NY Teen Who Was 'Product of That Night' Hunting for Dad on Facebook
Jette Collins' Facebook post is drawing the help of strangers.
— -- A New York teen searching for his father is looking to Facebook for some help.
"I'm just hoping for a simple, 'Hello,' and just to catch up," Jette Collins of of Durhamville, New York, told ABC News today. "I'm not asking for much. I'm not asking for money. He could have his own life and be happy and want nothing to do with me, which is fine. I just want to be able to meet him and get the chance to say, 'Hi.'"
Jette, a freshman at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, New York, said he posted a call on his Facebook page to find his father after his loved ones encouraged the plan.
"I've wanted to do it for a long time but, recently, my girlfriend and family were saying it's a good idea," Jette said. "It's the best chance for me to meet him."
Jette said his mother told him she met his father at K-Rockathon 1, an annual music festival in upstate New York.
The first K-Rockathon concert, where Jette said his mother met his father, took place July 28, 1996, in Vernon, New York, according to the K-Rockathon website.
"I've never met him because I don't think he knows I exist because it was a one-night stand," Jette said. "What I know about him is that his name is Jason and he lives in Syracuse. That's all I know."
Using what information he had, Jette posted a photo of himself on March 2 holding a sign. It read:
I am looking for a man by the name of Jason that lived in Syracuse, NY in 1996. He went to the first K-Rockathon in 1996 and met a girl named Diana Collins.I am the product of that night. I am not asking for anything. Just would like to meet my biological father.
The post was shared over 9,300 times.
Jette said he has received "tons of messages" on Facebook, but none leading to his father.
"I hope I get a hit," he said. "All the people helping me, it's crazy."
As for whether his Facebook tactic will work, mom Diana Collins said, "there's always a shot."
"I'm proud of my son," she told ABC News. "I will stand by him through anything."