IL IL - Jesse Ross, 20, Chicago, 21 Nov 2006

New Posts

2-19-07 - A day after his birthday, Wichita relatives of a missing college student are stepping up their search. 20-year-old Jesse Ross disappeared in Chicago in November while on a trip with classmates from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/5938431.html
 
mistivon said:
2-19-07 - A day after his birthday, Wichita relatives of a missing college student are stepping up their search. 20-year-old Jesse Ross disappeared in Chicago in November while on a trip with classmates from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/5938431.html
Click to expand...

Wow, he had a job after graduation all set up and he remained in close contact with his friends and family and none of his credit cards have been used.

Also, all of his hotel belongings were still there in his room. This is very bizarre since it looks like he just vanished into thin air.

Jesse looks like a small, thin guy and that could have made him more vulnerable.

Does anyone know if Jesse is a slight, small man?
 
I live in Chicago and this is the first I am hearing about this. I have not heard anything on the local news about this boy. I find that heartbreaking that there isn't more coverage on this.
Bobbisangel, the drownings over the years have been in Wisconsin, not far at all from Chicago, and it's very possible there could be a connection, far fetched or not, someone could go back and forth very easily.
There is an article on Crime Library about the drownings in WI. Some people believe it is the work of a murderer, while others believe all the boys simply were drunk and accidentally drowned.
They said the description of the boys were all the same.
 
Dena said:
I live in Chicago and this is the first I am hearing about this. I have not heard anything on the local news about this boy. I find that heartbreaking that there isn't more coverage on this.
Bobbisangel, the drownings over the years have been in Wisconsin, not far at all from Chicago, and it's very possible there could be a connection, far fetched or not, someone could go back and forth very easily.
There is an article on Crime Library about the drownings in WI. Some people believe it is the work of a murderer, while others believe all the boys simply were drunk and accidentally drowned.
They said the description of the boys were all the same.
Click to expand...
But they should be able to tell by the autopsy if they were killed and then dumped in the water of if they drowned on their own.

If they were intentionall drowned by someone else that is often done by tying down the body with a heavy weight or something. If someone just dumped a live body in the river then at least some of the men should have been able to swim to shore so the killer would have had to kill the victim and THEN dump the body in the water and they could easily tell by autopsy that the victim was killed and then dumped in the water.

It's very suprising this case hasn't gotten ANY attention in Chicago. Are they too busy talking about the stupid Cubs/Sox and Bears all the time??
 
If the men were drunk when they were pushed into the river they would probably drown before they became aware that they were drowning. The weather has been really cold when a lot of the men drowned so that would also help in the drowning. I believe that every or almost every man who has been found in the rivers had just left a bar alone.
 
Bobbisangel said:
If the men were drunk when they were pushed into the river they would probably drown before they became aware that they were drowning. The weather has been really cold when a lot of the men drowned so that would also help in the drowning. I believe that every or almost every man who has been found in the rivers had just left a bar alone.
Click to expand...
But Jodierenee said she's been there and even if Jesse was dumped into the river it would've been caught on camera.
 
UM&AMWfan said:
But Jodierenee said she's been there and even if Jesse was dumped into the river it would've been caught on camera.
Click to expand...



The whole river was covered with cameras? There is probably more then one place that he could have been shoved in. It's really just hard to tell what happened to this young man. A real mystery.
 
