Project Jason in the News

[LINDA]

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

Project Jason retreat draws 20

June 15, 2009

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. -

[Kelly]

Front page of CDLJobs.com June 2009 Issue

Project Jason and CDLJobs.com Announce Alliance

CDLJobs.com, a subsidiary of Williams Media Group, and Project Jason, a 501 c 3 nonprofit organization which assists families of missing persons, has announced an alliance. CDLJobs.com will promote Project Jason’s Awareness Angels Network program in their monthly online magazine.

Awareness Angels Network (AAN). AAN, begun by Project Jason in 2008, provides a way for the public to assist the families of missing persons. Missing persons posters designed specifically for the AAN program are disseminated via email to those enrolled in the program. Participants can then upload the posters to websites, print and place the posters in public areas, and forward them to their contacts. The program helps spread the word and increase the chances of finding the person.

Each month, CDLJobs.com will publish a full color ad in their popular online magazine which will feature 5 of Project Jason’s missing person cases from across the country. The ad has clickable links which take the reader to additional information about the missing person, and a link to their printable poster.  Readers are encouraged to sign up for the AAN program and help with poster distribution. “You can be a Heroâ€� is the theme of the joint venture.
 
“We’re very grateful for this opportunity to have another avenue of awareness for our missing person cases,� said Kelly Jolkowski, President and Founder of Project Jason. “Each poster placed represents a chance to help bring a missing loved one back home.� Project Jason staff will select the cases for the monthly ad.


Full page spread introducing Project Jason's AAN Program in the June issue of CDLJobs.com

In the June issue, the following missing persons were featured:

Bobbi Ann Campbell, missing from Salt Lake City, UT since 1/7/1995
http://projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=1432.0

Jason Jolkowski, missing from Omaha, NE since 6/13/2001
http://projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=131.0

Adam Kellner, missing from Stevenson Ranch, CA since 7/08/2007
http://projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=2895.0

Becky Kraemer, missing from Milwaukee, WI since 12/15/2003
http://projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=720.0

Annita Price, missing from Moundsville, WV since 5/28/1974
http://projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=5832.0


To see the June issue of the online magazine, please go to http://www.cdljobs.com/cdljobsonlinemagazine/JUNE09.htm 
An introduction to Project Jason and AAN is on page 12 and the ad is on page 13.  (Use the arrows at the top center of the page to advance the pages, and use the zoom button to increase the page size.)

About Williams Media Group and CDLJobs.com

Williams Media Group began in March of 1999, and specializes in advertising for the truck driving recruitment industry. CDLJobs.com, a subsidiary, offers the most comprehensive listings of truck jobs industry interests available. It features: up-to-date news; a trucker's blog for driver comments; links to other sites of industry interest; and notices of driving opportunities from across the country. The site gets thousands of visitors on a daily basis. 

About Project Jason

Project Jason, founded in 2003, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting the families of missing persons, and creating and increasing public awareness of missing people through a variety of outreach and educational activities. Project Jason brings hope and assistance to families of the missing by providing resources and support. The organization is based in Omaha, Nebraska.

For more information about Project Jason’s objectives, activities and services, go to http://www.projectjason.org

[Kelly]

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090625/NEWS02/306259930/-1/NEIGHBORS

Mom wants missing woman declared dead

BY ED PALATTELLA
Published: June 25. 2009 1:15AM

Seven years ago Wednesday, Susan Burg's 20-year-old daughter disappeared.

This will most likely be the first year that Sabrina Kahler no longer will be officially considered alive.

Burg has started the process to obtain a death certificate for Kahler, who never returned after leaving her family's house at East Third and Lighthouse streets in Erie the morning of June 24, 2002.

Witnesses last saw her with an acquaintance, David Heck, who is in prison in an unrelated case and has not cooperated with investigators.

Burg still hopes her daughter, whose 27th birthday was Saturday, is alive. The reality -- fruitless searches, a lack of fresh leads, absence of contact -- led Burg, finally, to want her daughter declared legally deceased.

Getting the death certificate, Burg believes, might prod someone to detail her daughter's disappearance, including her body's location.

"It is kind of my last-ditch search to find the means to bring a person forward," said Burg, 58. "There is a lot of mixed emotions. The not knowing is the hardest thing to take.

"Death is hard enough, but this missing stuff is the pits, to put it mildly."

Kahler's father, Richard Kahler, also deals with the prolonged uncertainty. He said he understands Burg's desire to get a death certificate.

"Nobody really knows for sure," said Richard Kahler, 59, who has been divorced from Burg since 1998. "We've had a wedding and a grandson born and we put a candle out at the wedding for her. It's been difficult."

Photographs of Sabrina Kahler and her family -- she has a brother, a half sister and three half brothers -- fill Burg's house. Burg made a 20-panel quilt that commemorates significant moments in her daughter's 20 years before she vanished. One panel marks her 2001 graduation from East High School, where she was in learning-assistance classes.

The top right panel shows an image of Kahler's birth records, including tiny footprints taken at Hamot Medical Center.

She was born June 20, 1982, at 8:34 p.m.

"Life begins at Hamot," the records read.

'Ambiguous loss'
A death certificate can help settle financial issues, including life insurance, in missing-person cases. No such considerations are present in Kahler's case, said Erie lawyer Elliott Ehrenreich, who is preparing the petition for the death certificate.

"This is being done based on the family's desire for closure," he said.

The petition, once filed, will go to Erie County Orphans' Court, where a judge will hear evidence.

What if a judge approves the death certificate and Kahler reappears?

