Assumed Deceased: Jessica O'Grady--NE--5/10/2006

[Kathylene]

Missing Teen
Missing Persons
UNO student sought


Authorities are trying to figure out what happened to 19-year-old UNO student Jessica O'Grady. Friends and family say they haven't seen her since last Wednesday.

She didn't show up for work on Friday night and her uncle, Kevin Stanzel, says that's out of character for her.

Stanzel says, "It's not like her to run off. She would tell someone. If not us, her close friends."

Jessica is described as being 5' 9" tall, weighing135 pounds. She has brown hair and hazel eyes.

She was reportedly driving a gray Huyndai Accent, license plate: PEI894.

If you have information on her whereabouts, call 402-444-5600.

[Kathylene]

http://www.kptm.com/video/2098442.html?id=443

Another Young Metro Woman Missing
05/15/2006

Another young woman is missing in the Omaha metro.

19 year old Jessica O'Grady has not been seen since last Wednesday. Her family filed a missing persons report on Friday. Police do say the case is not related to the remains found in Hummel Park last week.

Rachelle O'Grady, Jessica's mother, says the fact she hasn't been heard from in 5 days is out of the ordinary.

"She's always in contact with her roommates, one in particular Holly, and my sister," O'Grady says.

The O'Grady family spent today putting up flyers, hoping someone knows where Jessica may be.

Jessica was last seen Wednesday evening, when she left her apartment in a gray Hyundai Accent, heading to a friend's house.

According to Jessica's mom, her daughter made a cell phone call from near 132nd and Blondo to say she was lost.

"She called her friend Holly and said you know I can't find it and that was the last any of us had heard from her," O'Grady says.

The O'Grady's say the only thing they can do for now is hope Jessica comes home safely.

"We miss her terribly...it's kind (of) like a hole that's just (a) void," O'Grady says.

Jessican was last seen wearing a pink shirt and jeans with flip-flops. She was driving a Hyundai Accent with license plate number PEI 894.

If you have any information in this case, call the Omaha Police Department at 444-5600.

[Kathylene]

http://www.ketv.com/news/9223330/detail.html



UNO Student Missing

UPDATED: May 16, 2006

OMAHA, Neb. -- A 19-year-old University of Nebraska-Omaha student was last seen on Wednesday, and her family is asking the public's help to find her.

Jessica O'Grady made a call from her cell phone just before midnight Wednesday, saying she was headed to the 120th and Blondo streets area.

O'Grady's car is a gray Hyundai Accent with Nebraska license plate PEI 894. Police said they're looking into the case, and her family is putting fliers all over town.

O'Grady's uncle said the disappearance is completely out of character, and her family is very worried.

"It's very stressful. Something you expect to hear about other families," said uncle Kevin Stanzel. "There's other families in the news and you never think it can happen to you, but it can."

The family will be out searching again on Tuesday.[/hr]Last edited by Kelly : 05-17-2006 at 01:50 AM.

[Kathylene]

http://www.ketv.com/news/9226473/detail.html

Missing Student's Car Found
Car Found Near Oak View Mall Belongs To Missing UNO Student

POSTED: 3:26 pm CDT May 16, 2006
UPDATED: 3:35 pm CDT May 16, 2006


OMAHA, Neb. -- Omaha police have recovered the car belonging to a missing 19-year-old student at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

Jessica O'Grady made a call from her cell phone just before midnight Wednesday, saying she was headed to the 120th and Blondo streets area. That was the last she was heard from, her family said.

O'Grady's car was found Tuesday afternoon in a parking lot near 145th Street and West Center Road. Police towed the vehicle to the city impound lot for processing.

There was nothing abnormal about the vehicle, a KETV NewsWatch 7 reporter on the scene said. It appeared it had been parked, and the vehicle was locked when it was found. There were no immediate indications as to what happened to O'Grady.

O'Grady's mother visited the scene.

Someone who recognized the vehicle from news reports contacted police.

O'Grady is still being sought. She is described as white, 5 feet 9 inches tall and 135 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes.

[Kathylene]

http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/2813656.html

Woman's Car Found
UNO student missing since last week


Omaha Police say that they have recovered the car of missing UNO student Jessica O'Grady. The 19-year-old was reported missing last Friday but hasn't been seen by family or friends since last Wednesday.

Her car was found Tuesday morning in what police have described only as a strip mall parking lot at 144th and Center. There is retail development on all four corners of that intersection. Authorities have not specified where the vehicle was found.

