What Happened to Pennsylvania Man Jason Knapp Who Disappeared 25 Years Ago?

Jason went missing in 1998 at age 20 in South Carolina, where he attended college

Photo byManh NghiemonUnsplash

Jason Knapp was a handsome 20-year-old student at Clemson University, South Carolina. He hailed from York County, Pennsylvania, where his parents still resided.

One day, Jason's mom, Deborah decided to call him about upcoming plans. "It was Easter Sunday, I had talked to him [the day before]. He had called to let me know that he had officially been inducted into the Pershing Rifles and that he and a friend of his had been out looking at a couple of apartments," Deborah recalled. 

She told her son to let her know when he wanted her to come down to help with the apartment search. It was a completely normal conversation, with nothing out of the ordinary in Deborah's eyes.

After the phone call with his mother on April 11, 1998, Jason was seen by his roommate in their dorm at University Terrance Apartments. According to Jason's roommate, he was watching a movie at about 10:30 p.m.

This was the last time that anyone would see Jason Knapp.

Jason's mom, Deborah, said he used to call her from Clemson daily. However, she wasn't too concerned if he missed a day or two. "It was the end of the school year, he was [likely] studying for his finals and getting all of his paperwork done," she told FOX43.

Several days after April 11th, Jason's roommates became concerned about his absence. They called his parents to let them know that he was missing.

"I called the Clemson police department and talked to [an officer] who went and checked Jason's apartment out," Deborah recalled. "They started checking out hospitals, that was on Friday [April 17th]. On Saturday, I decided that I was going to go down there," Deborah said. 

Deborah and Jason's father, her ex-husband, made the trip to South Carolina. They met with police and were dismayed when they realized that the police didn't have much evidence to go on.

But, on April 21st, nine days after Jason's initial disappearance, his white 1990 Chevrolet Beretta with the PA license plate number APV9032 was found, abandoned. 

The car was parked in a rugged area of Table Rock State Park in Pickens, South Carolina, approximately 30 miles from Clemson's campus. 

"The park superintendent at Table Rock said Jason's car had been sitting up there for nine days but the reason they didn't call [was because] they have a trail that takes seven days [to complete]," Deborah said.

Park rangers noticed that Jason was in the ROTC from the back of his car and figured he was on the long trail. They didn't notice anything suspicious.

"When day eight came, they thought he was tired [and] someone came to pick him up and he'd get his car [later]. Well, when the car was still there on the ninth day, they called the police department," Deborah continued. 

Although it was the first lead of the case and Deborah hoped more information would come to light because of it, very few details emerged after Jason's car was discovered.

"Jason was relatively new to the community, only having moved to Clemson shortly [before] his disappearance. Unlike most missing person cases that we encounter, Jason didn't have a large and well-established local support network to provide insight into his social habits or routine," said Chief Deputy Chuck James with the Pickens County Sheriff's Office.

Officers with the Pickens County Sheriff's Office have been working on this case since the very first day and they are still out there looking for clues 25 years later.

"We have gone as far as pursuing leads provided to us by people who claim to have supernatural insight. Just a few years ago, myself and another investigator hiked the mountainous park with someone who alleged that she encountered the spirit of Jason in an effort to gain further insight," Chief James recalled.

"Unfortunately, that encounter did not yield any viable leads, but I think it speaks to the openness that we have approached this investigation with," he continued. 

Inside the car, police found a receipt from a Wendy's restaurant dated April 12, 1998, at 1:30 p.m. It's believed that Jason drove to the trail on April 12, presumably alone, but that is unknown. 

"He enjoyed mountain biking, but Jason didn't like to do anything by himself," Deborah told FOX43. "If he couldn't find someone to do something [with him then] he didn't usually go. How he ended up there, to this day, is a mystery to everybody."

The park was searched meticulously for two weeks. There were no signs of foul play in or around Jason's car or on the trail.

He had withdrawn $20 from his bank account the day he disappeared, but his bank accounts have remained untouched since. He didn't have his bike or any camping gear with him. 

"This [park] is 3,000 acres of wilderness and it is rough, so I don't know why he went up there. We know he went in the park but we don't know if he stayed," said Deborah. 

Searches for Jason have been conducted at Table Rock State Park for years following his disappearance and still, there has been no evidence recovered. 

"Jason’s car was at the entrance of a 3,000 plus acre park with multiple trail systems that traverse steep mountain terrain, some of which reach into adjacent counties and extend for miles," said Chief James. "If he had gone into the park, particularly on a holiday weekend during peak attendance, it wouldn’t be uncommon for a lone hiker to have gone unnoticed by his fellow hikers, especially if he managed to get off of the actual trail system."

In 2017, Jason's parents started going through the process of having him declared legally dead. On January 31st, 2018, Jason Knapp was declared legally deceased.

"The decision was, it [had been] 20 years and his dad's health was getting bad and I've had my own health issues. I felt the time had come to do it, so that if either one of us passed, we didn't leave this unresolved for someone else to deal with," Deborah remembered. 

"It gave us a [chance] to say goodbye in our own way," she continued. "I won't say closure, because there is no such thing. Even if we find out what happened to Jason and maybe find remains, we're never going to know all the answers." 

One year later, Jason's father passed away. 

Deborah thinks that there's someone in the world who may have key information about Jason's disappearance.

"I think somebody [knows something about Jason's case] because that park has people from all over the county," she said. "[Maybe] they weren't local and they've gone home and have no idea that they know something [crucial]." 

Twenty-five years later, Deborah knows little more than she did in 1998 about Jason. 

"It gets harder every year that I go down [to Clemson] because I'm getting older and I'm not going to be here forever. I'd really like to know what happened," she said. 

"Unfortunately, after 25 years this case remains cold [despite us visiting it] multiple times throughout the year. Particularly viable leads have become increasingly difficult to come by and mean of the leads that do come in have either already been vetted by other investigators or the source of the lead is nearly impossible to find," Chief James told FOX43.

"Nevertheless, every single year we make a concerted effort to push the story out to local media in an effort to drum up additional leads for us to purse," he added.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) released the following age progression photos of Jason, something they have been doing since 2006. 

Age progression photo of Jason KnappPhoto byNCMEC

No tip is too small or insignificant and that NCMEC is happy to take information to ensure it's passed along to law enforcement. 

He went missing at 20 years old. Jason was 6'0" tall and weighed 150 pounds. He was last seen wearing a t-shirt, blue jeans, blue sneakers, and possibly a hat with the Army ROTC insignia and a watch. He had a faint scar on the knuckle of his right middle finger. 

Anyone with information relating to Jason's disappearance should contact the Clemson Police Department at 864-624-2008.