cases involve children.

On June13, 2001, Jason Jolkowski, then 19, became a statistic. Since that day, his mother, Kelly, has been striving to make him more than that to lawmakers.

"Nobody knows how big an issue this is," Jolkowski said. "Those who are missing are more than a height, weight, hair and eye color. They are people."

After laboring on behalf of missing persons for the last seven years, Jolkowski has mobilized a new effort to get law enforcement the tools they need to help families of the missing. Project Jason's Campaign for the Missing is a grassroots effort to pass legislation in each state that will serve to improve the law enforcement community's ability to locate and ensure a safe return of missing persons.

"This is so needed," she said. "Things fall through the cracks. Families aren't told to get vital pieces of information that could help them solve the case."

The campaign's central focus will address the national problems of missing persons and the identification of human remains and provide the framework for improving law enforcement's response. It will also improve the collection of critical information about missing persons, prioritize high-risk missing persons cases and ensure prompt dissemination of critical information to other law enforcement agencies and the public that can improve the likelihood of a safe return.

"Most law enforcement officers are not trained in missing persons cases," Jolkowski said. "Some police academies don't even teach about missing persons investigations."

The Department of Justice, working with federal, state and local law enforcement; coroners and medical examiners; victim advocates; forensic scientists; key policymakers; and family members who have lived through this tragic experience, developed the legislation to be presented in the Nebraska Unicameral.

The bill made it mandatory for law enforcement to follow certain procedures at the beginning of a missing persons case. Certain steps need to be taken in a specific order and resources must be allocated to assist, Jolkowski said.

"Nobody told me to get his toothbrush or his comb," she said, "and by the time I knew, it was too late."

On almost a daily basis, unidentified bodies are found across the country. Over the last year, law enforcement agencies have reported from 40-50,000 bodies with no means to identify them, Jolkowski said. These bodies are usually buried or even cremated with no DNA saved for the possibility of a future identification.

"The families of those missing live in a horrible limbo of not knowing," Jolkowski said. "These families need an answer and this legislation could help provide an answer."

Having run into a roadblock in the last Unicameral session, Jolkowski has been waiting patiently for the next session. Patience is something she has developed over the last seven years.

But, she has not been idle. Jolkowski has been working with Nebraska legislators, such as Steve Lathrop and Brad Ashford to move the bill forward this time around.

"Last time, I was told that the $50,000 needed to run the program each year wasn't available," she said. "I feel that if Nebraskans knew how many people go missing each year, they would be willing to help find them."

If you are interested in helping make a difference in the lives of thousands of missing persons and their families, send an email to campaignforthemissing@projectjason.org.

My Notes: I have not personally been working with the named senators. The comment about the $50K was in reference to Jason's Law, which we passed a few years back. The $50K kept that bill from passing during the first two years of our efforts. The Campaign for the Missing law is a different mandate. This law is meant to be passed in all 50 states, not just Nebraska. KJJ

[Kelly]

Project Jason is pleased to present an exclusive story of hope, "A Mother's Day Miracle, Missing for 14 Years". Each day, for 5 days, a new part will be posted here:
http://www.projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=3174.0

A Mother’s Day Miracle, Missing for 14 Years
Written by Kelly Jolkowski with Vicki Hamilton Loux


For 14 long years, Vicki Hamilton Loux had not seen the face of her beloved son, Mark Hamilton. Mark became mentally ill as a young man, and had fled the care center where he was staying.

For 11 of those 14 years, Vicki had never once spoken to someone who knew personally what it is like to have a missing loved one. Family members had a difficult time in dealing with Mark’s disappearance, even to the point of denial. Vicki was alone in her grief and nearly alone in her search. For her, the search was like grasping at a shadow, the shadow of her missing son. Each time she felt close, the shadows of what could be eluded her. His face remained as dark as the shadows, although her hope was a light that never faded.

Continue on to the rest of today's segment: http://www.projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=3174.0

There is always hope.............

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
http://www.projectjason.org
Please help us with Jason's Birthday Campaign:
http://www.projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=3021.0

[Kelly]

YouTube videos about Jason and Project Jason, courtesy of our volunteer, Linda:

Jason Jolkowski 6 Year Missing Event/Campaign for the Missing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5c2wYm8OT0

Project Jason Launches Bus Bench Program
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQBSbxJcyjI

Jason Jolkowski 7 Year Missing/Birthday Campaign
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZAxtBn5U_0

[JanetElaine]

Bumping for Jason.

[Gabby]

Praying for Jason, and those who continue to search to bring him home.

[JanetElaine]

Bumping for Jason. We're still praying for you and your family.

[Kelly]

Project Jason is pleased to announce its newest program, the Awareness Angels Network.
( More information can be found at http://www.projectjason.org/awareness.html)

It’s a fact that one in six missing persons are found as a result of a visual aid, such as a billboard or a poster, thus the importance of poster dissemination in missing person cases. Placing posters is an easy way for you to get involved, and it can make a real difference for the families of the missing.

With your Awareness Angels Network (AAN) membership, you’ll receive notifications via email about new missing person cases, updates on current cases, and recovered persons. These notifications inlcude a link to a special Awareness Angels Network poster you can print and place.

Once you are subscribed, the email notifications you receive include a link to the printable poster for a specific missing person, plus a link to Project Jason’s forum, where you can keep up on the latest case news and information.

We encourage you to:


*Print copies of this poster and display them near your home, at your workplace and in public places.

*Give copies of this poster to friends and associates who can place posters near their homes and workplaces.

*Give copies to friends or associates who travel so they can place the posters in more wide-reaching areas.


When the missing person is located, we will notify you. At that time, you will be asked to remove any indoor, outdoor and Internet postings of this person.


Email notifications will be sent to you upon the following events:

New Case: Project Jason receives a new case submission from the family of a missing person and completes the verification process. New cases are persons who may have been missing for any period of time and the family is registering with us for the first time.

Updated Case: This notification will be sent out upon any substantial change of information on the original Project Jason poster. This could include the addition of an age progression photo, or new information received that could aid in location of that missing person.

Annual Missing Date Notice: On or before the annual missing date of persons registered with Project Jason, an AAN notification will be sent out to remind the members that the person is still missing and to request poster placement.

Law Enforcement Request: This notification will be sent out upon the request of law enforcement who may seek a targeted distribution area. There may be evidence that the missing person may be in a region other than the one he/she disappeared from, and poster dissemination is needed in this area. Project Jason officials may also, at their discretion, and based upon reliable sources, request distribution in another area.