They’ve put up billboards in Chicago bearing their son’s picture. They’ve gone to that city and handed out fliers. They’ve even consulted a psychic.
Still, the parents of Jesse Ross, a student at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, know no more now about his whereabouts than when he disappeared Nov. 21.
“There are days when it’s really hard,” said Don Ross, Jesse’s father. “But you have to keep going.”
Ross was 19 when he disappeared after leaving a hotel in Chicago, where he was attending a conference.

http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/87812.html
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

For further information contact:
Kelly Jolkowski
402-932-0095

kelly.jolkowski@projectjason.org


OMAHA MISSING PERSONS' DAY ON THE CUE CENTER NATIONAL TOUR

Omaha Area Families of the Missing Gather to Remember Their Loved Ones

Omaha, NE, - June 13th, 2007- June 13th, 2007, marks the six year anniversary of the disappearance of then 19 year-old Jason Jolkowski from his home in Omaha, NE. To bring awareness for area missing persons cases and garner community support for the families of the missing, Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey is declaring June 13th as Omaha Missing Persons' Day. Project Jason, founded by the family of Jason Jolkowski, is sponsoring an event to commemorate this day. It will be held at Omaha's Memorial Park at 56th and Underwood Ave from 6:30-8:30pm. The public is invited to attend.

This event will also serve to honor four other families of missing persons from the area. They, along with the parents of Jason Jolkowski, will share their stories.

In addition, the Cue Center, a nonprofit organization from North Carolina led by founder Monica Caison, which provides assistance for families of the missing, has included Omaha and this event as a stop on their national tour to bring awareness for numerous missing person's cases. The 4th annual "On the Road to Remember Tour" begins on June 11th and concludes on June 21st, covering 2,400 miles, 22 stops in 11 states, and 75 missing person cases.

This moving ceremony will begin with a march led by the Air Force Color Guard with bagpipe accompaniment. The Mayor's office will then present the Omaha Missing Persons' Day proclamation to Kelly Jolkowski, President and Founder of Project Jason, and to Monica Caison, Founder of the Cue Center.

The event will also include music and prayer, and will culminate with a symbolic white dove release by each represented family.

Featured Missing Persons' Cases:

Jason Jolkowski disappeared from the driveway of his home in Omaha, NE on Wednesday, June 13th, 2001. He was then 19 years of age. He was preparing to go to work at his part-time job, and was last seen doing his weekly chores outside.

Erin Pospisil was just 15 years old on June 3rd, 2001, when she left her home in Cedar Rapids, IA to go visit a friend. Her friend was not home, and when a car pulled up, Erin went over and spoke with the occupants. She entered that vehicle and was never seen again.

Singer-songwriter Gina Bos disappeared on October 17, 2000 after performing at a pub in Lincoln, NE. The next morning, her vehicle was found across the street from the pub with the trunk ajar and her guitar inside.

Nearly 42 years ago, 18 year-old Jackie Rains-Kracman left her home in Columbus, NE, telling her family she was going to a wedding with a friend in Glenwood, IA. The friend returned home, but Jackie didn't.

University of Missouri sophomore Jesse Ross vanished on November 21, 2006, after attending a model United Nations conference at the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago, IL. After a dance, Jesse was seen heading towards his hotel room, which was a ten minute walk from the Sheraton. Jesse never made it back.

About Project Jason:

Project Jason, located in Omaha, NE was founded in 2003 by the parents of missing young adult Jason Jolkowski. “Our mission as a non profit organization is to create and increase public awareness of missing people through a variety of outreach and educational activities. Project Jason seeks to bring hope and assistance to families of the missing by providing resources and support.” Project Jason serves families of the missing nationwide and has been instrumental in the recent passage of missing persons' legislation in several states through their Campaign for the Missing program. To learn more about Project Jason, please see http://www.projectjason.org, or contact Kelly Jolkowski at 402-932-0095 or kelly.jolkowski@projectjason.org

About Cue Center:

Founded in 1994, the Cue Center, (Community United Effort) based in Wilmington, N.C., provides support, services and search efforts to families of the missing. For full On the Road to Remember tour dates and locations, as well as a complete listing of cases featured on the tour, e-mail cuecenter@aol.com or call Monica Caison at (910) 343-1131 or the 24 Hour Line at (910) 232-1687.For more information, please see http://ncmissingpersons.org/


###

Important Note: If it is raining, or rain is threatening, the event will be held at Holy Name Church at 2901 N Fontenelle Blvd. (As of this writing, the chance of rain is very high, so it is imperative that the rain location be communicated.)

