University of Missouri Student, sophomore Jesse 'Opie' Ross, Missing in Chicago, IL

[Sara Huizenga]

11/21/06: Jesse Ross, 20, Chicago, IL

Jesse Ross is missing.

University of Missouri sophomore Jesse Ross was in town with a group of college
students to attend a mock United Nations convention. The convention,
held at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, was followed by a dance.
Jesse was spotted on a surveillance photo just before 1 am, and he was
last seen by friends around 2:30 am. He was planning to go back to his
hotel room at the Four Points Sheraton about ten minutes away, but never
made it.

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Last Seen
UMKC student Jesse Ross was last seen at about 2:30 a.m. Nov. 21. He and
Ralph Parker were taking part in a simulated emergency meeting with 30
students during a model United Nations conference when Jesse left the
conference room through a side door. 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. Parker assumed Jesse had left to go to the restroom or to
their hotel, a 10-minute, well-lit walk away, to sleep. Parker later
walked back alone to their room at the Four Points Sheraton (630 N. Rush
St.) 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. It wasn't until
about 3 p.m., 12 hours after he was last seen that Parker and the other
11 UMKC students on the trip realized there was a real emergency.

It is unclear whether Jesse was intoxicated at the time of his
disappearance. His friends say that while he had the occasional drink,
they had never witnessed him to be drunk or disorderly. Survelliance
cameras from the hotel show him carrying a Gatorade bottle.

About Jesse
Jesse was majoring in communication studies/broadcasting with a minor in
political science. He had received a scholarship to attend the
University of Missouri Kansas City because of his high ACT score in high
school.

There was no way imaginable to any one who knew him that Jesse could have committed suicide, or wanted to walked away from the
life he was living, said Don Ross, his father. Jesse was looking forward
to finishing up his new room in his parents' home and he was pledging
the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He had just gotten a promotion from
unpaid intern to paid morning on-air personality at Kansas City radio
station 95.7 FM - "The Vibe"---a dream job for a sophomore communication
studies/broadcasting major. He was a popular radio personality on the
"Shorty and the Boyz" morning show. They decided he needed an on-air
name, so they named him Opie Cunningham," after Ron Howard's TV
characters, Opie Taylor and Richie Cunningham, said Don. "Opie" is
described as intelligent and funny--a very likeable young man not known
for ever being depressed or negative.

No clues in disappearance
Police divers and cadaver dogs searched along the Chicago River near that
hotel since Ross was reported missing, and police also searched the area
around both hotels. They have not turned up any leads. Chicago police
have found no evidence that he was a victim of foul play. There has been
no activity on Jesse's credit cards or his cell phone, 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. Anyone with information about Jesse Ross’ disappearance should call Chicago police at [phone].

Strange Coincidence
Jesse's disappearance comes almost a year after a 31-year-old Matthew Soumakis
from Massachusetts disappeared from the same area, possibly the same
hotel. Soumakis, who was in Chicago on business, had also been staying
at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers. His body was found floating in
the Chicago River near Goose Island two weeks later.

Facts of Interest
Name/age: Jesse Ross, 20 (from Belton, MO)
http://www.findjesseross.com/
College: University of Missouri at Kansas City
Physical Description: 5'10," 140# and has red hair and freckles.
Last seen: 11/21/06 at 2:30 am in the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers (301
E. North Water St). (Jesse's Hotel location: Four Points Sheraton at
630 N. Rush Street) wearing a green warm-up jacket and blue jeans.

[Jesse 'Opie' Ross]

We are saddened to report that Ralph Parker lost his life in a car accident just recently. We grieve for his family and we too feel as tho we have lost a dear friend.

[Sara Huizenga]

Oh, Don ... I didn't realize when I posted ... I'm so sorry ... from what you've said earlier too ... Ralph sounds like such a true friend to Jesse ... another blessing from above that we here on earth were fortunate enough to "borrow" from Him for too short of a while ...

Praying for the Parker family as well ... xoxoxoxo