Location Notice: A person whose case was previously sent out on the AAN has been located alive. Any additional information that can be made public will be found on the link included in the notification.

Deceased Location Notice: A person whose case was previously sent out on the AAN has been found deceased. Any additional information that can be made public will be found on the link included in the notification.


Project Jason has divided the US into 14 geographical regions for this program. You may subscribe to as many regions as you wish. We encourage multiple region subscriptions since we’re a very mobile society. It doesn’t take long for a person to travel great distances. In some cases, a missing person may not necessarily be in the same area or location where he/she was last seen. Your notification emails will cover missing persons who were last seen in the region to which you subscribed.

Once you subscribe to a region, you will be offered a special widget which you may add to your website, blog, MySpace, Facebook, etc. The widget is our thank you for being an Awareness Angels Network member. It will also serve to encourage others to become members, as the widget links right to our site. The more helping eyes, ears, and hands we have, the greater the odds of success.

From now until about mid-September, the focus of the program will be outreach to gain subscribers. When we begin the email notifications, it is important to have a reasonable subscriber base. In mid-September, we will begin to send the notifications on a more regular basis.

We're asking interested persons to subscribe AND to send this message to others.


Remember the facts: One in every 6 are found because of visual means, such as a poster. You can make a difference with your Awareness Angels Network membership!

If you haven't subscribed yet, read what the families of the missing have to say about poster placement by our Awareness Angels Network members:

The totality of my life has only one purpose, to find my missing daughter and bring her home safe. Every other aspect of my life has come to a halt. Thank you very much for placing posters of my child.
Reza Jou, father of missing Donna Jou

My heart is lifted and hope shines every time someone displays a poster of my son. I believe it is through the love and kindness of the public that my son will eventually be found; but without their concern and active participation, I fear this agonizing mystery will continue to go unresolved. Please, please help me find my son.
Vicki Barnard, Mother of Missing Ahren Barnard

Each poster placed carries the hopes of our family, that someone, somewhere, knows something, and will step forward to shine light on the darkness of loss. So, from my heart I thank you for each poster hung, and for each prayer quietly spoken.
Christy Davis, mother of missing Michael "Austin" Davis

I want to thank each and every one of you who hangs a poster for my son, Brian. This is the only way that I may hopefully find him and bring him home so that I may have some peace in my life someday. Someone knows what happened, and only with your help can I keep my son alive in the public’s eyes.
Randy, Brian Shaffer's Dad

Time Marches on, yet it stands so still. Your smallest remembrance or recognition could help bring our loved one home. Thanks to all those who care.
Donajean Kapp, Sister of Dori A. Myers, Abducted 01-11-06

Words cannot express what it means when strangers care enough to place posters for us. The memory of this act is forever etched in our hearts.
John Lopez, Jeff and Lesa Stivers, Father, Uncle and Aunt of missing Marissa Lopez

(You'll be able to read more soon from the families we serve on the Awareness Angels Network page on our main website.)


About the Awareness Angels Network logo you see pn our program page:

The angel's wings represent the members of the Awareness Angels Network, who will answer our plea for help and place posters to help find a missing person. In this representation, the father was ready to go out and place more posters of his missing daughter, but just then, she was found and returned to his loving arms. The angel's wings surround them, also representing the love and concern we have in our hearts for others, even those whom we have never met. The logo tells the story of what CAN happen when we all work together to make a difference.

With your help, we'll have many happy endings.

Subscribe here today: http://www.projectjason.org/aan.html

Note: You can also subscribe to our Project Jason newsletters on the website noted above. You may choose either the Supporter's Newsletter (general news about Project Jason and the missing) or the Family Member Newsletter. (specialized information of interest to family members of missing persons) These selections are below the AAN regions in the list. The newsletters will begin publication in September.

All missing persons are loved by someone, and their families deserve to find the answers they seek in regards to the disappearance. Please help us help them. Subscribe to the Awareness Angels Network today, and ask your friends to as well. Thank you.

There is always hope.

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
www.projectjason.org

[Kelly]

(We have permission to post this article.)

http://www.omahafamily.com/Oct_08_ebook/Oct_08_issue.pdf

Omaha Family Magazine, Oct 2008

Omaha’s Kelly Jolkowski: A Voice for the Missing

By Denise Harrison

It’s after midnight, and once again Vicki Hamilton Loux can’t sleep. This distraught Missouri mom is out of ideas. In desperation, she goes to her
computer and composes an email to send across the miles to a woman she has read about but has never met. It reads:

Hello -
I have a mentally ill missing adult son. His name is Mark Hamilton and he has been missing for 11 years. The police in my area wouldn’t even file a
missing person report until last year and this was after I threatened to go to the media. He was found in another state, far from me, in 01/2005. They
asked him a couple of questions, then let him go. Now no one will file a missing person report again. I need help. Will you please contact me?
Vicki

500 miles away, the email sets off a two-toned chime signaling its arrival on the computer of Omaha resident Kelly Jolkowski. Jolkowski is another mother not sleeping tonight, but this night it’s because there is so much work to be done: missing person posters to be printed, articles to be written, speeches to be crafted.

Back in Missouri, Loux turns away from the computer, wondering what to do next, when the phone rings. Despite the late hour, it’s Jolkowski on the other end. As Jolkowski explained later: “After 11 long years, Vicki finally had someone to talk to who truly understood what it is like to live, day by day, when your child is missing. There was relief in her voice, even with major hurdles in front of us.”

During any given month, Jolkowski may receive dozens upon dozens of such pleas for help from anywhere in the country. The organization she founded, Omaha-based Project Jason, is a place families of the missing can turn when they need advice. Whether their loved one has been missing for days, weeks, or years, the families and friends face ordeals that most people will never know -- frustrations, fears and grief that only people in a similar situation can understand. In Jolkowski, they find someone who does know, and they find a sympathetic soul: Kelly Jolkowski also has a missing loved one. Her son, Jason, disappeared seven years ago.

Before June 13, 2001, she and her husband, Jim, and their two boys lived an ordinary family life. That day, however, their lives changed forever. Jason’s parents were both at work that morning, but Jason’s brother saw him retrieve the trash cans from the driveway -- his normal chore – then he set off on foot, a short seven-block walk, to meet a coworker for a ride to work his shift at a local restaurant. But he never arrived at the meeting location, and he has not been seen since.