If the event takes place at Memorial Park, attendees need to bring their own chairs
 
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10042595

Published Thursday | June 14, 2007

Missing people's stories told at ceremony

BY LEIA BAEZ
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER


Kelly and Jim Jolkowski aren't giving up.

Wednesday marked six years since they last saw their son, Jason Jolkowski, then 19, when he left their Benson area home to walk to work.

More than 50 people attended a ceremony Wednesday night at Holy Name Catholic Church to commemorate the day, which Mayor Mike Fahey declared Omaha Missing Persons Day.

Project Jason, founded by the Jolkowski family, sponsored the event where community members prayed and listened to stories from families of missing persons.

"Things are going very good for Project Jason," Kelly Jolkowski said. "We have had national recognition in many ways.

"Awareness is key."

Jolkowski said her toughest challenge has been living day to day not knowing what happened to her son.

Through Project Jason however, she is able to show support to other families of missing people and receive support in return.

The Cue Center, a nonprofit organization based in North Carolina that provides assistance for families of the missing, included the Omaha event as a stop on its fourth annual "On the Road to Remember Tour."

Monica Caison, founder of the organization, said it's important for families of missing persons never to give up, but also to maintain a healthy lifestyle for themselves.

The tour, which runs through June 21, will cover 2,400 miles, making 22 stops in 11 states and raising awareness for 75 missing person cases.

Don and Donna Ross of Belton, Mo., traveled to the Omaha event to show support and raise awareness for their missing son, 20-year-old Jesse Ross.

Jesse Ross, who was a sophomore at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, vanished Nov. 21, 2006, after attending a conference in Chicago. After a dance, Jesse was seen heading to his hotel room, a 10-minute walk. He never made it.

"Seven months later we are still hoping for word," Don Ross said. "Thanks to (Project Jason), Jesse's story has been heard nationwide."
 
http://www.ketv.com/family/13502516/detail.html

(Video Included which shows families of missing Erin Pospisil and Jesse Ross speaking.)

Missing Man's Mother Wants National DNA Database Used
Kelly Jolkowski Asks States To Change Laws
6/13/07

On the anniversary of an Omaha teenager's disappearance, his mother launched a campaign to help find closure for the families of missing people.

Jason Jolkowski disappeared in June 2001. On Wednesday, his mother, Kelly, said she is pushing for new legislation. Through her advocacy group Project Jason, Jolkowski said she's helping lead a nationwide grassroots effort to better use the national DNA database to help identify the estimated 40,000 to 50,000 unidentified bodies around the country.

"Encourage families of the missing to have their DNA taken and entered into CODIS," Jolkowski said. "Then, when you have an unidentified body, these samples will match against family member samples."

Jolkowski wants states to pass legislation preventing remains from being cremated or buried without first identifying them.

"The law will stipulate that won't happen. They won't be able to do that. They must take a sample and get it into CODIS and match against family members samples," Jolkowski said.

While it could bring closure for many families of the missing, Jolkowski said it's not the outcome they will be wishing for.

Jolkowski said that currently there are eight states that have either put this legislation into place or are close to passing it. It is up for consideration in a number of others.

Jolkowski said she's been working with her state senator in hopes to have a proposal drafted for next year's legislative session in the Nebraska Unicameral.
 
Jesse is on Project Jason's current 18 Wheel Angel campaign. A special poster has been made for him and can be downloaded and printed for placement. More information about the program, and the link for the poster can be found here:

http://www.projectjason.org/18wheel.html

In addition to the campaign, Jesse is also featured in a trucking publication called Through the Gears. This free magazine is distributed in truck stops nationwide.

Through the Gears is one of JB Scott's many publications. In partnership with Project Jason, they feature one missing person per month. You can pick up your free copies at a local truck stop, but if it's far from you, you may want to call and ask if they carry that magazine. These are NOT found with the regular for purchase magazines. At my truck stop, they are in a special rack outside the main truck stop door. At another truck stop, they are in a hallway between the store and the trucker's lounge.