"Then all the better," Ehrenreich said. "We would walk right back into court and say we were wrong. And there would be tears of joy from all the parties involved."

The decision to get a death certificate for a missing person varies based on the circumstances, said Kelly Jolkowski, founder and president of Project Jason, a Nebraska-based nonprofit that helps families of missing loved ones. Getting a death certificate "doesn't close the case or hinder the investigation," Jolkowski said.

More than 105,000 missing-persons cases are active in the United States, according to the FBI. Jolkowski's son, Jason, then 19, has been missing since June 13, 2001.

The inconclusiveness, she said, gnaws at families of the missing.

"That is called ambiguous loss," she said. "You don't know what you are grieving for because there is no finality."

Project Jason two weeks ago held its first retreat, in Omaha, Neb., for families of missing people. About 20 people attended. They discussed coping skills and other topics.

Burg was there. The participants received handwritten notes from children in the 4-H Club in Ashland, NE.

"Don't give up hope," says one of Burg's notes.

An open case

Burg describes her daughter as openhearted but "very naive," a 20-year-old with the intellect of a 14-year-old.

David Heck, the acquaintance, was 26 years old when he picked up Kahler at her family's house the day she disappeared. He is now 33, and serving a burglary sentence of nine months to three years at the state prison at Mercer. His minimum sentence ends Oct. 16, and his maximum sentence ends Jan. 16, 2012, according to state records.

Before he stopped speaking about the case, Heck told the Erie Times-News in August 2002 that he took Kahler swimming in western Erie County. He told police he then dropped her off at the West Erie Plaza and gave her money to see a movie -- an account police have been unable to confirm.

"It's still listed as a missing-person case," said Erie police Sgt. Barry Snyder, who is supervising the probe. "We haven't had any new information come in in quite some time."

If new information arrives, Snyder said, police will act immediately.

Susan Burg continues to wait for clues about her daughter. The death certificate would signal the passing of another stage in Sabrina Kahler's case. It would not mean the end.

"There is a lot more to deal with, that won't be resolved until the actual body is found," Burg said. "Because grieving is a process, and sometimes you get stuck, especially in this situation."

INFORMATION SOUGHT ON KAHLER

Erie police Sgt. Barry Snyder, who is investigating the case of Sabrina Kahler, asked anyone with information on her to call him at 870-1506.

Investigators have described Kahler as 5 feet 2 inches tall and 120-130 pounds, with dark blond hair, blue eyes, a fair complexion, braces on her teeth and pierced ears. At the time of her June 24, 2002, disappearance, Kahler, nicknamed "Bree," was 20 years old. She was last seen wearing a two-piece bathing suit or a pink-and-red top with blue shorts and blue-and-white sneakers.

For more information on Kahler and other missing people, go to the Web site for Project Jason, projectjason.org. Click on "Faces of Missing Loved Ones" for a summary of Kahler's case and a downloadable poster of her.

[Kelly]

http://boernestar.com/articles/2009/07/11/news/doc4a5673cb21b5e986439138.txt

Missing daughter leaves hole in family life


By Elena Tucker - Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, July 11, 2009 1:05 AM CDT

Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-part series.

July brings an unhappy anniversary for Galen Kaufman. It was last summer that his 8-year-old daughter Camille Kaufman went on holiday with her mother, Dr. Lynanne Foster. They have not been seen since - at least not by friends and loved ones.

Kaufman last heard from his daughter on July 9, 2008 when she called on her grandmother’s cell phone to tell him that she and her mother were going to Love Field to board a plane for Florida to begin an extended road trip.

Since then, there’s been no word and authorities believe Foster took her daughter out of the country in violation of a custody agreement.

On July 21, 2008, about the time that Camille was due to return, reality suddenly began to batter Kaufman with swift, successive blows.

He went to his ex-wife’s house, looked in the window, and saw that while the furniture was not missing, many personal effects were.

“As soon as I realized what was happening,� the father said,� I contacted the Boerne Police. They transferred the case to the Kendall County Sheriff’s Department soon after because the mother lived outside city limits.�

Two days later, on July 23, Foster’s parents received a brief letter of explanation and apology from their daughter. The letter was postmarked in San Antonio, and remains a piece of evidence that’s so far failed to offer any clues regarding who posted it and why.

“When I heard that Camille was taken out of the country by her mother, not to be returned, I was shocked,� family friend Lance Hirsch said. “I couldn't believe it had happened and assumed it would all be quickly resolved. The authorities would simply track her down and bring her home or Lynanne would relent and come home. Obviously that hasn't happened. I suppose the shock increased initially over a couple of weeks and then the realization that finding someone out of the country who is smart and has a plan would not be easy.�

Almost exactly two months after Foster vanished with Camille, a warrant was issued for the mother’s arrest citing interference of child custody.

In November, she was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, and in May of this year, Kaufman was granted full custody of Camille by order of Kendall County Court-at-law Judge Bill Palmer - legal milestones signifying that Camille’s case hasn’t exactly stalled since she vanished.

However, while Martinez and Kaufman hint at new developments, neither exudes optimism either.

Twelve months have passed “ time during which Camille has been starkly absent from the life of her father, her new stepmother, and a baby stepbrother“ and no real light glimmers on the horizon of her disappearance.

There are many Web sites dedicated to trying to find Camille: postings on YouTube, Project Jason, For the Lost, The Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Most of the sites note that when Camille disappeared, she was missing both front teeth, a description whose very juvenile transience seems to emphasize how swiftly children change as time ticks implacably by.

Not surprisingly, Kaufman says that his life has changed “drastically� since last summer.