There was no place the Kelly and Jim Jolkowski could turn to get advice and comfort. There was no resource to tell them what steps they should be taking. “When we were not able to locate our son, we felt that God was calling us to help other families find missing loved ones and cope with their disappearances,” says Jolkowski. “When we lost Jason, we had no one to turn to who could tell us what we needed to be doing, no one to talk to who would truly understand our terror. So we founded Project Jason in 2003 with the vow that no one else should have to go through what we did without assistance.”

October 6th marks the five-year anniversary of Project Jason. In that short time, the organization has assisted more than 400 families of missing persons, getting their stories in local newspapers, national magazines and even in trucking magazines, getting their missing persons posters in homeless shelters and hospitals, and giving hundreds of one-on-one recommendations. They have helped locate a number of missing persons, and they have distributed more than 50,000 posters and 4,750 photo buttons of missing persons to spread the word. They have also given out more than 13,500 personal ID Kits in English and Spanish. Those kits ensure that families have on hand all the information they need for every family member, from the youngest to the oldest, if ever needed. Kits will be available at Omaha Family Safety Day October 5 at the LaVista Convention Center.

“It’s a great feeling, knowing that Kelly is in our corner. A godsend,” says Julie Connell, whose 19-year-old nephew, Ben Roseland, has been missing from Iowa since this past February. “You hate to have someone go through what Kelly has with her son, and you see that, now, she is now such a positive force in other peoples’ lives. When I read about those she has helped who have returned home, it gives us hope and faith. Kelly is one of those heroes you hear about who goes through something terrible but comes out swinging.”

Jolkowski has, indeed, become a national hero to many. Just this year, she was a featured speaker at both the opening and closing ceremonies for the Ride for the Missing sponsored by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

But don’t confuse Project Jason with organizations that are limited to solely finding missing children. Project Jason helps with all missing persons – persons of any age, gender, race or social status. “They are all loved by someone and deserve to be found,” says Jolkowski.

Missing persons cases, when it comes to those over the age of 17, are not typically easy for police departments to handle. Authorities often assume the missing person will turn up any time or that they simply walked away from their lives. Some police departments insist on a 48-hour waiting period before the family can file a missing person report, thereby losing crucial early hours in a search, even though there is no law that mandates a waiting period.

There are many difficulties associated with missing adults, and this is another area where Jolkowski makes a national impact. Six states, so far, passed new laws based on the organization’s Campaign for the Missing. The initiative improves the law enforcement community’s ability to locate and ensure a safe return of missing persons by outlining specific procedures that should be followed. Those are procedures such as ensuring that DNA, descriptions and photos of the missing person be included in national databases and improving interagency communications about the missing. Project Jason was also behind Nebraska’s Jason’s Law, which created a true missing person’s clearinghouse for missing persons of all ages.

Within days of receiving Loux’s plea for help, Jolkowski thought of a way to help Loux get her son listed once again among the missing. The case was re-opened and his information was added to the FBI’s national database for missing persons. As a result, Loux could receive assistance from the various agencies that help with missing adult’s cases.

Eight months after her son was again listed as a missing person (relisted thanks to Jolkowski’s efforts), Project Jason received an email from a family in Florida who saw his missing person poster on the Project Jason website and believed the man staying with them may be Loux’s missing son. Their calls to local law enforcement about the situation had not been returned. And they felt his mental state required intervention. They finally found his information on the Project Jason website and contacted Jolkowski.

“We enlisted the help of Libba Phillips from Outpost for Hope, an expert on missing mentally ill who knows how to request assistance from mental health crisis professionals in the area,” says Jolkowski. “To our great joy, it was confirmed that the person staying with this family was indeed Mark Hamilton!”

After much coordination with agencies local to the Florida location, finally, after 14 years, Loux had the miracle she longed for. This time, a very different email arrived in the inbox at the Jolkowski home.

“After waiting 14 long years, on Sunday, May 11, 2008, I was able to once again, hug my sweet son, Mark - and on Mother’s Day!” wrote Loux.
“Miracles Do Happen. Prayers Do Get Answered.

And Thank You, Project Jason.

Vicki Hamilton Loux
Mother of Found Son, Mark Hamilton
June 3, 2008"

Certainly, most don’t end as happily as the case of Mark Hamilton. But if Jolkowski had her way, they would. Project Jason relies solely on donations, and has far more goals and projects on behalf of missing persons and their families than current funds allow them to pursue. All donations are tax-deductible and received with love and gratitude. If you would like to contribute, please mail any amount to:

Project Jason
P.O. Box 3035
Omaha, NE 68103

You can donate online at http://www.projectjason.org/help.html

To see the huge variety of initiatives going on at Project Jason, and to view the forums that cover missing persons cases, go to to http://www.projectjason.org.

[believe09]

Thank you for sharing this article, Kelly-God Bless you and yours while you continue to wait for news of Jason's whereabouts!!

:blowkiss:

[Gabby]

Prayers for our Kelly and her organization....Prayers to Jason and those who love and continue to search for him.

[Kelly]

It's very heartwarming that Jason has not been forgotten!

Thank you.

[Kelly]

Hello,

I just wanted to share with you a few words about what today meant to me. The date is October 6, 2008. There isn't anything of great historical significance on this day, at least none that the typical person remembers, but there is something about this day that we can't forget.

In the summer of 2003, after we had lost our two year bid to pass Jason's Law here in Nebraska, I knew I could not wait and we had to do something for the families of the missing. The "something" turned out to be Project Jason. Just as I could never imagine being the mother of a missing son, nor could I imagine passing laws and starting a nonprofit organization. With the help, love, and support of family and friends, I spent that summer doing intense research about nonprofits and how to start one. On October 6, 2003, Project Jason was born.

Even though it was born as a result of our failure to pass Jason's Law, and our inability to find our own son, we knew it was what God wanted of us. Friends and family who were there with us at the start insisted it should be named after Jason, and would have it no other way. It became a great way to honor his name in each and every action we take. We have all confidence our son would want this.

We began without a penny to our name. We didn't even know where the money would come from to open up the bank account. It was on the list of first steps to take, so we made the appointment to visit the banker. The day before the appointment, a woman who had heard what we were trying to do gave one of our board members a check. It was for $100, just the right amount to start the bank account.