Through the Gears has a circulation of about 150,000.

You can also see the current campaign information on this JB Scott webpage:
http://www.truckjobseekers.com/Features/18_Wheel_Angel.aspx

We hope this helps in the search for Jesse.

______________________________
Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
www.projectjason.org
News and Information Forum
http://projectjason.powweb.com/dpforum/forum.php
 
Thank you Kelly! I go to UMKC and my heart breaks for Jesse's family and friends.
 
http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/299146.html

Father hires private investigator to help find son missing in Chicago

Don Ross, father of the University of Missouri-Kansas City student who went missing in Chicago last November, has hired a private investigator to continue the search for his son.

He said that while his son, Jesse Ross, remains among the list of active missing person cases in Chicago, police there have suspended the search. “But they would still respond to any new leads they get” concerning the 20-year-old’s whereabouts, the father said.

Ross said he decided to hire investigator Peter Kelly of Belton to help with the case after talking on line to other families who have been searching for years for their missing children.

(Note: Bolding is mine. More at link. Hoppy.)
 
Kelly said:
They're such nice people. You just wonder how these things can happen.

They just sent me another article:

http://projectjason.org/dpforum/thread.php?postid=9903#9903
Click to expand...

Thanks for link. It was a very interesting article.

It's amazing. HOW can someone disappear from a well lighted walkway with cameras everywhere during just a 10 minute walk??? Jesse's mom's explanation of "Aliens kidnapped him" gives you an idea how totally clueless everyone is, including LE, about this case.

Someone could've snatched him very quickly in a blind spot where the cameras couldn't pick it up. They said the searched the Chicago river but couldn't find him. It's possible that he was in the river but some debris/impedement/animal prevented LE from finding him.

This is just wild speculation since no one has a clue.
 
From Nov. 19th:

[Don] Ross spends hours trolling law enforcement Web sites for discoveries of unidentified bodies or police pickups of people with amnesia. He has sent postcards featuring Jesse’s photo to law enforcement agencies across the country.
Last month he hired a private detective. The two will travel to Chicago this month to do interviews on Chicago television and retrace Jesse’s steps.

http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/368936.html

Prayer vigil for Jesse:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2AkAShyZ8s
According to the video, Jesse's family is starting an email campaign to feature his case on Oprah.
 
Jesse Ross, missing for four years, remembered

It will be four years Sunday that Jesse Ross, nicknamed Opie, went to a Model United Nations Conference in Chicago and disappeared.
---
“You can never give up hope,” said Donald Ross, his father.

And there was plenty of that on hand tonight as Donald and his wife, Donna Ross, of Belton held the fifth OpieFest, a celebration of hope that Jesse will be found and a fundraiser to help defray expenses incurred by the family when they travel to Chicago to look for Jesse, whose nickname is Opie.

His father will make another trip soon to talk with a Chicago detective assigned to the case and to put together another OpieFest there.
---
But his picture wasn’t the only one on display. A plea to find a missing person was at almost every table.

There was Kara E. Kopetsky, who disappeared after leaving Belton High School on May 4, 2007. And Jerry Tang, Emillie Hoyt, Elsha Marie Rivera, Suzanne Gloria Lyall and Jason Jolkowski.

“It’s like an epidemic,” said Rhonda Beckford of Belton, Kara’s mother.

Like many who came, she was there for support.
---

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/11/19/2453745/friends-family-gather-to-honor.html#ixzz15qSA8s7J

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/r/ross_jesse.html
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Staff online

Members online

... and 169 more.
Total: 1,350 (members: 170, guests: 1,180)

Online statistics

Members online
170
Guests online
1,180
Total visitors
1,350
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
591,801
Messages
17,959,100
Members
228,607
Latest member
wdavewong
Back
Top