He’s become more withdrawn and cynical, he said. “My sense of karma is off-kilter. It's a combination of 'why me' and also shock and recognition of what people are capable of. It never entered my mind that Lynanne could do this. I guess there is a greater sense of futility.�

He imagines that the telling of his distressing story paints him with the distasteful hues of a pariah.

It was extremely difficult for him to move away from the place Camille had come to call home, but Kaufman was forced to move his new family in the direction of “job availability� and he now practices veterinary medicine in a Houston clinic.

“I'm much busier, and any free time is of course spent trying to find Camille,� Kaufman said. “It's been difficult on my family. Lynanne's actions have ricocheted through dozens of lives.�

His toddler son shares similarities with Camille, Kaufman said. However, he seems to concede that as a father whose heart is “split and hurting� these days, he is perhaps not the most focused of parents.

He added that his wife takes the brunt of what is now a complicated household dynamic.

“We can't be a whole family without Camille. There is no easy way around this.,� Kaufman said.

His wife acknowledges that her current situation is untenable. Hers is a life of trying to somehow make OK something that can never be OK. It can be lonely, she said, and the sorrow of Camille’s absence darkens every effort toward joy, stability, and completeness.

Kaufman’s most intense concerns center around Camille’s physical, emotional, and psychological safety. He worries about his daughter “deeply,� he said.

“While I know her mother has Camille's best interest in her heart, the worry is that her mother might not be mentally stable, and the things she must be telling Camille to explain all this are likely very hurtful and false. And if her mother indeed has organic mental disease, it is likely to progress, which at some point means she will be unable to care for her properly. The more time that goes by, the more damage I fear is being done. I know Camille is a strong girl in her identity, but being told lies by one's own mother is so dangerous.�

He is worn thin by the need to think about Camille and the need to not think about Camille. It’s an intolerable effort that he manages only “by staying busy with work and minimizing the time I have to think about it,� he said.

“Then, of course, I feel guilty for not doing more about the case,� Kaufman said, “for not just getting on a plane and starting to look myself. But that wouldn’t be fair to my family.�

His fatherly efforts on his daughter’s behalf involve “plugging away at every shred of evidence and search idea we can muster,� Kaufman said.

He continues to recruit “fresh eyes� to look at his daughter’s case, while he also continues to lean on law enforcement - he knows how many other distractions can pull their attention to other cases.

Kaufman also realizes that Camille herself may need to play a role in their reunion. “I just keep hoping that one day Camille will realize that she can fix this herself. It might be up to her,� Kaufman said.

Hirsch said his kids still remember and talk about Camille, especially when they drive by the Kaufmanns' house.

“They tell fun stories about visiting there or about playing with Camille.

Inevitably they ask, ‘When are they going to find her?’ ‘I don't know,’ is all I can say for now,� he said.

While Kaufman said he has no wish to keep Camille from contact with her mother, the irony of his newly granted sole-custody status hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“This is exactly what Lynanne feared I was trying to do,� Kaufman said. “It’s a perfect example of how we create the world we fear.�

He added in regard to the court ruling, “it’s just another tool to get Camille back into a healthier environment where she can be supported by her entire family tree.�

Other than believing that his daughter is probably being homeschooled somewhere in a Spanish-language country, Kaufman has no idea what Camille’s life has been like during the past 365 days.

What Kaufman does know is that should Camille not be returned by the anniversary date of her disappearance, he’s not sure just what to do.

“I try not to think about it, and hope it doesn't happen that way. I mean I hope she's back before then. And I don't think about how I will spend that day if she's not,� Kaufman said.

Camille’s final, July 9 call to her dad is saved on Kaufman’s voice mail. Time has passed “ a full year - but Kaufman doesn’t need the recording of his child’s voice to recall Camille’s last words.

“I really, really love you,� Camille said to her father.

Anyone with information regarding Camille Kaufman or Lynanne Foster should go to www.fbi.gov/wanted/parent/foster_l.htm or call the Texas Department of Public Safety at (512)-424-5074 or 1-(800)-346-3243. 

Family Website: http://findcamille.weebly.com.

[Kelly]

http://m.knoxnews.com/news/2009/aug/23/lack-of-answers-haunts-families/

Lack of answers haunts families with missing loved ones

By Jim Balloch
Published Sunday, August 23, 2009

Police officers often say there is no case worse than one involving a parent who has to bury a child.

But if there are worse cases, they are those when the child, no matter the age, simply vanishes.

"Which pain is really worse, I wouldn't want to try to say," said Washington, D.C.-based trauma and grief counselor Duane Bowers, who works with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He is the author of "Guiding Your Family Through Loss and Grief" and "A Child is Missing: Providing Support for Families of Missing Children."

Families of missing persons find themselves on a roller-coaster ride along rapidly shifting tracks of hope, despair, anger, anguish, sleeplessness, nightmares, detachment, fear, extreme irritability - and even guilt.

"If a loved one is dead, you know they are never coming back to you, and while there is anguish and grief, the trauma is over," Bowers said. "But if you don't know what happened, you find yourself picturing all of the worst possibilities. And until you do know what happened, any of them could be true."

"Your mind goes into places that you don't want it to go, but you can't control it," said Lisa Maxwell, whose daughter Megan Maxwell, 19, has not been seen since April 26 in Newport.

"I still have visions, horrible visions that you cannot imagine," said Kathy Holloway, whose daughter and granddaughter disappeared on the same day more than five years ago from Cross Plains, in Robertson County. "It happened in the springtime, which had been my favorite time of year, but now it's my most dreaded time of year."