A few weeks later, we started wondering how we would pay the fees to the IRS to submit our 501 c 3 status application. A woman at work had heard about us, and was asking me questions one morning about how to start up a nonprofit and what types of fees were involved. I came back from lunch, and there was a check from her on my desk for the exact amount of the IRS fees.

There were little things like this along the way that kept happening, things that made it clear that we were doing the right thing. It was no easy task, and sometimes we learned as we went, working together for a common goal and cause. Our original treasurer had never filled out an IRS application, and spent countless hours working on it. My brother-in-law had never built a website from scratch, but he learned quickly what to do so we could communicate our mission statement and reach out to the community who needed our services and support. My husband took over many of the household chores so that I could write, develop our services roster and awareness programs, and communicate with the families we serve.

We were like the little engine that could, and we kept chugging along, taking the hill one step at a time. We had the website up by December and submitted our IRS paperwork. We began our first awareness program, the 18 Wheel Angels in January, and in February, the IRS notified us that we had our 501 c 3 status! Jason's Law passed in May, and we didn't stop there.

Sometimes, it seems as if that all happened yesterday, and it remains clear in my mind. We've grown much since then, now having numerous awareness programs and servicing several hundred families rather than a handful. We added a forum housing well over a thousand missing person cases, not to mention private family member conversation areas. We've distributed more than 50,000 missing person posters through our various awareness programs, and given away close to 14,000 Personal ID Kits. We've assisted in the passage of laws in several states, and have had a direct impact in the location of several missing persons, including a man who was missing for 14 years.

None of these things would be possible without your support, and the hard work of our board members and volunteer staff, most of whom do not have a missing person in their own life, but still give so generously and lovingly of their time. I could NEVER do what I do without all of them. I thank everyone who has played a part in our story and brought us to this day.

Our story shows that you never know what life holds for you, and despite our tragedy, there has clearly been a far greater amount of good. Not only have I learned how to run a nonprofit in these past five years, but I learned how to see beyond our personal pain, and how in working together in service to others, we can make a difference.

There were so many little miracles along the way to today and there will be more miracles as we continue on this journey together. I just know it.

With Hope, Always,

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason
President and Founder, Project Jason
http://www.projectjason.org

Lovely article published about Project Jason in the Omaha Family Magazine:
http://www.projectjason.org/downloads/OmahaFamilyMagazineOct2008.pdf

[Tranaice]

Kelly, you are an amazing person. God bless you and all of the people who help you. I pray one day you find Jason and can bring him home.

[Kelly]

Hello,

Most of you have heard of our Campaign for the Missing, a state by state effort to pass legislation which would positively impact how missing and unidentified deceased person cases are handled. (http://www.projectjason.org/legislation.html)

We’ve been successful mentoring volunteers with the passage of legislation in 6 states, with several more active. These efforts will continue on.

I recently learned of an effort called Ideas for Change in America. This is a is a citizen-driven project that aims to identify and create momentum around the best ideas for how the 111th Congress can turn the broad call for "change" across the country into specific policies. The project is nonpartisan, and is not connected to the Obama Administration.

In this effort, the top 10 rated ideas will be presented to the Obama Administration on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009 as the "Top 10 Ideas for America." The sponsor organization, Change.org, will then launch a national campaign behind each idea and mobilize the collective energy of a selected and related nonprofit, the millions of members of Change.org, MySpace, and partner organizations to ensure that each winning idea gets the full consideration of the Obama Administration and Members of Congress.

The "Top 10 Ideas for America" will be determined through two rounds of voting. In the first round, ideas will compete against other ideas in the same issue category. The first round will end on December 31, 2008, and the top 3 rated ideas from each category will make it into the second round. The second round of voting will begin on Monday, January 5, and each qualifying idea will compete against the qualifying ideas from all other categories. Second round voting will end on Thursday, January 15.

I have submitted “Establish National Protocol in Missing and Unidentified Person Cases” for consideration. It is now on the website and votes can be placed. It is listed in the Criminal Justice category.
http://www.change.org/ideas/view/establish_national_protocol_in_missing_and_unident ified_person_cases

As you can see by the posted information and link to the protocol, this is the 2008 revision of the Campaign for the Missing legislation. While we have never pursued federal passage, this seemed like a good opportunity to make an attempt, or at least bring attention to our plight if nothing more.

Education is important, with so many not having awareness of the situation as it exists, and what those of us who live with this experience daily. If we do not try, nothing will be accomplished, that is a certainty.

What I ask of you is your vote. It’s as easy as clicking on the link above, and then on the Vote button to your left. (Registration is required, but it is simple and fast.) There is also a widget you can copy and place on your website, blog, Facebook, or MySpace page. It will, however, take more than your vote. It will take you forwarding the link to your friends and family, and asking them to vote. It will take many of you adding the widget to your page.

My son, and thousands upon thousands of other sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, etc, might be an unidentified body lying in a morgue waiting to be buried or cremated without DNA analysis done. When that happens, and it may already have, my family may never have the answers we desire. We need to put a halt to this tragedy on top of tragedy and take whatever steps are necessary to ensure everything that can be done in these cases is done. (There is much more to it than DNA, but that is one of many key elements.)

Please vote, and forward this notification via email to everyone in your address book.

Collectively, we are the voice for the missing, speaking for those who are not among us but who are forever in our hearts.

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
www.projectjason.org
Help us find the missing: Become an AAN Member
http://www.projectjason.org/awareness.html

[Kelly]

It's very sad, but we've fallen to 7th now, with 3 Legalize Marijuana ideas in front of ours, which makes no sense. (Why 3!!??)

This will require the efforts of more than a few, and to help out, we now have some very easy to follow instructions for those who might have tried to vote, but had problems.

Click here to read the instructions:
http://www.projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=4618.msg27890#new

Thank you!

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
www.projectjason.org
Help us find the missing: Become an AAN Member
http://www.projectjason.org/awareness.html

[Kelly]

Jason has been missing for 7 1/2 years today.

We love him and miss him.

[birgitta_ice]

Here’s your chance to win $500, help a local nonprofit organization, and potentially solve a mystery, all at the same time!

How often do we really see what is all around us? We drive by beautiful buildings with unique or interesting architecture, stately trees, and unusual settings. Life goes rushing by us, often taking our senses and powers of observation with it. Where in Omaha? encourages awareness of our surroundings and appreciation for beauty, both man-made, and natural.

There is another, much more important reason to encourage awareness, and that is in the cases of missing persons. Generally, when the investigation winds down and media has nothing to report, the family then must rely on the public to be their eyes and ears. They need others to see and be aware of the faces of our missing loved ones in order to have a chance to find those persons.

