Missing Bellingham soldier last seen leaving Tennessee nightclub

Jessiah Jameson's family was looking forward to spending the holidays with him when he returned from a yearlong tour of duty in Iraq this month. Instead, Jameson's wife and mother spent Thanksgiving Day traveling to Tennessee, where they're hoping to find the 21-year-old Bellingham soldier, who's been missing for a week.

Jameson, a specialist who serves with the Army's 101st Airborne Division in Fort Campbell, Ky., was planning to return to Washington Dec. 4 and spend the holidays with his family before moving with them to Clarksville, Tenn., a town of about 110,000 some 10 miles from Fort Campbell.

Now, those plans are on hold. Jameson, who joined the Army a week after graduating from Bellingham's Squalicum High School, disappeared after leaving a Clarksville nightclub on Nov. 17, his wife, Erin Jameson, said.

Jessiah Jameson had been asked to leave Kicker's Night Club after he'd had too much to drink, Erin Jameson said. An Army friend put him in a cab and asked the driver to drop him off at a nearby hotel. Neither his family nor friends have heard from him since.

His friends have searched the banks of a river near the club for him, and his wife and mother have been passing out fliers in town, Erin Jameson said.

Maj. Mary Constantino, public-affairs officer for the 101st Airborne Division, said Clarksville police are investigating the soldier's disappearance.

"They're keeping our chain of command fully informed," Constantino said.

Before he disappeared, Jameson was busy moving into the house the couple had rented in Tennessee.

"We had a vacation to Leavenworth planned, one night away for just the two of us," said Erin Jameson. "He was trying to plan a big family Christmas with his family and see old friends from high school.

"I'm more worried," his wife said. "But I'm also more confident that things are getting taken care of. The first three or four days, the military command said they didn't think anything was wrong."

Joe Mullin: 206-464-2761 or jmullin@seattletimes.com