Ivan "John" JAKUS
Ivan "John" JAKUS
75 year old Ivan "John" Jakus went to the Istra Social Club on Cowpasture Rd Leppington NSW about 5.30pm on April 12, 2026 before later travelling to Leppington Railway Station alone, where police say he was seen at about 7.30pm. He did not have a wallet or ID on him. Ivan was spotted outside a home on Ramsay Road in Rossmore around 10pm. His final confirmed movements were captured on CCTV at approximately 12.45am on April 13, showing him crossing Bringelly Road at Bringelly. There have been no verified sightings of him since.
As seen above in CCTV image, when he disappeared, Ivan was wearing a white Adidas T-shirt, dark navy shorts, white socks and dark-coloured shoes. He is about 165cm tall and has short grey hair.
Click here for Ivan's Facebook missing person page
Search continues to locate elderly man missing from Leppington
16th April 2026
Police are appealing for public assistance as search operation
continues to locate an elderly man who was last seen in Sydney’s southwest.
Ivan Jakus, who also goes by John, aged 75, was last seen at a
club on Cowpasture Road, Leppington, about 5.30pm on Sunday 12 April 2026).
When he failed to return to his aged care facility at Casula,
officers attached to Liverpool City Police Area Command were notified and
commenced inquiries into his whereabouts.
Police and family have concerns for Ivan’s welfare as he lives
with dementia and requires regular medication.
Inquiries revealed Ivan was seen leaving Leppington Railway
Station, about 7.30pm on Sunday and was also seen outside a home on Ramsay Road,
Rossmore, about 10pm on Sunday.
A coordinated search - involving Police rescue, SES, RFS and
other resources - is continuing to be conducted in the Rossmore area and police
are asking residents to check sheds and other structures on their properties.
Ivan is described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 165cm,
of medium build, with short grey hair.
He was last seen wearing a white ‘Adidas’ t-shirt, dark navy
shorts, white socks and dark coloured shoes.
Ivan is believed to be travelling on foot in the Leppington area;
however, he is extremely mobile and may have travelled further.
He is known to frequent the Casula, Liverpool, Cabramatta and
Fairfield areas.
Anyone with information into his whereabouts is urged to call
Liverpool Police Station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Families of two missing NSW residents face an agonising wait for answers as police warn investigations are running out of leads and all known sightings have gone cold.
In May 2026, NSW Police made 50 separate appeals to the media for help in locating a vast array of missing people from across the state.
Two of those individuals, former bricklayer Ivan Jakus, 75, and Rita-Marie Collin, 60, are part of the cohort yet to be found.
For any family, the toll of losing a loved one can be devastating enough, but for the Jakus and Colin families, this loss has been made all the more unbearable by a total absence of answers and investigations that are rapidly running out of leads.
Despite the dire circumstances, Mr Jakus’ daughter Victoria has remained resolute since her father, who has dementia, disappeared from a venue in Leppington in Sydney’s southwest last month.
Mr Jakus disappeared from the Istra Social Club on Cowpasture Rd about 5.30pm on April 12.
Speaking to NewsWire, Ms Jakus said her dad was “fit as a fiddle” and capable of traversing large distances despite his declining cognitive abilities.
“My dad is very fit. His mind has started to go, but he’s fit as a fiddle. He can jump fences and he can walk for kilometres on end. We know he walked 18km to the last point we saw him … we just don’t know how much further he went after that,” she said.
“I went out on Tuesday and spent the whole day walking the Northern Rd and going onto properties that haven’t been searched. By the end of the day I thought to myself ‘how has he walked so far, I’m buggered’.”
Ms Jakus said part of the difficulty finding her father came from an apparent underestimation by police of just how far he was capable of walking.
“I just feel like my dad was underestimated from the start. There was such a time lapse in everything, and we would spend days searching one area when days later it would come out that he was somewhere else,” she said.
“It’s frustrating, but at the same time I understand as well. They can’t just keep everybody out here for us.”
NSW Police told NewsWire on Friday the search for Mr Jakus “absolutely remains active”.
Freelance reporter and The Missing Australia podcast host Meni Caroutas has spent decades working alongside police and families to help them find loved ones who seemingly vanish without a trace.