Where In Omaha reminds us to “see” beyond our own hectic lives and potentially unlock a mystery. It is not just a contest, but the launching pad for Project Jason’s new local awareness program for missing persons, which utilizes area MAT bus bench advertising to display information and photos of local missing persons.

Each bench, strategically placed near the area where the person was last seen or was known to frequent, includes a photo, pertinent physical data, and the phone number to call with information about that missing person. Four different Omaha missing persons cases will be featured in the initial program launch, and more will be added if the program is supported by the public and corporate sponsors.

We need your help to be able to continue the program. Your entry in the WhereInOmaha? contest is one way you can support the program and help us continue these efforts.

This is one of the most unique contests in Omaha’s history. You’ll pay an entry fee of $10.00 and then guess the location of photos of landmarks, buildings, public places, and other outdoor places of interest within the Omaha city limits.

45 photos plus 4 tiebreaker photos are displayed in the gallery. You can either mail in your entry form or submit it online with your payment of the $10.00 entry fee. The entrant with the most correct guesses wins the $500.00 Grand Prize.

There will be special tie-breaker photos included. If there is still a tie, the prize money will be distributed evenly among the winners. The contest will begin on Sunday, March 9th, 2008 and ends on Saturday, April 12th, 2008. All entries must be received by 6:00pm CDT on Saturday, April 12th, 2008. The winner will be announced at Westroads Mall at 3:00pm on Saturday, April 19th, 2008.

Thank you for your consideration of this unique fundraiser and for sending this information on to your friends and family. We hope that you will play an important part in helping us to fulfill our mission statement.

Project Jason is an Omaha-based nonprofit organization which offers assistance to families of missing persons nationwide, plus provides educational materials, such as personal id kits, free of charge. Through their guidance, 5 states, with several more in progress, have passed laws which help facilitate recoveries of missing persons. Since their inception in 2003, they have played a vital role in the location of many missing persons, including a sister missing for seven years, and a son missing for twelve. They have created several unique awareness programs, have monthly features in national trucking magazines, and have the only free online counseling service for families of the missing in the US.

Help us by copying the above text and sending it in an email to your family and friends along with the link to our site - http://whereinomaha.com.

Kelly I know you are a great woman and that you are doing a great job at projectjason, I´m truly sorry about your son and I hope he´ll be found as as soon as possible, I know you are against psychics and all that but I don´t think you and many others know what a psychic is.

I hope you don´t get offended with me, a psychic is not a persone who knows everything, if that is a psychic then we would not need the police at all, psychc abilities should never ever been looked at as the only truth out there, I´m not even sure that psychics are meant to find missing people, but readings can give clues, it should not be used as the only truth out there, only as a tool to help.

I do respect your opinions even thru I don´t agree with your psychic opinions, to discuss psychics you need to understand what a psychic is.

I wish you all the best in finding your son, I´m following that case, and my prayers are for you and your familie, God bless you, Birgitta

[Salem]

Jason has been missing for 7 1/2 years today.

We love him and miss him.

I pray that Jason will return home soon and send prayers of love and peace to you and your family Kelly.

Salem

[Kelly]

Kelly I know you are a great woman and that you are doing a great job at projectjason, I´m truly sorry about your son and I hope he´ll be found as as soon as possible, I know you are against psychics and all that but I don´t think you and many others know what a psychic is.

I hope you don´t get offended with me, a psychic is not a persone who knows everything, if that is a psychic then we would not need the police at all, psychc abilities should never ever been looked at as the only truth out there, I´m not even sure that psychics are meant to find missing people, but readings can give clues, it should not be used as the only truth out there, only as a tool to help.

I do respect your opinions even thru I don´t agree with your psychic opinions, to discuss psychics you need to understand what a psychic is.

I wish you all the best in finding your son, I´m following that case, and my prayers are for you and your familie, God bless you, Birgitta


I know what a psychic is, or rather what they claim to be. I researched it throughly, along with a team of hundreds of others, including scientists.

I find it offensive that you have used MY missing son's thread to advertise your website. I hope that the moderators will remove that link as they know my feelings on this issue. Use of "psychics" is also against my religion. The bible makes it crystal clear that we place our trust in God, and that's what I do.

You have the right to your opinion and I have the right to mine. Families of the missing have the right to decide if they consider it a valid tool or not. We hope they won't and we take steps to enlighten them as to why they should not.

I hope that you will not further offend me by using MY son's thread as a place to advertise your site and defend your position. That would be highly inappropriate. Please do not contact me via PM or email about this.

Thank you.

Kelly
http://www.projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=1098.0

[Kelly]

I pray that Jason will return home soon and send prayers of love and peace to you and your family Kelly.

Salem

Thank you, Salem. You're a sweetheart.

[fmd518]

I just voted for your cause on the change website and put in on my myspace,facebook, and my blog hopefully it will help. I just want to say that your in my prayers and hoping to find Jason.

[Kelly]

I just voted for your cause on the change website and put in on my myspace,facebook, and my blog hopefully it will help. I just want to say that your in my prayers and hoping to find Jason.

That is exactly the help we need...thank you!

I did notice a boost in numbers, too.

God bless you and yours,
Kelly

[Kristin83]

Kelly, I only recently began posting on Websleuths, but I heard about Jason's case several years ago and have been reading about missing persons ever since. I just wanted to say how admirable it is that you took your family's pain and turned it into something positive for other families of the missing. I admire your strength so much.

From reading about him, Jason sounds like a wonderful person. I won't stop praying.

Here's hoping for your Christmas miracle.

In the love of Jesus,
Kristin

[Kelly]

Kelly, I only recently began posting on Websleuths, but I heard about Jason's case several years ago and have been reading about missing persons ever since. I just wanted to say how admirable it is that you took your family's pain and turned it into something positive for other families of the missing. I admire your strength so much.

From reading about him, Jason sounds like a wonderful person. I won't stop praying.

Here's hoping for your Christmas miracle.

In the love of Jesus,
Kristin

Thanks, Kristen.

Yes, Jason is a wonderful person. We found out things about him after his disappearance that he never told us.

For example, in high school, he used to help a boy in a wheelchair get from class to class. No one asked him to do it.

We sure miss him.

