Help Us Find Jesse


Jesse Warren Ross
Missing Since: November 21, 2006
Last Seen: Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Chicago

 

 

 



Photo courtesy of the
Chicago Police Department

 Any information regarding the disappearance of this man, please contact the Chicago Police Department at:
(312) 744-8266
Or
Email

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Facts about Jesse:

  1. 19 years old at time of disappearance
  2. Was a sophomore at University of Missouri Kansas
  3. Just received a promotion from intern to paid radio personality on a popular Kansas City Morning Show
  4. Was in Chicago for a mock United Nations Conference
  5. Was last seen walking to the side door during a 30 minute break from an "emergency" model United Nations Conference
  6. Broadcast on AMW on January 16, 2007
  7. Missing and Exploited Children Site regarding Jesse

 

  


Photo of the Hotel where Jesse was last seen
 

Latest News about Jesse:

Photos of Jesse
 

Article in the Sun-Times

A black cloud settled in over us and the nightmare began'

October 21, 2007
BY MAUDLYNE IHEJIRKA Staff Reporter


In his last phone call to his mother, 19-year-old Jesse Ross' excitement spilled out in a tumble of words.

It was the day before he was to return home from a mock United Nations conference he was attending in Chicago with 13 other University of Missouri-Kansas City students. And a sponsor had just promised them a trip to Costa Rica.

It was the day before he was to return home from a mock United Nations conference he was attending in Chicago with 13 other University of Missouri-Kansas City students. And a sponsor had just promised them a trip to Costa Rica.

"Mom, aren't you excited for me?" Donna Ross' boy asked.

"Mom, aren't you excited for me?" Donna Ross' boy asked.

"Who's going to pay for this?" the Belton, Mo., mother of two wondered.

"Oh, Mom! We'll raise the money! Why aren't you happy for me?"

"OK, I'm happy," said Donna Ross, 59, an elementary school secretary. "We'll talk later."

They never got the chance. Early on Nov. 21, 2006, two days before Thanksgiving, Jesse Ross vanished while in Chicago. This past spring, the police formally suspended their search for him. Read More....
 

 
Article in the Catholic Key
 

Eight months later, parents no closer to finding missing son

BELTON - Jesse Ross phoned his mother from Chicago on Nov. 20, just to let her know that he was having a blast at the model United Nations conference.

He promised to call again the next day when he and the 13 University of Missouri-Kansas City students and their faculty sponsor had loaded the vans for the return drive home.

He was that kind of son, said Donna Ross. He always let his mother know where he was, what he was doing, and when to expect him home. He couldn't keep a secret, not from his mother.

There was an "emergency" meeting of the mock U.N. at 2 a.m. Nov. 21, the final day of the conference that drew more than 1,000 university students from across the country. Before the mock emergency, there was a dance, and parties throughout the host Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Chicago's downtown loop.

At about 2:30 a.m., about 12 hours after his last cell phone call to his mother, Jesse Ross got up from his chair and walked out of the room for a 30-minute break. A surveillance camera in the hotel lobby caught the unmistakable image of the red-haired Jesse, clad in a white T-shirt, jeans, and a green warm-up jacket, walking toward the main doors.

It was the last trace ever of 19-year-old Jesse Ross.

The 10-minute walk back to Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, where Jesse and the UMKC group was staying, was well-lit, heavily traveled and covered by outdoor security cameras. None of them recorded Jesse. Read More....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jesse's Family

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Jesse and Friends

 

 

 
Article from the UMKC Newsletter

Waiting Still

Ralph Parker has done a lot of second guessing. “Being the last person who knew him to see him, that’s hard,” the UMKC senior says. “What if I would’ve said something when he was walking out?”

There were 30 students in the midst of a meeting at the conference room of the Sheraton Chicago. “But I’m the one,” Parker says. “I should’ve paid attention.”
 
UMKC student Jesse Ross was last seen at about 3 a.m. Nov. 21. He and Parker were taking part in a simulated emergency meeting
during a model United Nations conference when Jesse left through a side door.

It wasn’t until almost 12 hours later, Parker and the other 11 UMKC students on the trip realized there was a real emergency. Parker had assumed Jesse had left to go to the restroom or to their hotel, a 10-minute, well-lit walk away, to sleep. He walked back alone to their room at the Four Points Sheraton when the meeting concluded at about 5:30 a.m. Parker turned on the hall light so he wouldn’t disturb his roommate.