Said Kelly Jolkowski of Omaha, Neb., president and founder of Project Jason, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing public awareness of missing-persons cases and aiding the families of missing persons: "It is an ambiguous loss. By that I mean a loss with no answer."

"You can't go through the steps of grief because you don't know what you are grieving for," added Jolkowski, whose 19-year-old-son's unsolved disappearance inspired her and her husband, Jim, to form their organization.

Many of the feelings experienced by someone with a missing loved one are the same as symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, but with a cruel twist, Bowers said.

"The word 'post' suggests the trauma is in the past," he said. "But in these cases, trauma is not over. And it is never over until (the missing person is) found."

Lisa Maxwell has been on that roller-coaster ride for every one of the 120 days her daughter has been gone.

"I have lost all hope (of her being alive)," she said. "But not knowing what has happened to her, that is still the worst part of all of this. It has been hell. There is no other word for it. Really, there isn't any word to describe it."

About 90 minutes after Megan Maxwell spoke on the phone to a friend, her burning car was discovered off Highway 25/70 east of Newport, parked close to the river.

"Every one of my dreams about Megan involves water, the river," she said. In one dream, Lisa Maxwell is in the water trying to rescue Megan, who is just beyond arm's reach and slips away.

Despite numerous searches, a $15,000 reward and an extensive police investigation, no sign of Megan has been found.

Lisa Maxwell and her mother, Judy O'Neil, say it would be easier on them if Megan is found dead than if she is never found.

"We need some closure on this," Lisa Maxwell said.

Holloway and some others have formed the Tennessee Alliance for Families of the Missing, a support group. It is a fledgling organization, with a basic Web site that only lists information about some cases. Holloway said she would like to see the organization grow and become active, perhaps someday even to have chapters across the state.

Holloway nearly lost touch with reality after her daughter Jennifer Wix, 21, and 2-year old granddaughter Adrianna Wix disappeared. Foul play was suspected.

The Robertson County Sheriff's Office is handling the case as a criminal investigation. Holloway strongly believes her daughter's boyfriend, and possibly his father, know something about the disappearances. But no bodies have been found and no charges have been filed.

Holloway became disconnected from almost everything else in her life.

"Everything went to pot, including taking care of my husband and two younger children. I couldn't even go to the store. I slept on the sofa with the porch light on (so if) she came back, running scared from something in the night, I could hear her banging on the door trying to get in."

Holloway searched for her daughter in several states, following up on any clue or lead.

"I lived in my car," she said. "I drove all over Tennessee and Indiana."

One day, a psychic told her that Jennifer and Adrianna were in Missouri, in a town with two names, one of which was "White."

"So I got a map of Missouri and circled every town with the word 'white' in it and went to every one of them," Holloway said. "It was my other two daughters, teenagers, who finally snapped me back to reality. They said, 'Mom, we've lost our sister and we've lost our niece and we miss them so much, but now we've lost you, too.' "

Jolkowski said there are not many local support groups or chapters for families of missing adults.

"I certainly wish there were," she said.

She said Project Jason can provide some support over the telephone for families. This year it sponsored the first-ever national gathering for such families and will have another one next year. She said a goal is to have such gatherings in different parts of the country, so they can be easily accessible to more people.

Holloway would still like to see justice done to whomever is responsible for the disappearance of Adrianna and Jennifer, but it is not the most important thing in her life.

"At this point in my life, I really couldn't care less if anyone ever goes to prison," she said. "What I most want is to just find my daughter and granddaughter, so I can bury them properly and respectfully in the Christian way, and there can be a place where I can take them flowers at Christmas and on Mother's Day."

[Kelly]

http://www.omahafamily.com/Sept_09_ebook/OF%209_09.pdf

Omaha Family Magazine
September 2009

Sixth Annual Miles for the Missing

The most important people at Zorinsky Lake Park on the morning of Sept. 13 will, sadly, be conspicuous by their absence. They are the focus of the sixth annual bike ride and walk, “Miles for the Missing,� an event open to the public and created to bring attention to the thousands of people – young, old, men, women – who go missing every year in the United States.

The public is invited to participate in this fun and healthy outing while they learn about family safety (preregister online by September 3rd register at http://www.projectjason.org/miles.html). In the Omaha area alone (Douglas and Sarpy counties), there are 222 missing persons.

Members of several of those families will be on hand to share their personal stories of this painful phenomenon that, in fact, occurs with no regard to social or economic status. “They are all loved by someone and deserve to be found,� says Kelly Jolkowski, advocate for the missing and founder of Project Jason, an organization she began in 2003 to assist and advise families desperate to locate a loved one who has vanished. Jolkowski’s son, Jason, was 19 when he failed to meet a co-worker for a ride to work in June of 2001 and hasn’t been seen since.

Jolkowski and Project Jason have become major influencers as they educate lawmakers, drive laws that ensure better handling of missing persons cases, train law enforcement, and provide one-on-one assistance to individuals distraught over the unknown whereabouts of a child, sibling, spouse, or parent.

At “Miles for the Missing,� families receive free Personal ID Kits to make them selfprepared in the event someone close – from an infant to a grandparent – goes missing. The kit contains a list of the first steps to take under such circumstances, along with a one-stop, time-saving, valuable collection of information that law enforcement would need in order to hit the ground running.

Encouraging moms, dads, kids and local passers-by will be I.D. Kitty – Project Jason’s six-foot, warm and fuzzy, friendly mascot – kids love him! He believes ID kits are a good idea for everybody, and he is happy to pose for family photos.

