ST. LOUIS • A Metro East father is asking for help in the search for his missing son, a St. Louis-based musician and keyboardist who disappeared Friday.
"We're casting as wide a net as we can," John Jatcko, of Highland, said. "I just want to talk to my son and know he's OK."
Nathan Jatcko, 31, of St. Louis was last seen about 1:30 a.m. Friday at his apartment on Lawn Avenue near South Kingshighway, hours before a scheduled morning rehearsal for a performance at The Monocle in The Grove later that evening.
Jatcko never made it to either the rehearsal or performance, and he didn't find a substitute or call his fellow musicians to let them know he wouldn't be there. His family filed a missing person's report with St. Louis Police that evening.
The sudden disappearance is uncharacteristic for the longtime musician well known in the St. Louis jazz community, John Jatcko said.
“Nathan is a very reliable young man," he said. "He is a professional and totally passionate about his music. That is the center of his world. Everything revolves around it.
"He wouldn't miss a practice without calling. He wouldn't miss a gig without calling.”
Nathan Jatcko grew up in Highland and studied music at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He has lived and performed in St. Louis for several years.
He left food out for his cats before his disappearance Friday. His car, a white 2009 Toyota Matrix with license plate WK1C2H, is also missing.
Calls to Jatcko's cell phone are going straight to voicemail, John Jatcko said.
"It's very uncharacteristic of him, that's the scary part," he said. "I don't know what the situation is. Speculation doesn't do anything good."
Posts about Nathan Jatcko have been shared hundreds of times on social media. His family asks anyone with information about his whereabouts to call St. Louis Police at 314-231-1212.
"A lot of people know him, so I just hope somebody knows something," John Jatcko said.