God bless you,
Kelly

[Kelly]

Project Jason Christmas 2008 Message

When I was a child, every Christmas season, I looked forward to watching the rebroadcast of classic holiday television shows, such as A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

No matter how many times my brothers and I watched these shows, they remained as fresh and exciting in our childhood minds as the new-fallen winter snow. In watching the “Grinch,” we were mesmerized by the nasty creature, as he carried out his plot to stop Christmas from coming to the kind folk of Whoville.

We all know the Grinch didn’t succeed, as he did learn the true meaning of Christmas. As children, I know we marveled at the sight of the happy citizens of Whoville celebrating the day without gifts, food, and decorations. While we knew the reason for the day, perhaps our hearts also needed to grow two sizes, (as the Grinch’s did in the show) for us to understand the joy of the day.

I remember other sights and sounds from all those years ago. On Christmas Day, the kitchen was a constant flurry of activity. It was a place, where my mother, grandmother, aunts and great aunts appeared to do a synchronized dance of meal preparation with the heels of their pumps clicking on the floor, the skirts of their shirt dresses swirling around as they moved, and all without a curl on their heads out of place.

The smells were tantalizing, with a mixture of turkey, ham, stuffing, homemade fudge, pumpkin pies, and other goodies beckoning us inside for an occasional check on the progress. We were shooed away no matter how many times we asked about the meal. We also never failed to ask, even beg, to get to open a present early. We simply could not wait.

Many Christmases went by. I grew up, married, and had two sons. We introduced our children to the magic and joy of Christmas and saw the wonder in their eyes each year on that day. “Mommy, look what Santa brought me!’ little Michael exclaimed. “Can we open a present early, please?” pleaded Jason.

Those days have long passed, and the scenes from those Christmases faded, but never gone from our memories. The sights and sounds still exist, only altered with more modern conveniences and dress, and different faces. Our grandmothers, great aunts, several aunts and other loved ones are no longer with us. Some are not with us through death, some through service of our country, and some for reasons which we cannot begin to fathom.

No matter what the reason for the absence of our loved ones, Christmas was, is, and will be. The reason and the spirit remain unchanged throughout the ages. I will always have my memories and the warmth of heart given me by these gifts. I am grateful for the time I had with those whom I love, and for the love they gave to me.

While it wasn’t instantaneous growth of heart like what the Grinch experienced, my heart grew to gain an understanding of what Christmas is all about: faith, hope, and love. We are truly blessed with this day and this life. So, no matter what life holds for you, where you spend the day, and who you spend it with, let your hearts be open to the joy of the day and season. Memories never cease, hope never fades, and joy is proclaimed throughout the ages:

Hark the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!”
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled.
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem.”
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

May you and yours have the most blessed Christmas.

We also extend best wishes to our friends who celebrate the season in other ways and with other traditions.

Kelly Jolkowski, the staff and volunteers of Project Jason

[prd2bokie]

You are such an inspiration!!! I'm sitting here wondering why my family has been bickering today when things could be worse than a misunderstanding. I feel like such and idiot and hope that the rest of my family would feel the same if they were to read your post. Each of us are more blessed than we will ever know. My heart goes out to you and the thousands of others like you.

[dannyodie]

Project Jason Christmas 2008 Message

When I was a child, every Christmas season, I looked forward to watching the rebroadcast of classic holiday television shows, such as A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

No matter how many times my brothers and I watched these shows, they remained as fresh and exciting in our childhood minds as the new-fallen winter snow. In watching the “Grinch,” we were mesmerized by the nasty creature, as he carried out his plot to stop Christmas from coming to the kind folk of Whoville.

We all know the Grinch didn’t succeed, as he did learn the true meaning of Christmas. As children, I know we marveled at the sight of the happy citizens of Whoville celebrating the day without gifts, food, and decorations. While we knew the reason for the day, perhaps our hearts also needed to grow two sizes, (as the Grinch’s did in the show) for us to understand the joy of the day.

I remember other sights and sounds from all those years ago. On Christmas Day, the kitchen was a constant flurry of activity. It was a place, where my mother, grandmother, aunts and great aunts appeared to do a synchronized dance of meal preparation with the heels of their pumps clicking on the floor, the skirts of their shirt dresses swirling around as they moved, and all without a curl on their heads out of place.

The smells were tantalizing, with a mixture of turkey, ham, stuffing, homemade fudge, pumpkin pies, and other goodies beckoning us inside for an occasional check on the progress. We were shooed away no matter how many times we asked about the meal. We also never failed to ask, even beg, to get to open a present early. We simply could not wait.

Many Christmases went by. I grew up, married, and had two sons. We introduced our children to the magic and joy of Christmas and saw the wonder in their eyes each year on that day. “Mommy, look what Santa brought me!’ little Michael exclaimed. “Can we open a present early, please?” pleaded Jason.

Those days have long passed, and the scenes from those Christmases faded, but never gone from our memories. The sights and sounds still exist, only altered with more modern conveniences and dress, and different faces. Our grandmothers, great aunts, several aunts and other loved ones are no longer with us. Some are not with us through death, some through service of our country, and some for reasons which we cannot begin to fathom.

No matter what the reason for the absence of our loved ones, Christmas was, is, and will be. The reason and the spirit remain unchanged throughout the ages. I will always have my memories and the warmth of heart given me by these gifts. I am grateful for the time I had with those whom I love, and for the love they gave to me.

While it wasn’t instantaneous growth of heart like what the Grinch experienced, my heart grew to gain an understanding of what Christmas is all about: faith, hope, and love. We are truly blessed with this day and this life. So, no matter what life holds for you, where you spend the day, and who you spend it with, let your hearts be open to the joy of the day and season. Memories never cease, hope never fades, and joy is proclaimed throughout the ages:

Hark the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!”
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled.
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem.”
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

May you and yours have the most blessed Christmas.

We also extend best wishes to our friends who celebrate the season in other ways and with other traditions.

Kelly Jolkowski, the staff and volunteers of Project Jason

kelly, I just wanted to take this oppertunity to let you know that you and your entire family is in our prayer on yet another christmas season without your son being there to enjoy all of the joys of the season. we will continue to offer prayers for you and jason as the new year is coming to be born. you are such a strong inspiration to everyone here. god bless you kelly...

[inquiringmindz]

Thinking of Jason's family and praying for answers.

