‘I just want to see my son,’ says metro-east father searching for missing musician

A metro-east father is asking for help in the search for his son, who went missing early Friday morning in St. Louis County.

John Jatcko said his son Nathan Jatcko, a St. Louis-based musician, was last seen about 1:30 a.m. Friday morning at his apartment on Lawn Avenue near South Kingshighway.

As of Monday night, he had not been found.

John Jatcko is a longtime Highland businessman who lives in Edwardsville. He said family and friends knew something was wrong when Nathan Jatcko did not show up to a rehearsal Friday and then missed an engagement later that day.

“That’s when the phone calls started going crazy,” John Jatcko said. “This is what he does for a living; he’s a total professional in playing piano.”

On Friday, the family filed a missing person’s report with the St. Louis Police Department.

John Jatcko, who lives in Edwardsville, said calls to his son’s cellphone go straight to voicemail and he has not been active on Facebook.

“The whole family and his friends are very upset. We just don’t know where he is. We got to know,” he said.

He also said Nathan Jatcko left extra bowls of food and water for his cats.

“I don’t know if that means a thing. That might mean you might be gone short term but I don’t know what that means long term,” he said.

John Jatcko described his son as “calm, level-headed and a good guy.”

He said Nathan Jatcko went to Mater Dei High School in Breese. He now lives in St. Louis and plays for multiple groups including Pavolv’s Dog and Kentucky Knife Fight and has collaborated with artists such as Dawn Webber and Emily Wallace.

According to the River Front Times, he is “highly regarded in St. Louis’ jazz community.”

“Just help us find him,” John Jatcko said. “I just want to see my son.”

If anyone has any information, they are asked to call the St. Louis Police Department at 314-231-1212.

This story was originally published January 15, 2018 at 1:28 PM with the headline "‘I just want to see my son,’ says metro-east father searching for missing musician."