Caroutas said that while the first 24 hours was always the most crucial part of an investigation, it didn’t mean that was always the be-all and end-all.
“The reason police have renewed the appeals for Ivan is because they’re hoping to generate new leads. They’re hoping to refresh public awareness and fill the gaps where people may not have seen the initial stories or reports,” Caroutas said.
“They also want people who have seen reports and dismissed them or not thought too strongly about something they may have seen to think about it again because information which can seem insignificant at the time can be really important.”
Caroutas said frustration was a natural response for families going through the process of waiting for information.
“For families, it’s very difficult to just sit at home and wait for police to call and give an update. I know lots of families who have taken off and searched bushland. That’s what loved ones do,” he said.
“With Mr Jakus, it sounds like this poor gentleman has wandered off and he’s confused and he’s gone into the bush. The main thing is for people to check cameras, check CCTV, check dashcam footage. Even if you don’t think it’s significant, just let police decide.”
As the police effort draws down, Ms Jakus has spent an increasing amount of time leaning on community efforts for support.
A Facebook page started up by one of her friends has more than 2000 followers and regularly posts updates about the effort to track Mr Zukus down.
“She’s amazing, she does it every day. People come in and they message us, they send pictures of older men who look like him. The community has been really good,” Ms Zukus said.
“There’s a lot of people that are willing to go out and search. We’re currently working towards another search day.”
The page features a video taken along a strip of the Northern Rd close to where Mr Zukus was last seen.
Ms Jakus has urged anybody who recognises the road, and who travels along it regularly, to let her know if they have seen an elderly man who appears lost or disoriented walking in the area.
More than two months have passed since 75-year-old Croatian man Ivan Jakus disappeared in Sydney’s southwest.
His family, friends and the wider community continue to appeal for any information that could help determine where Ivan is.
Despite extensive police searches and public appeals, there have been no confirmed sightings of Ivan since the early hours of April 13, 2026, leaving those closest to him searching for any clue that could explain his disappearance.
Ivan, who lives with dementia and requires regular medication, was residing in an aged care facility before he went missing. On the evening of April 12, he spent time at the Croatian Club Istra on Old Cowpasture Road before later travelling to Leppington Railway Station alone, where police say he was seen at about 7.30pm. He did not have a wallet or ID on him.
Investigations later established that Ivan was spotted outside a home on Ramsay Road in Rossmore around 10pm. His final confirmed movements were captured on CCTV at approximately 12.45am on April 13, showing him crossing Bringelly Road at Bringelly. There have been no verified sightings of him since.
His family has spoken to members of the Istra club, searched every location they can think of, and had the help of police authorities, but there have been no leads. Ivan could be anywhere.
As seen above in CCTV image, when he disappeared, Ivan was wearing a white Adidas T-shirt, dark navy shorts, white socks and dark-coloured shoes. He is about 165cm tall and has short grey hair.
Authorities continue to urge anyone who may have seen him, or remembers any unusual activity in the area that night, to come forward.
The last CCTV footage of him shows a car came to a complete stop to avoid hitting Ivan as he crossed Bringelly Road. Ivan’s family is still appealing for the driver of this car to come forward with any insight as to which direction Ivan may have gone.
While search efforts have covered large areas, investigators believe Ivan may have travelled a significant distance because he was known to be extremely mobile, and he was travelling by foot.
The above map was provided by Victoria Jakus and traces Ivan’s last known whereabouts in order.
The search has united family members, friends and supporters across Australia and beyond. A Facebook page dedicated to finding Ivan has attracted more than 2,000 followers, with regular updates shared to keep the search in the public eye and encourage people to remain vigilant.
Ivan’s daughter Victoria was interviewed by Channel 7 in the week of his disappearance, but the interview was never aired. Since then, she has consistently pleaded with media authorities, including A Current Affair, for coverage, but has unfortunately been largely ignored.
A petition has been launched calling for greater media attention to Ivan’s disappearance. The campaign argues that broader coverage could increase public awareness and improve the chances of someone recognising Ivan or recalling information that may have previously seemed insignificant.
Please sign the petition now: https://www.change.org/p/help-find-missing-ivan-jakus-we-need-media-attention.
Anyone with information about Ivan Jakus’ whereabouts is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.