[SoccerMom]

Kelly, my heart aches for you this year as it has every year since I stumbled onto Websleuths. I didn't know what I could do to help you, so I joined and voted for your idea. I wholeheartedly support the idea, and I added it to my Facebook page. I hope that someday soon I can celebrate the return of Jason to you, but until then please know that there are people all over the country (and the world!) who are trying to help any way that they can.

[Kelly]

Thanks, Soccermom. You're very kind.

In regards to the change.org vote:

It is hard to know what to say. We have failed at this initiative.

It was a good opportunity for us to make the silenced voices heard; the voices of our missing loved ones. I appreciate greatly all of you who took this to heart, pitched in, and worked hard to be heard. Your encouraging comments, efforts, and determination will not be forgotten.

Failure is no stranger to many of us. What is important to remember is that success is often born of failure. Thomas Edison had hundreds of unsuccessful attempts to invent the light bulb, but he kept trying, and each time, he came closer to the right combination of elements. As we all know, he was successful.

Project Jason was born because we failed to pass a state law after two years, so we started the organization which bears our missing son's name. We went back to the state a third time, and we passed our law!

Working together, we will pass needed laws to aid in the search for those whom we love and won't forget. Every day is a new opportunity to succeed. Perhaps some of you might work on passing this on a state level through our Campaign for the Missing. There will also be efforts done at federal level.

I can give you a one word reason why we will succeed: LOVE

We love those who are not with us, but will be forever in our hearts. Our love gives us the strength to go on, even in the face of numerous obstacles. That love is a committed love, and just as love never dies, neither will these efforts to do what we must. We will perservere.

2009 is a new year in which to take action and make a difference. Each day brings us one day closer to the answers we seek, and one day closer to putting solutions in place for the future. We'll make it happen.

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski

Campaign for the Missing:
http://www.projectjason.org/legislation.html

[Peki51]

Kelly,

I don't look at this as a failure by any means. 485 people voted and stand united to move forward. This is just another baby step in the right direction to get national legislation passed. This effort will not go unnoticed and it will help bring more and more to the table.

The time will come for families of missing persons to be recognized and their cases heard. There will be a time when all law enforcement agencies will follow an effective procedure. There will be a time when we all look back and see that this effort was a success, not a failure.

There is still much work to be done to accomplish what we all want and, as we know, our government often moves at a snail's pace.

The time will come........keep hoping.

Delilah
http://peace4missing.ning.com

[Kelly]

It was a failure as we did not move to round two. We should have had the support to do it. It was just not that much to ask of anyone, but we were unable to obtain the numbers needed. Even within the cause itself, people could not be bothered to take a few minutes to do this. That is perplexing to me.

But, reading my note of last night, and for those who know me well, understand that I don't give up, ever, and won't. I know that people took notice and people were educated. It WAS a failure and it IS steps forward, even though small. I am a realist and optimist at the same time. We will win this battle with time and support.

Happy New Year to all.

[Sheromom]

I'm so sorry, Kelly. I did vote last night; it was still accepting votes but I guess it was too late by then. Bless you for all you do.:blowkiss:

[christine2448]

Praying for answers in 2009!

[Kristin83]

May 2009 be the year that precious Jason comes home.

[Kelly]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=7802603&page=1

Missing Child: Nightmare That Never Ends
Parents of Amber DuBois, Brittanee Drexel and Jason Jolkowski Chronicle Anguish

By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES
June 11, 2009

Two months since her 17-year-old daughter went missing in a South Carolina beach town, Dawn Drexel cautiously holds on to hope. But each day it gets harder.

Fearing the Worst in Brittanee Drexel's Disapperance

There have been few leads in the disappearnce of Brittanee Drexel, 17, who was last seen April 25 while on spring break in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Her family and friends say they fear the worst.

"This is a nightmare and you don't wake up out of it," she said the Rochester, N.Y., mother who has lived in a donated condo in Myrtle Beach since her daughter Brittanee disappeared April 25.

Brittanee Drexel was last seen on surveillance video leaving the Bluewater Resort where she had gone on spring break with friends, whom she later left, against her mother's will.

"I will never stop looking for my daughter," said Drexel. "So many children go missing each day. This is part of my life now. I am not going to quit."

Parents of missing children say that the pain is excruciating, and psychologists confirm that the loss can be even greater than when a child dies. For each, deciding when to give up the search is different.

"For those of us who will never experience such a horrible crime, it's hard to imagine how they get up every day, go to jobs, get their other children ready for school," said Marsha Gilmer-Tullis, director of its family advocacy division for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

"We never encourage them to give up," she told ABCNews.com. "Our goal is to always work the case and try to have some resolution. We always talk about hope."

But Drexel has set a deadline for herself -- the end of June -- when she will return home to her husband, from who she recently divorced, and her two other children.

"It's been very difficult," she told ABCNews.com. "I wake up in the morning and I think about Brittanee. At this point, I just want some closure. I need to know where she is -- and if she's not alive, I need to know."

"But I am missing my other children," she said of her 12-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son, whom she talks to daily. "My daughter Marissa says she wants her Mommy home."

The U.S. Department of Justice reports that 797,500 children under the age of 18 were reported missing in 2008. An average of 2,185 children are reported missing each day. Most are family, not stranger, abductions.

Coping with a missing child -- be it months or years -- is an excruciating ordeal for families. Many couples split apart, commit suicide or suffer physical or mental health consequences. Some turn to drug and alcohol abuse.

Missing Children: Siblings Suffer
Siblings, in particular, are affected by the unresolved loss. Drexel's daughter doesn't want to sleep in her own bed because her sister's room empty room is next door.

"She needs to feel safe," said Drexel. "She says, 'Mommy, you need to come home.'"

At the same time, her daughter says, "You can't leave without Brittanee," according to Drexel.

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Brittanee Drexel, please contact the Myrtle Beach Police Department at (843) 918-1000.

And for parents, emotions also range from guilt to rage to hyper-arousal.

Much of it is anchored in a feeling of "powerlessness to the max," according to Therese A. Rando, a Rhode Island psychologist and author of, "How To Go On Living When Someone You Love Dies." "Especially in Western civilization, the role of parent to child is the closest genetically, psychologically and socially," said told ABCNews.com. "You should be able to protect a child so he can grow up and bury you."

Like the Drexels, parents will do anything before giving up hope and calling off a search, wondering if the child is out there somewhere in need.

"Are they choosing to come home or unable to come?" Rando asked. "Are they lost or physically injured? They may be imprisoned or mistreated."

