Jackson disappeared with his friend, Alfred Grimes, from Monterey County, California on December 14, 1968. The two boys got up in the early morning hours to go fishing at Fisherman's Wharf, something they did regularly. A bus driver remembered seeing them at the bus stop at 4:30 a.m. and spoke to Grimes. He left them off on Del Monte Avenue near the wharf. Neither of them have ever been heard from again. When Grimes didn't return home or call by 5:00 p.m., his father went out looking for him. He called the police after he couldn't find any sign of the two boys.

Jackson's family lived in the 3100 block of Ninole Drive at the time of his disappearance. The boys' cases remain unsolved. It's possible that they drowned, but the circumstances of their disappearances are unclear.