Police have been told that Jessica was last seen leaving 5860 South 156th Court on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 at 10:45 p.m.

She was wearing a pink T-shirt with a picture of a palm tree on the front, blue jeans, and flip flops.

The vehicle that she was driving is a Gray 2001 Hyundai Accent four door with Nebraska license plate: PEI 894. That car was found Tuesday morning.

The family says it's not like Jessica to just disappear and the young woman's cell phone has been unreachable for several days.

Police say that, "while the circumstances seem to be unusual, there are not indications of foul play."

They are, however, asking anyone with information on Jessica O'Grady's whereabouts to call them at 402-444-5590 or 402-444-5600.

[Kathylene]

http://www.kptm.com/video/2098442.html?id=446

Updates In Cases Of Two Missing Local Women
05/16/2006

The Omaha Police Department says it has located the car of missing UNO student Jessica O'Grady.

The car was found at about 10:30 this morning in a strip mall at 144th and Center.

After checking the car's registration, officers determined that it was the same car O'Grady was last seen driving.

The department says that while the circumstances surrounding the situation are unusual, there are no indications of foul play.

Anyone with any information on the case is asked to call the Omaha Police Department at 444-5590 or 444-5600.
--------------------------------
The family and friends of Tracy Tribble are planning another search for the missing Council Bluffs woman.

They will meet Saturday morning at St. Patrick's Church in Council Bluffs at 8am.

They are again asking for search volunteers. They are also asking for local businesses to donate food for everyone involved.

[Kathylene]

Deputies Searching O'Grady's Boyfriend's Home

Jessica O'Grady Last Seen Week Ago

POSTED: May 17, 2006

OMAHA, Neb. -- Douglas County sheriff's deputies are searching the home of a missing teenager's boyfriend.

KETV NewsWatch 7 confirmed on Wednesday morning that authorities are searching Jessica O'Grady's home. Investigators said they found evidence of a crime inside the residence.

O'Grady was last heard from a week ago. She is a 19-year-old student at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

On Tuesday, O'Grady's Hyundai was found in a parking lot near 144th Street and West Center Road. O'Grady works near where the car was found.

http://www.ketv.com/news/9231392/detail.html

[Kathylene]

http://www.ketv.com/news/9231392/detail.html

Deputies Search O'Grady's Boyfriend's Home
Jessica O'Grady Last Seen Week Ago

POSTED: 10:44 am CDT May 17, 2006
UPDATED: 9:48 pm CDT May 17, 2006



OMAHA, Neb. -- Douglas County sheriff's deputies are searching the home of a missing teenager's boyfriend.

KETV NewsWatch 7 confirmed on Wednesday morning that authorities are searching Jessica O'Grady's boyfriend's home near 130th and Cady streets. Investigators said they found evidence of a crime inside the residence. They also said the case is now considered a criminal investigation instead of a missing persons case.


Detectives took bags of evidence from the home.

O'Grady's mother told KETV NewsWatch 7 that investigators searched her daughter's home on Tuesday evening. They removed toothbrushes, hairbrushes and other items that would contain O'Grady's DNA.


The Douglas County Sheriff's Department has taken over the investigation from the Omaha Police Department because the boyfriend's address is in the county as opposed to the city. The home is owned by Jane Edwards, who Sheriff Tim Dunning identified as "an aunt of the acquaintance of Miss O'Grady's."

The boyfriend has been questioned and released, Dunning said.

There is speculation that O'Grady is pregnant. O'Grady's family told KETV NewsWatch 7 on Wednesday that they knew little about the boyfriend.

O'Grady was last heard from a week ago. She is a 19-year-old student at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

On Tuesday, O'Grady's Hyundai was found in a parking lot near 144th Street and West Center Road. O'Grady works near where the car was found.

Investigators said anyone with information about the case should call (402) 333-1000.

Web Helping Spread Information

Investigators are searching the Internet for clues about O'Grady's disappearance.

State patrol investigators said a Web site that parents are often warned about, MySpace.com, is actually helping with the case of O'Grady's disappearance. Word spread quickly on the teen's site, and the flier containing all of the information about O'Grady's description and car make and model were quickly posted.

"That word is getting spread, and if some of their friends are doing the same thing, you're actually blanketing out exponentially," said the Nebraska State Patrol's Scott Christensen.

Christensen, as the patrol's lead Internet crimes investigators, often spends time warning parents about MySpace.com. Teens build personal pages on the site and often share very personal information and photos. But Christensen said the O'Grady case is an example of one of the best ways social Web sites can be used.

