'Our hearts are breaking:' Parents of man missing in Europe to head to Slovenia in effort to find him

MADISON -- A Wisconsin man is missing in Europe, and his parents, who live in Madison, are doing everything in their power to find him. FOX6's sister station WMTV sat down with Jon Luskin's parents to talk about the steps they are taking to locate their son.

Luskin, 25, was last seen in Austria, on vacation with his mother, Susan Stone, who left to go back to Madison. Luskin boarded a train to hike in Slovenia. No one has heard from him since June 22, when his cellphone pinged in Lublijana, Slovenia.

"Because he cares. This was just the kind of guy -- I was just starting to say 'was.' Is. Is," his parents said.

Luskin was supposed to go hiking in Triglav National Park in Slovenia, and then onto Croatia, Greece and home to Hong Kong, where he teaches chemistry.

"The roommate calls and says 'are you seated?' And you go cold, and your heart drops down into your belly, and you go 'oh God,'" Susan Stone said.

That's when Stone and Allan Luskin, Jon's father, started making calls to the U.S. Embassy in Slovenia, police and the FBI.

"They can confirm that he was in a youth hostel just outside Lublijana on the 22nd before he went missing," said Stone.

Since then, there have been no messages, cellphone pings or action of any kind on his credit cards.

"We're really fearful that he went into the national park and never came out," Allan Luskin told WMTV.

Susan and Allan told WMTV they're hopeful he'll come home to his parents and three siblings who miss him.

"They're just fun when they're together. It's one of these things that, when you see them, they all get along and they kind of rib each other," said Stone.

Jon Luskin's parents said they're holding onto hope while knowing what's possible.

"Our hearts are breaking," said Allan Luskin

"You wake up in the middle of the night, and the first thing you think about is Jon. And sometimes you go back to sleep, and sometimes you don't," said Stone.

Susan and Allan said their biggest concern is that the park service where Jon was supposed to be hiking hasn't yet searched the area. They believe he could be in that park.

NBC15 reached out to the U.S. State Department, who released a statement reading, in part: "The U.S. Department of State and our embassies and consulates abroad have no greater responsibility than the protection of U.S. citizens overseas. When a U.S. citizen is missing, we work closely with local authorities as they carry out their duties."

Susan and Allan told WMTV they'll be getting on a flight to Slovenia on Sunday or Monday, where they plan to meet with members of the U.S. Embassy and officials from the national park in an effort to find their son.