Fifty members of the public participated in last year’s “Miles for the Missing.� Families of five area missing persons were also in attendance –
two of whom have since had positive outcomes, their fear and anxiety finally relieved when their loved ones were found alive. “For families of the missing, there is always hope, and when those who were missing are located and are safe, we know our work is having a direct impact,� says Jolkowski.

Zorinsky Lake Park is a beautiful setting for this important-yet-casual outing, with the 250-acre lake serving as a backdrop for families and individuals who may bike or walk any distance (or laps) along the seven mile perimeter paved trail. Check-in starts at 9:30 a.m. at Shelter #2 located on the northeast side of the lake near the 156th Street entrance. Volunteers, water, and first aide will be provided until the event
concludes at 2 p.m.

Entry fees for “Miles for the Missing� are used to purchase visual aids for the families of the missing, such as posters and photo buttons. Project Jason never charges families for its services. On hand again this year will be relatives of local missing persons. They’ll be identified with special name tags and will briefly talk about their missing loved ones before the ride/walk begins.

With miles to go before they sleep, Project Jason is dedicated to finding answers to alleviate the unique pain each missing person provokes, while making others aware of (and ready for) the pitfalls that arise should such a tragedy strikes. Says Jolkowski: “More than 14,500 people
have taken advantage of our free Personal I.D. kits. We look forward to increasing that amount as we hand out these free kits that
Sunday!�

[Kelly]

Sixth Annual "Miles for the Missing"™ Promotes Family Safety, Honors Families of Local Missing Persons
Bike or walk at Zorinsky Lake Park, enjoy the natural setting and take home free ID kits for every family member

Omaha, Nebraska – (September 12, 2009) – Miles for the Missing VI is warming up for the yearly, casual walk/ride that benefits families of missing persons and helps the public gain a deeper understanding of safety measures they can take. This is not a pledge-based event. The goal is to enjoy any portion of the seven-mile, paved path around Zorinsky Lake with family and friends, and to recognize the plight of missing persons – a nationwide tragedy that strikes at random without regard to social or economic status.

Scheduled for Sept. 13 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Miles for the Missing is sponsored by Project Jason, an Omaha-based non-profit organization founded by Kelly Jolkowski. Miles for the Missing is an annual awareness event designed to afford outdoor fun in a healthy environment. Project Jason will distribute free I.D. Kits that allow people to assemble key information and photos of all family members – a vital time-saver for law enforcement – and outlines first steps to take when someone goes missing.

Attendees who pre-register online at the Project Jason Web site (www.projectjason.org) by Sept. 3 will receive a free t-shirt at check-in. The organization’s mascot, I.D.Kitty, a six-foot tall warm and welcoming live action figure, will be available for photo opportunities. Free water, and assistance with any unforeseen bike repairs, will be provided.

How Project Jason Helps

Project Jason was founded when the Jolkowski’s son, Jason, disappeared from their home in 2001. There are 105,000 missing adults and children in the United States, 200 from the Omaha area alone. Since then, the nonprofit has assisted thousands of families in a variety of ways, from emotional support to funding posters and buttons with the missing person’s image. With educational, outreach and training programs, the group keeps the issue of missing persons in front of the public eye.

Since its inception in 2003, Project Jason has become national in scope and is now a member of the highly-respected AMECO, a group of nonprofits dedicated to assistance with missing and exploited children.
 
Details and Registration

Cost of the event is $20 per person with no charge for children age ten and under. Everyone must have a completed and signed registration form before entering the park trail, and children under ten will need a waiver form signed by a parent or guardian.

The activity begins at Shelter #2 at Zorinsky Lake Park, located at 156th and F St. in Omaha, Neb. Members of the Project Jason board of directors and volunteers will be on hand to co-ordinate and answer any questions.

Representative families of missing persons include:

Don and Donna Ross, parents of missing Jesse Ross, Jim and Carolyn Pospisil, parents of missing teen Erin Pospisil, and Jim and Kelly Jolkowski, parents of missing Jason Jolkowski. Michele Sells, daughter of Melvin Uphoff, who was found safe earlier this year after 42 years, will also be in attendance. Of the five missing persons honored at last year’s walk/ride, two have since been found alive.

The entry fee helps assure that families of the missing are never charged for Project Jason services and that the organization can expand its programs and maintain the necessary resources to aid in the location of missing persons.

More information and registration forms can be found at http://www.projectjason.org/miles.html.  The Web site also permits downloads of I.D. Kits in both English and Spanish.

For more information about the represented missing/located persons, please see the following links:

Jesse Ross: http://projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=729.0
Erin Pospisil: http://projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=927.0
Jason Jolkowski: http://projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=131.0
Melvin Uphoff: http://projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=341.0

[Jenn]

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

Missing teen's parents help other families cope

    * Story Highlights
    * Jason Jolkowski vanished on June 13, 2001, without cashing paycheck
    * Parents delayed calling police under mistaken belief they had to wait 24 hours
    * Case led to creation of statewide database, national nonprofit group
    * Know something? Call Omaha, Nebraska, Police Department at 402-444-5818

September 28. 2009
By Rupa Mikkilineni
Nancy Grace Producer

(CNN) -- When their 19-year-old son, Jason, disappeared eight years ago, any concept of a normal life ceased for the Jolkowski family.

Kelly and Jim Jolkowski and their other son, Michael, believed at first that Jason would walk through the front door of their Omaha, Nebraska, home at any moment. Now, every time a body is found somewhere, the news sets their hearts pounding.