"I think this is the best use I've seen, where they are trying to put the word out, and they're doing it in a community of MySpace that they all associate in," Christensen said.

O'Grady's MySpace.com site has photos of her with family and friends, with links to those people's pages.

"If I have 10 friends who has 10 friends who has 10 friends and everybody would do that, you can see a multitude of people would have this information on the Internet," Christensen said.

[Kathylene]

http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/2818571.html

O'Grady Evidence Reviewed
O'Grady Investigation

Sheriff's News Conference
Deputies search home


The disappearance of UNO student Jessica O'Grady is now being handled as a criminal investigation. Evidence was seized from a west Omaha home Wednesday.

Jessica's car was located Tuesday in a parking lot at 144th and West Center Road.

At 1 o'clock Wednesday morning, police and Douglas County investigators searched a home, a few blocks from 132nd and Blondo where O'Grady's boyfriend lives with his aunt.

Neighbors tell us of seeing investigators removing a headboard, three large pillows and many evidence bags from the house.

Douglas County Sheriff Tim Dunning says the case is now a criminal investigation but few other details are being released.

Dunning says, "I hope that you would be patient. I think we're going to do well on this particular case in a very short period of time, but right now, we don't have a lot."

O'Grady's family was also at the news conference where Dunning made that comment. They tell us that police and sheriff's department investigators have been unable to tell them much at all.

Jessica's aunt, Tami Hansen says, "Obviously, you know, we're very concerned about her. We want her, someone to help us find her. It's hard, you know. We just want her back."

It's also been a rough week for Jessica O'Grady's friends.

Holly Stumme has known Jessica since the fifth grade and she's her roommate.

She says, "You focus on the good times. Keep up hope. That's all you can do."

Kari Peterson has known Jessica since their days at Westside High and she tells us, "Her personality is bubbly. You don't see her down very often. If she was, you knew it and you asked her about it.

"You try to be optimistic but the last two days have been difficult. At first it didn't seem real."

Jessica's friends are finding comfort in family.

Kari tells us, "Her aunt and uncle have been great. They said we could come over anytime to talk about it or don't talk about it."

The Douglas County Sheriff is now heading the investigation and if you have any information that would be helpful, contact the department at 333-1000.

[Kathylene]

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=1636&u_sid=2173100

Police search house of missing teen's boyfriend

Published Thursday May 18, 2006  BY KEVIN COLE  WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS

Family and friends of Jessica O'Grady spent Wednesday night working on plans to search for the University of Nebraska at Omaha student who has been missing for more than a week.

"Our job is to continue to search until we find her," said Traci Harrison, an aunt of O'Grady's. "We hope to have a bunch of new fliers ready today and maybe even an announcement about our search and how (volunteers) can help us look for Jessica."

The last time friends had contact with 19-year-old O'Grady was May 10, when she made a call on her cell phone just after 11:45 p.m. as she drove toward 120th and Blondo Streets.

Investigators from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office began searching the home of O'Grady's boyfriend about 9 p.m. Tuesday. The boyfriend lives northeast of 132nd and Blondo Streets in the Willow Wood subdivision.

"We've conducted a search warrant on that house," said Douglas County Sheriff Tim Dunning. "It's gone from a missing person to a criminal investigation."

Neighbor Theresa Murray said she and her husband noticed "official-looking people" at the house about 9 p.m.

At 5 a.m. Wednesday, she went for a walk and saw a crime lab truck. By 6:30 a.m., officers were roping off the house, she said.

Murray said she saw crews carry out a headboard, three large bed pillows and large paper bags.

Dunning said the 19-year-old boyfriend has been interviewed and released. A Honda car belonging to the boyfriend was searched and impounded before being released to its owner Tuesday afternoon.

The sheriff declined to say what evidence was found within the home or what crime investigators think occurred there.

"I think we're going to deal well with this particular case in a short amount of time," Dunning said. "I think there is a lot of good evidence for investigators to work on here."

O'Grady's 2001 Hyundai Accent was found Tuesday at a strip mall in the area of 144th Street and West Center Road. Officers, acting on a tip, discovered the car about 10:30 a.m.

Omaha Police Sgt. Teresa Negron said there were no indications of foul play in the car.

Kevin Stanzel, an uncle of O'Grady's, said family members tried to talk with the boyfriend, who works at a restaurant with his niece. O'Grady, he said, told friends last week that she had taken a home-pregnancy test and that it came out positive.