“There was a big mess on the bed and he’s so skinny, I figured he was under the mess somewhere,” Parker says of Jesse.

But when he woke up at 10 a.m., he realized Jesse had never returned. No reason to panic, he probably just crashed in someone else’s room, Parker thought. “So I just packed up his stuff thinking he should be thanking me,” he says. Read More...
 

     
                Reward Poster

                                               

           

                                                          Vibe Photo
Search continues for student
No leads in Ross' disappearance

Brittany Lane
Issue date: 12/4/06 Section:
Media Credit: Chicago Police Department
Jesse Ross still missing after a trip to Chicago.


Jesse Ross has plenty of reasons to come home.

The 19-year-old sophomore is a well-liked student with friends across the campus and throughout Kansas City. He is looking forward to finishing up his new room in his parents' home, which was built especially for him. Ross is also counting down until his promotion from intern to paid employee at radio station 95.7 "the Vibe," where he is popular as on-air personality Opie.

"There was not any reason whatsoever or indication that he was negative about anything," said Ross' father Don Ross. "We had a room we were finishing for him downstairs. Jesse was a UMKC fan, but he liked KU basketball. So we were going to do his room in KU colors. We got the right paint colors. He was anxious to get back and set up his room. We checked his cell phone messages and he had plans with friends."

Ross has so much going for him. That's why family and friends are puzzled why he still has not made it home. Ross has been missing since early Tuesday, Nov. 21. He was in Chicago with UMKC's Model UN team for the American Model United Nations International Conference.

"I found out he was missing last Friday after I got back from break," said Terry Heffern, sophomore. "I'm really concerned. He's been gone for more than a week now. He was a good friend of mine. Everybody's missing him. I get e-mails everyday on Facebook."

Chicago police said there is no new information about Ross' disappearance. He has not been sighted. There is no activity on his cell phone or credit cards, neither of which have been found. GPS tracking could not be used on Ross' cell phone because it is either turned off or the battery is dead.

Searches of the Chicago River and parts of the Lake Michigan shoreline have yielded nothing.

"We talked to the Chicago Police," said Don Ross. "We haven't heard anything significant."

Despite what several media outlets are reporting, the family has not visited Chicago since Ross went missing. Ross' father was planning to accompany concerned friends on a weekend trip to Chicago to look for Jesse. The trip was canceled due to the inclement weather that hit the Midwest last week, but may be reorganized later.

A Where's Opie Hope Rally event is scheduled for 7-9 p.m. Dec. 7 at the University Playhouse. UMKC alum Aaron Welch is one of the event's organizers, Ross' friend, and a member of Lambda Chi Alpha, Ross' pledged fraternity. The event was created to garner support to bring Jesse home. Welch said T-shirts will be sold at the event, with proceeds going toward a reward fund for information about the disappearance. Organizers are setting up the fund with U.S. Bank.

Junior Garrett Toms summed up everyone's feelings since Ross went missing.

"It's a huge shock for everyone," Toms said. "We all feel pretty useless being here in Kansas City. It's been hard for everyone. I can't even imagine how his family feels."

Don Ross said 95.7 "the Vibe" and the University have been helpful in the search for Ross. DJs have aired regular pleas for information about Ross' whereabouts. The University is cooperating with Chicago authorities to provide details that may help the search. UMKC also provided counseling services for students upset over Ross' disappearance.

"Our thoughts are with Jesse, his family, and friends," Chancellor Guy Bailey said. "When something like this happens to one of our own, it affects all of us; and we share in the prayers of many that this search will end soon with Jesse's safe return."

Ross, 13 other UMKC students, and faculty advisor Derek Moorehead arrived in Chicago Nov. 18 for the four-day Model UN conference. Approximately 1,200 students attended the conference. Ross was called early Tuesday morning to meet for a mock emergency situation. Brian Endless, executive director of American Model United Nations International, said the meeting lasted from 2 and 4 a.m., and several staff members reported seeing Ross there. Read More.........

 

 

Jesse and his Mom

 

 

 



 

                 

     Jesse at School

 

 

 

 

 




 

 

 

 Jesse's Morning
  Show Crew

 


 

 

 

          

          Jesse and Mom

 

 

 

 

 

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