To this day, police say they have no evidence of foul play. Nor, they say, do they have any evidence that Jason simply ran away. It is a bona fide mystery.

Kelly Jolkowski described her life in an open letter to her missing son a year ago: "We waited and hoped that you'd walk in the door ... and that the whole awful event would be over, but that didn't happen," she wrote. "It feels as if it never may end, and that we may have to wait for our life after this world to see you again."

Since shortly after Jason's disappearance, the Jolkowskis have thrown their energy into raising public awareness about what to do when a loved one goes missing. After three years of lobbying, they were able to get a law passed in Nebraska creating a statewide missing persons database.

They founded a nonprofit organization called Project Jason, and its Web site tracks missing persons cases across the country. According to the site, Project Jason has distributed some 50,000 missing persons fliers since 2003.

"We feel that some good is coming out of Jason's story," Kelly Jolkowski told CNN. But she said she still hopes to find her son someday.

The last time anyone who knew him saw him, Jason Jolkowski was bringing the empty trash cans in from the curb. That was June 13, 2001. Since then, his cell phone has fallen silent and his bank account hasn't been touched. His last paycheck was never cashed.

Jason was 19 and attending community college part time. He had a job at a restaurant and wanted to be a disc jockey. On the day he disappeared, Jason and his younger brother, Michael, were on summer break from school. Their parents were at work, and the boys were home alone.

Jason worked at a restaurant called Fazoli's. His boss had called him that morning and asked him to come into work on his day off.

Jason's car was at the mechanic's shop, so his boss arranged a ride for him with a co-worker. She and Jason were to meet at a high school parking lot that was within walking distance from the Jolkowskis' home.

According to his mother, Jason had walked that seven-block route before. It took him along quiet, residential streets with little pedestrian or vehicle traffic.

Jason was last seen at 10:15 that morning, standing at the end of his driveway. Less than an hour later, his boss called and spoke with Michael, complaining that Jason had not shown up for work and had never arrived at the high school to meet his ride.

His parents arrived home from work to learn that Jason had been missing all day. They called Jason's friends. None of them had seen or heard from him that day.

"Jason was a quiet boy," his mother said. "He only had a small handful of friends. He was shy."

Jason did not have a girlfriend and was not the sort of person to take risks, like hitching a ride with a complete stranger, his mother insisted.

His parents called police the next morning. Like so many people, the Jolkowskis mistakenly believed there was a 24-hour wait before police would accept a missing person's report.

"And then it took at least another 10 days before police took Jason's disappearance seriously," Kelly Jolkowski said. "They assumed this was a typical teen runaway scenario."

But according to the family, Jason did not have a history of running away and was not a troubled teen. He had no reason to run off. From the beginning, his family feared an accident or abduction.

Police began to interview neighbors and conducted searches 10 days after his disappearance, but valuable time had been lost, Kelly Jolkowski said.

"We'd have liked to see more activity in the first crucial hours, but we do feel they stepped up to the plate to do all they could and in the end, they did a proper investigation," the Jolkowskis said in a prepared statement. "We were pleased by the meetings they had with us, following up on any leads, talking to his friends, checking the computer and conducting interviews."

Despite mounted searches, ground searches, a helicopter and the use of infrared technology, there was no sign of Jason or any clues to his whereabouts. The family is not certain whether dogs were brought to track the route between the Jolkowski home and the high school. But his mother said she believes that if police had any evidence, they would have shared it with the family.

Detective Jim Shields of the Omaha Police Department said the case remains an open and active investigation.

"I know his parents have expressed concern about how the investigation was handled in the beginning," he said, "but in missing adult cases, often we wait a few days because adults have the right to come and go freely."

Police said they have no clues or evidence in the case. It is categorized as a missing person's case, and authorities have no evidence suggesting Jason is no longer alive. "We simply don't know and really hope for more tips," Shields said.

At the time he went missing, Jason would have only had about $60 on him, his mother said.

She speculated in her open letter about what his life might be like now.

"If you are still with us, you could be married and have children. You may have graduated from college and be pursuing a career," she wrote. "So many life events which normally happen with someone of your age may have passed by. We hope and pray that you haven't been cheated of the life you were meant to live."

Jason Jolkowski is described as 6 feet 1 inch and 165 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a Chicago Cubs T-shirt, black dress pants and black dress shoes. Anyone with information leading to his whereabouts is asked to call the Omaha police at 402-444-5818.

[Kelly]

http://blogs.kansascity.com/crime_scene/2009/09/the-tragic-story-behind-project-jason.html

Monday, September 28, 2009

The tragic story behind Project Jason

One of the biggest Web sites devoted to missing persons is Project Jason, which was started by an Omaha family who lost their own son eight years ago. Jason Jolkowski, 19, was walking to meet a coworker for a ride to work at Fazoli's. He never met that coworker -- and in fact, has never been seen again. Like a lot of families who've endured great tragedy, the Jolkowskis have tried to make sense of things by doing something good. They pressed Nebraska to create a statewide database of missing persons, and their own site has directly helped resolve a handful of cases. CNN has more about Project Jason here.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/28/grace.coldcase.project.jason/

Posted by James Hart

[Denise Harrison]

http://www.wibw.com/nationalnews/headlines/62326552.html

Missing Teen's Parents Help Other Families Cope

When their 19-year-old son, Jason, disappeared eight years ago, any concept of a normal life ceased for the Jolkowski family.

Reporter: CNN
Posted: 9:45 AM Sep 28, 2009

When their 19-year-old son, Jason, disappeared eight years ago, any concept of a normal life ceased for the Jolkowski family.