Asked Wednesday whether he had determined if his niece was indeed pregnant, Stanzel said that he wasn't sure and that authorities had asked the family not to say any more on the subject.

Harrison described her niece, a sophomore at UNO and a 2004 graduate of Westside High School, as "an outgoing and wonderful part of our family."

According to her senior yearbook, O'Grady participated in Westside's show choir and the school's Warrior Choir.

Harrison said O'Grady enjoys helping coach a youth softball team, collecting toy frogs and spending time with her three roommates.

"We know, and her roommates know, that it just isn't like Jessica to run away," Harrison said. "That wouldn't be in her character. She would've called somebody."

O'Grady is white, stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 135 pounds, and has brown hair and hazel eyes. She was last seen wearing a pink shirt with a palm tree on the front and blue jeans.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to call the Douglas County Sheriff's Office at (402) 444-3554 or the tip line at 333-1000.

[Kathylene]

http://www.ketv.com/news/9237119/detail.html

DNA Testing Can Be Tedious Process
Families Wait As DNA Processed In Several High-Profile Cases

POSTED: 8:21 am CDT May 18, 2006  UPDATED: 8:32 am CDT May 18, 2006

OMAHA, Neb. -- DNA testing is an important to several high-profile criminal cases happening in the Omaha metro area right now.

Jessica O'Grady, 19, was last seen on May 10, and now investigators are testing items taken from both her apartment and her boyfriend's home. Remains found May 11 in Omaha's Hummel Park may solve one of several missing person's cases, and several families -- including that of missing 12-year-old Amber Harris -- are awaiting the results of DNA tests on the remains. On May 6, some Pottawattamie County mushroom hunters found a body in a barrel, and investigators are working to identify those remains, too.

DNA analysis is often a tedious process in solving such mysteries, according to the director of the University of Nebraska Medical Center forensics lab, Dr. Kerry Bernal. The lab is top secret because analysts test DNA for law enforcement agencies and attorneys around the state.

"You need to keep track of who has the specimen, when they have it, when they give it to another person -- chain of custody is very important," Bernal said.

Bernal said it's an arduous task, especially when technicians are analyzing bones. The first step is extraction.

"The issue with bone is the DNA is contained in the very center of the bone. You would have to cut through the outer cortex to get to the tissue," Bernal said.

The next step is amplification.

"That's where we photocopy the DNA," Bernal said.

Next, scientists detect the DNA with the help of an ultraviolet light. The entire process can take as little as three days and as long as several months.

The lab at UNMC is one of only two forensic labs in the state. Technicians at UNMC only do DNA testing. The Nebraska State Patrol lab does DNA and other forensic tests, such as fingerprint and fiber analysis. In addition to missing persons, DNA analysis can go a long way to identify or eliminate suspects in all kinds of criminal cases.

[Kathylene]

http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/2831141.html

Families are still praying for loved ones to be found

The families of three missing people are still waiting for word on the whereabouts of Amber Harris, Jessica O'Grady, and Tracy Tribble. There is still no definite word on where these missing loved ones are.

Tribble's relatives question whether Tracy is even alive but they are preparing another search in the hopes that their prayers will be answered.

Tribble's father, John Gostomski says it is not like his daughter to be gone this long without contacting anyone. He believes that she has been gone too long.

"When you're searching for this, you know, you are not searching for one that's alive and well, but you have to do it."

A cadaver dog assisted in the search for Tribble last week and much of the area surrounding her home has been eliminated from the search area. This Saturday the search perimeters will expand.

Hundreds of volunteers have shown up to help, but Tribble's husband has not been one of them.

"We've had four days of organized searches and we haven't seen them at one," said Gostomski.

Tribble's husband was the last one to see Tracy and he tells police that she was sleeping when he left for work. Police have released a description of what Tribble was wearing the night before; the last time that someone other than her husband saw her.

Police say that Tribble was seen wearing dark blue jeans, a dark green sweater, and a dark green jacket with a hood. Sgt. Jerry Mann says that these may or may not be the clothes that Tribble was wearing when she disappeared, but it is a starting point.

Mann says they have searched the home a couple of times and the clothes have not yet been discovered.

Police say that Tribble's husband is merely a person of interest and for now, the focus is on finding Tribble.

"We would like to see Tracy show up alive. That's what out ultimate goal is here. We hope that's how this case turns out, but we'll have to see," said Mann.

A tipline has been set up for those who may have any information regarding Tribble, the number is 218-1199.