"You do whatever you can," she said. "Maybe one more flyer, one more congressman to reach and one more reporter to give the story to can make a difference."

For the DuBois family of Escondido, Calif., whose daughter Amber has been missing since last February, the wait for answers that have never come has been devastating.

The 14-year-old was last seen 200 yards from the gate of at Escondido High School. She had sent four test messages to her grandmother at 6:45 a.m. and was last seen by family friends around 7:15 a.m.

There have been few leads in her case. At the time of her disappearance she was carrying a $200 check for a school program, and Valentine's Day gifts for her friends.

Her cell phone was turned on for a few minutes on the day following her disappearance, but hasn't been used since.

"I'm hanging in there, but it's still hard to function every day," said her mother, Carrie McGonigle, who has a younger daughter from a new marriage. "It's hard to be a good parent to my 6-year-old. It's tearing up the family."

Missing Child Causes Health Problems
Amber's disappearance has taken a toll on her half-sister, who has nightmares and, like the rest of the family, is seeing a counselor.

"She feels like we don't love her and that our focus is on finding Amber," said McGonigle. "She gets angry and her teachers say she has changed 360 degrees from nice to angry." McGonigle is on anti-depressants for stress and has not been able to work at her customer service job at a printing company in four months.

"It's utterly devastating and tears us apart," said Amber's father, who is an electronic engineer. "I haven't worked a day since she went missing."

"All we have is our hope, and when you lose that, all is gone," said Maurice "Moe" DuBois.

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Amber Leeane DuBois, please contact Amber's Search Center at (760) 743-7343.

For Kelly Jolkowski, who has waited for her son Jason's return for eight years, activism has helped her cope.

Jason disappeared at the age of 19 on June 13, 2001 -- an anniversary that will hit the family hard on Saturday. He left home to meet a co-worker who was supposed to drive him to work

He was last seen by his younger brother Michael taking the trash out in their Omaha, Neb., driveway.

"He had no enemies, he was a nice kid, no one hated him and there is no evidence of mental health issues or family problems," she told ABCNews.com. "He doesn't look like a runaway and there is no evidence someone took him." She said she replays that day forever in her mind.

"I wondered if I could do something to prevent this," said Jolkowski. "You always play back the last day or the last week. Parents of missing teens often worry that they "yelled at him because he didn't pick up his clothes...if I hadn't done that things would be different."

The Jolkowski's marriage has remained intact, despite the pressures, and a close network of friends and extended family have softened the pain.

In 2003, the family formed a nonprofit organization, Project Jason, which is dedicated to helping families find their missing children. "We support them. We listen to them and find out what their needs," she said.

They work with hundreds of families across the U.S., offering free online counseling. The group also distributes posters through the trucking industry and homeless shelters and keeps an address on the online game Second Life.

Waiting Eight Years for Son to Come Home

Jason's Law was passed in 2005, establishing a state clearinghouse that collects information on missing persons and makes it available to the public.

For the first time this weekend, they will hold a retreat for families with missing children.

Both the DuBois and Drexel families have also found solace in organizations dedicated to their missing children -- the Brittanee Drexel Foundation and Bring Amber Home.

"What we have found is the ability for them to connect with others who are going through the same thing is helpful," said CEMC's Gilmer-Tullis.

Jolkowski agrees.

"When you become active in the solutions, it helps a great deal in healing," said "You always have the feeling that you have momentum moving forward, accomplishing things that might find Jason or another child."

In her gut, Jolkowski really doesn't know if her son, who would be 27 this weekend, is alive or dead.

"We have our right to hope until we find our truth," she said. "Jason could be sitting somewhere wanting to come home."

"When someone dies through health or an accident they are dead and there is an answer," she said. "You can go through the steps of grief, denial, anger and progress.

"We are stuck and we don't know what we are grieving for."

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Jason Jolkowski, contact the Omaha Police Department at (402) 444-5600.

For more mays to help, contact Team HOPE (Help Offering Parents Empowerment) for assistance to families with missing children.

[Tranaice]

Kelly I keep all of you with missing children in my prayers. I pray that someday soon you have your answers. God bless you and all of the other parents with missing children.

[Kelly]

Thank you. We keep the candle of hope burning!

[Kelly]

http://omaha.com/article/20090615/NEWS01/306159899

Project Jason retreat draws 20


Kelly Jolkowski could see the anxiety and sadness on the faces of the 20 people who came to a retreat Friday near Ashland, Neb.

They all have experienced the sorrow of having a loved one disappear and not knowing that person's fate.

But by Sunday, two days later, the participants had changed, said Jolkowski, who helps families of missing people. "Their faces lifted," she said. "They learned that they can still experience joy in their lives."

The participants came from places throughout the United States for the retreat, called "Keys to Healing: Mind, Body and Spirit." It was sponsored by Project Jason, a nonprofit organization named after Jolkowski's son, who disappeared from his Omaha family eight years ago at age 19. Saturday marked the anniversary of his disappearance.

The retreat, at Carol Joy Holling Camp, helped participants understand the physical and emotional trauma caused by a loved one's disappearance, Jolkowski said. They were treated to talks and help from a therapist, priest, dietician, personal trainer and massage therapist. "We pampered them," Jolkowski said. "That's what they needed."

Jolkowski said she hopes Project Jason can make the retreat an annual event. Project Jason covered $100 of each person's costs, she said. The retreat cost $155 per person or $288 for a couple and included everything for the weekend: meals, snacks, materials and lodging.

[AmyinTheHam]

Kelly, I can't begin to understand your pain. I can however understand the love of your child though, as a mother myself. I think the retreat was a wonderful gift to the 20 folks that were able to attend. What a blessing to them to be able to experience something like that. I do hope that you all can do it annually. Sadly I am sure that there will always be people that need such support. Thank you for posting the article about it. And I will continue to pray for your family as well as others in your situation.

[Tranaice]

Kelly,

That is such a wonderful thing you did, holding that retreat for the families who have missing loved ones. You truly are an angel! You are all still in my prayers every day.

[Kelly]

It was so amazing and miraculous that I have not been able to put it into words! Those 20 people were transformed before our eyes. I am confident we will have it again as long as we get the support of the public.

Thank you.

[hoppyfrog]

The headline story right now at CNN.com is about how Kelly Jolkowski works to help families of the missing:

Thought you all might be interested since Kelly posts on the WS missing forums quite often.

http://www.cnn.com/

or

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/28/grace.coldcase.project.jason/index.html

Hoppy