Kelly and Jim Jolkowski and their other son, Michael, believed at first that Jason would walk through the front door of their Omaha, Nebraska, home at any moment. Now, every time a body is found somewhere, the news sets their hearts pounding.

To this day, police say they have no evidence of foul play. Nor, they say, do they have any evidence that Jason simply ran away. It is a bona fide mystery.

Kelly Jolkowski described her life in an open letter to her missing son a year ago: "We waited and hoped that you'd walk in the door ... and that the whole awful event would be over, but that didn't happen," she wrote. "It feels as if it never may end, and that we may have to wait for our life after this world to see you again."

Since shortly after Jason's disappearance, the Jolkowskis have thrown their energy into raising public awareness about what to do when a loved one goes missing. After three years of lobbying, they were able to get a law passed in Nebraska creating a statewide missing persons database.

They founded a nonprofit organization called Project Jason, and its Web site tracks missing persons cases across the country. According to the site, Project Jason has distributed some 50,000 missing persons fliers since 2003.

"We feel that some good is coming out of Jason's story," Kelly Jolkowski told CNN. But she said she still hopes to find her son someday.

The last time anyone who knew him saw him, Jason Jolkowski was bringing the empty trash cans in from the curb. That was June 13, 2001. Since then, his cell phone has fallen silent and his bank account hasn't been touched. His last paycheck was never cashed.

Jason was 19 and attending community college part time. He had a job at a restaurant and wanted to be a disc jockey. On the day he disappeared, Jason and his younger brother, Michael, were on summer break from school. Their parents were at work, and the boys were home alone.

Jason worked at a restaurant called Fazoli's. His boss had called him that morning and asked him to come into work on his day off.

Jason's car was at the mechanic's shop, so his boss arranged a ride for him with a co-worker. She and Jason were to meet at a high school parking lot that was within walking distance from the Jolkowskis' home.

According to his mother, Jason had walked that seven-block route before. It took him along quiet, residential streets with little pedestrian or vehicle traffic.

Jason was last seen at 10:15 that morning, standing at the end of his driveway. Less than an hour later, his boss called and spoke with Michael, complaining that Jason had not shown up for work and had never arrived at the high school to meet his ride.

His parents arrived home from work to learn that Jason had been missing all day. They called Jason's friends. None of them had seen or heard from him that day.

"Jason was a quiet boy," his mother said. "He only had a small handful of friends. He was shy."

Jason did not have a girlfriend and was not the sort of person to take risks, like hitching a ride with a complete stranger, his mother insisted.

His parents called police the next morning. Like so many people, the Jolkowskis mistakenly believed there was a 24-hour wait before police would accept a missing person's report.

"And then it took at least another 10 days before police took Jason's disappearance seriously," Kelly Jolkowski said. "They assumed this was a typical teen runaway scenario."

But according to the family, Jason did not have a history of running away and was not a troubled teen. He had no reason to run off. From the beginning, his family feared an accident or abduction.

Police began to interview neighbors and conducted searches 10 days after his disappearance, but valuable time had been lost, Kelly Jolkowski said.

"We'd have liked to see more activity in the first crucial hours, but we do feel they stepped up to the plate to do all they could and in the end, they did a proper investigation," the Jolkowskis said in a prepared statement. "We were pleased by the meetings they had with us, following up on any leads, talking to his friends, checking the computer and conducting interviews."

Despite mounted searches, ground searches, a helicopter and the use of infrared technology, there was no sign of Jason or any clues to his whereabouts. The family is not certain whether dogs were brought to track the route between the Jolkowski home and the high school. But his mother said she believes that if police had any evidence, they would have shared it with the family.

Detective Jim Shields of the Omaha Police Department said the case remains an open and active investigation.

"I know his parents have expressed concern about how the investigation was handled in the beginning," he said, "but in missing adult cases, often we wait a few days because adults have the right to come and go freely."

Police said they have no clues or evidence in the case. It is categorized as a missing person's case, and authorities have no evidence suggesting Jason is no longer alive. "We simply don't know and really hope for more tips," Shields said.

At the time he went missing, Jason would have only had about $60 on him, his mother said.

She speculated in her open letter about what his life might be like now.

"If you are still with us, you could be married and have children. You may have graduated from college and be pursuing a career," she wrote. "So many life events which normally happen with someone of your age may have passed by. We hope and pray that you haven't been cheated of the life you were meant to live."

Jason Jolkowski is described as 6 feet 1 inch and 165 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a Chicago Cubs T-shirt, black dress pants and black dress shoes. Anyone with information leading to his whereabouts is asked to call the Omaha police at 402-444-5818.

[Denise Harrison]

Jason was THE featured story on CNN's main page! I took a screen shot in case anyone missed it.



Right now it is listed as the second most popular story on the entire site!

[La Vina]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20091013/NEWS01/710139940

Helping families of missing cope               



Jason Jolkowski

Tuesday October 13, 2009
By Leia Baez-Mendoza
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

When Jim and Kelly Jolkowski's son Jason went missing in June 2001, they didn't know where to turn.

They had no idea how to cope, and there were no support groups to help them deal with what they were going through.

It wasn't until the couple began doing research online that they learned about a variety of training techniques to deal with their daily trauma.

The Jolkowskis wanted to share that with other families, so they created Project Jason to improve public awareness about missing people and to educate families about what to do if a family member disappears.

This past June, they held the first Project Jason's Keys to Healing retreat. About 20 families from all over the country spent three days at a retreat center in the Omaha area, learning how to cope with having a family member go missing.