A search is has also been set up for anyone who would like to help.

Meanwhile at Amber Harris' house, her parents continue that long wait to hear about their missing daughter. Omaha police have contacted them and other families after human remains were found in Hummel Park.

There is a candlelight vigil planned for 7 p.m. on Friday, May 19th at Pulaski Park in 41st and 'H' St. Anyone who would like to join is welcome.

Another family is waiting to hear about their daughter.

Nineteen year old, Jessica O'Grady has been missing for a week and her family is still waiting to hear of any developments.

The Douglas County Sheriff has assigned additional detectives to O'Grady's case.

Anyone with information on where she may be is asked to call the Sheriff's office at 333-1000.

[Kathylene]

http://www.ketv.com/news/9244933/detail.html

Woman's Body Found Under Bridge
Police Working To Identify Body

POSTED: 11:25 am CDT May 19, 2006  UPDATED: 1:28 pm CDT May 19, 2006

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa -- Crews are investigating the discovery of a body near the Veteran's Memorial Bridge on the Council Bluffs side of the river.

Investigators confirmed that the body is that of a white woman.

Sgt. Jerry Mann, with the Council Bluffs Police Department, said his office was first contacted at about 2:30 a.m. Friday. A pest control worker reported seeing the body in the river, according to Mann.

The area is residential with a number of mobile homes.

The body was removed and sent to the state lab in Ankeny for identification.

So far, investigators have not linked the discovery to the disappearance of Tracy Tribble, 35, of Council Bluffs, who was last seen on May 3; or that of Jessica O'Grady, 19, of Omaha, who was last seen May 10.

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/

[Kathylene]

http://www.ketv.com/news/9244933/detail.html

Tribble's Mother Fears Body Is Her Daughter
Police Work To Identify Body

POSTED: 11:25 am CDT May 19, 2006  UPDATED: 5:23 pm CDT May 19, 2006

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa -- Crews are investigating the discovery of a body near the Veteran's Memorial Bridge on the Council Bluffs side of the river.

Investigators confirmed that the body is that of a white woman.

Sgt. Jerry Mann, with the Council Bluffs Police Department, said his office was first contacted at about 2:30 a.m. Friday. A pest control worker reported seeing the body in the river, according to Mann.

The area is residential, with a number of mobile homes.

The body was removed and sent to the state lab in Ankeny for identification. That autopsy is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday.

So far, investigators have not linked the discovery to the disappearance of Tracy Gostomski Tribble, 35, of Council Bluffs, who was last seen on May 3.

Tribble's mother, Mary Gostomski, said people knew her daughter as Tracy Gostomski, so she has asked KETV NewsWatch 7 to add her daugther's maiden name.

Mary Gostomski said she feels that the body found in the river is her daughter's. Investigators would not confirm Gostomski's fears.

"I don't know how I'm going to go on without my daughter. We were such good, good friends," the mother said.

Mary Gostomski said her daughter was last seen by a work friend. She said it would be completely unlike her daughter to disappear without a word. She said she had held out hope of finding her daughter alive, but that hope is now dead for her.

"He coudn't tell us, specifically, that it was my duaghter, but I feel in my heart that it was Tracy, or that it was Tracy," Mary Gostomski said.

Douglas County investigators told KETV NewsWatch 7 on Friday that they believe the body found is not that of Jessica O'Grady, 19, who was last seen on May 10. The sheriff's office said the discovery is not affecting or slowing their investigation of O'Grady's disappearance.

A search to find O'Grady is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Saturday at St. Andrew's Church in Omaha at 150th Street and West Maple Road.

[Kathylene]

http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/2839716.html

Volunteers Search For Jessica
150 people join effort

The search continues for Jessica O'Grady, the 19-year-old UNO student missing for more than a week.

Jessica was last seen by friends and family on May 10th.

On Saturday morning, friends and volunteers organized a search effort in west Omaha near her last known whereabouts.

Volunteers were organized into 12 search teams with 10 people in each group.

Along with the task of looking for clues about Ms. O'Grady's disappearance, the volunteers passed out flyers to local businesses.

Jessica's aunt, Traci Harrison, says, "It's fantastic. So many of them know Jessica and, you know, people that we've never even met -- all we can ask for is for them to show up and help us."

The O'Grady family says 150 volunteers helped with Saturday's search effort.

If you know anything about Jessica O'Grady's whereabouts you're urged to contact authorities. The Douglas County Sheriff's Department is the lead investigating agency in the case. You can reach the department by calling 333-1000.