The Jolkowskis are raising money for the 2010 retreat, in which they hope to help at least 50 families.

They hope to receive enough donations so the families won't have to spend a dime to participate.

“Many people don't realize how much money people spend for a search, especially if there's a reward, a private eye and numerous posters,” Kelly Jolkowski said. “It's really tough for these families. It's physically, mentally and financially draining.”

The 2010 retreat will be held in August. For three days, families of the missing are enveloped in mental, physical and spiritual guidance, massage therapy and peaceful and quiet surroundings.

They meet others who understand their plight, and they forge bonds that will help them with support long after the retreat ends.

“For some of these people, their whole life is the search,” she said. “We want to show them there's a way to still have a personal life while coping. We want to show them it's OK to laugh and smile. We have to learn to live with our daily trauma for the rest of our lives.”

The fundraising campaign, which started last week, runs until Dec. 31.

To make a donation go to http://www.projectjason.org/leftBehind or send a check or money order to: Project Jason, P.O. Box 3035, Omaha, NE 68103.

[Denise Harrison]

Donation page: http://www.projectjason.org/leftBehind

[La Vina]

Cleveland's handling of missing people challenged

Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The Associated Press

CLEVELAND — The discovery of 11 victims of an alleged serial killer, most of them poor, drug-addicted black women, has prompted calls for Cleveland police to respond faster and devote more resources to missing-persons cases.

Police, however, say they already have a comprehensive system for finding the lost and can't be held accountable for people they don't know are missing. Confounding the current tragedy, only three of the victims had been reported missing.

The case has raised anew the issues of how and how fast police should react when adults are reported missing — especially departments stretched thin by slashed budgets and stymied by the likelihood that many people go missing voluntarily and have not met foul play.

Encouraged by the U.S. Justice Department in 2005, some states have passed stronger laws requiring police to be more aggressive in searching for missing adults. Just Thursday, authorities in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, home to Cleveland, said they are considering creating a countywide missing-persons unit, in response to the serial killer case.

Authorities say Anthony Sowell lured women into his house in a tough Cleveland neighborhood with the promise of getting high, then strangled them and left their bodies inside or buried in the backyard.

Prosecutors have indicated they may seek the death penalty against Sowell, who remains in jail on five preliminary charges of aggravated murder.

Advocates in Cleveland say a missing-person's bureau might encourage people to come forward when someone disappears. They say some disappearances may go unreported out of a community perception that police wouldn't take seriously the disappearance of a black woman, especially a person struggling with poverty and drugs.

"Maybe black women are not the most important thing in this community to them," said Donnie Pastard of the group Black on Black Crime. "Something's wrong with the police attitude."

Cleveland police dispute such allegations and point to their detailed missing person's policy, updated in August, and say they hope to expand it to a countywide system.

Of the three women reported missing, one was reported to police in suburban Warrensville Heights.

Ohio has systems in place for quickly transmitting statewide all reports of missing children and elderly persons considered at risk.

Steve Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolman's Association, said that unless a crime is suspected, there's not a lot police can do, especially in a city that has seen dozens of officers laid off in the past few years from budget cuts.

Those cuts eliminated numerous units devoted to street crime, burglaries and community policing, all of which could potentially have helped in the Sowell case, Loomis said.

"I don't know in this world that we live in that we could, at least here in Cleveland ... devote a whole bunch more time to those very general missing-persons reports," Loomis said.

Several states have toughened laws in the last five years requiring police to do more about missing adults, among them Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska and New Jersey.

Police sometimes resist such efforts, saying the requirement taxes already strained departments and many adults often disappear by choice.

"Some people go missing, not because they've been abducted, but because they've abandoned family members and don't wish further contact," said Douglas Dortenzio, chief of the Wallingford Police Department and president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association.

Nationwide, mandates range from compelling departments to take reports immediately to requiring timely DNA testing on family members and any material from the missing, such as hair.

The new laws grew in part from a 2005 Justice Department conference aimed at creating common missing-persons procedures for all states.

Drew Kesse of Bradenton, Fla., ran into police resistance after his daughter Jennifer, 24, disappeared in Orlando three years ago. The responding officer said it was likely she'd just had a fight with her boyfriend.

That didn't sit well with Kesse, who pushed for a 2008 law requiring departments to take missing-persons reports on adults between 18 and 25 and submit to police databases within two hours.

"Everyone is someone's child — I don't care what age you are," said Kesse, 52.

Jennifer Kesse has never been found and Kesse says he has to assume she's dead.

Advocates for stronger laws are also pushing legislation in several more states, including Alabama, Louisiana, Virginia, Wisconsin and South Dakota, according to Kelly Jolkowski, founder of Nebraska-based Project Jason, named for her missing son.

In July, Minnesota began compelling police and sheriffs to start searching right away when adults disappear under suspicious circumstances. Some law enforcement agencies in Minnesota had waited 24 or 48 hours to look into such cases.

The law is named for Brandon Swanson, 19, who disappeared in May 2008 after his car ran off a rural road in western Minnesota. He remains missing.

In Cleveland, Barbara Carmichael filed a missing-person's report Dec. 2, 2008 on her daughter, 52-year-old Tonia Carmichael, with suburban Warrensville Heights police. She told police her daughter was a crack cocaine addict; her family claims that police didn't pursue her disappearance because of her drug history.

Police conducted follow-up searches on Dec. 4, Dec. 23, Feb. 9 and Feb. 10, including checks at several houses, bars and motels, according to a Warrensville Heights police report. Chief Frank Bova said he's satisfied the agency took Tonia Carmichael's case seriously.