She was up for anything and willing to travel anywhere and try new things.. Nothing seemed out of place, but Kesse, her purse, phone, and vehicle were missing. During that presser they also announced that Jennifer Sybert was actually named Kimberly Kessler; she had been living under a fake name and using a fake Social Security number. That baby is now 14 years old. Theories abound as to what happened, with many suggesting she was killed by a male coworker whose advances she had spurned. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. While there isnt any evidence that Kessler and Kesse ever met, I do have a few questions Id like to have answered: Have investigators ever looked at Kessler as a possible person of interest in the Kesse case? We dont know anything. Then she disappeared one day in January of 2006 and has never been found. Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. Since our agreement to produce the documents in this matter, we have worked closely with their counsel and have turned over thousands of pages of documents and hours of recordings for their independent team to review and investigate. Logan said he believes one of the workers from her apartment complex is to blame. More than a dozen years later, her parents are still looking for her. 2010 The Thought & Expression Company, LLC. The Kesse family told Dateline they wont ever stop searching for their daughter or for answers. Jenn was a great sounding board, Rob said. I remember talking to my dad on the drive up and he told me, You know, youre the boyfriend, theyre going to look at you, Rob told Dateline. The Kesse family organized volunteers to pass out fliers and spoke on local and national TV. Jennifer Kesse was last seen leaving work in Orlando, Florida on January 23, 2006. Police attempted to interview many of the 100 or so construction workers but turned up no leads. There was no blood, no DNA, no hair samples, nothing.. Allen says it was the last time he ever heard from her. Monday marks 16 years since Jennifer Kesse disappeared. It was long-distance, but we made it work, Rob told Dateline this week. She was successful, attractive, in love, and well-liked by everyone who knew her, so it seemed that her life was going pretty well, but there was a dark road ahead of her, which would lead into a deeply strange vanishing that remains totally unsolved. Went outside of her condo locked the door on the way out. For 14 years, Jenns family has not given up their search for her. A police dog was able to trace a scent that led from the car back to Jennifers building, suggesting that the person who dropped off the car returned to the site of her abduction. Rob told Dateline that Jenn always contacted him in some way, by calling him or texting him, before she left for work but not that day. Sybert was charged with grand theft auto for taking Cummings vehicle and booked in jail. It was odd that she hadnt called me back, Rob said. Join MU Plus+ and get exclusive shows and extensions & much more! But after a thorough interrogation, police decided he had nothing to do with her disappearance. On January 17, 2019, Kessler made an appearance in court for the death of Cummings. ", Clearwater High School students prepare for annual civil rights tour, Person killed after shooting outside Tampa credit union, 10 Weather: Windy Friday ahead of weekend cold front, Windy conditions ahead of chance of rain this weekend, Nothing found in lake after new tip about Jennifer Kesse's disappearance, New tip in Jennifer Kesse's disappearance causes divers to search lake, Parents of Jennifer Kesse take over investigation into daughters disappearance. Later that evening, the last person to speak on the phone with Jenn was her boyfriend. She also had a long-distance love with boyfriend Rob Allen, who lived around 3 hours away in Ft. Lauderdale, but with whom she was very serious, finding time to see him every weekend. She wouldnt just up and leave.. The private investigator believes she may have been abducted by a construction worker. It looked like they knocked a filing cabinet over, shuffled the papers and handed them to us.. It also seems highly unlikely that one or more of the workers could have pulled off an abduction and murder without at least some of the other workers finding out. Shower was wet. On January 24, the day of Jennifers disappearance, Campos didnt show up for work until noon. We need to continue the search to at least find the remnant piece of carpet, Investigator Torretta said. I called and I called and for the first time since Jenn was a teenager, it went straight to voicemail, Drew said. But everything was fine.. And that is where the mystery starts.. In that second, I knew something was wrong.. Surveillance images showed a person dropping off her car and walking away at around 12 noon on January 24, about four hours after Jennifer would have been abducted while leaving her apartment for work. Despite photo enhancements by the FBI, who briefly took over the investigation in 2008, investigators were unable to determine if the individual is a man or a woman. 15 years since Jennifer Kesse went missing, the familys investigating what happened to her and hope to have answers this year, Fundraiser by Drew Kesse : Help Us Find Jennifer Kesse. Jenns purse, cell phone and iPod were nowhere to be found. This has taken everything out of us, emotionally and financially, Drew Kesse said. There was nothing amiss at Jennifer Jenn Kesses condo in Orlando, Florida on the day she vanished 14 years ago. They generated thousands of leads and tips, but the ultimate tip has still not come through. There were no signs of struggle or forced entry. Instead of moving, Logan traveled back and forth between Florida and California, and got his real estate license. Law enforcement believes she is trying to starve herself to death, and theyve reported that she has fits of rage, including stripping naked and smearing feces and food around her cell. Kessler spent a lot of time in many Florida cities, including Oviedo, which is basically a suburb of Orlando, where Kesse lived. By But she didnt come back. The family says they did not want the case to be in the hands of Orlando police anymore, but moving the investigation to FDLE did not come easily and for six months they worked to convince the attorney generals office and other state partners to help them. Missing person signs were posted. Her car was found a mile away. When they returned to Robs place in Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday, January 22, 2006, Rob said neither of them were looking forward to getting back to reality. Is it possible she was employed by the construction company working on Kesses building? In the years since Jenn vanished, Rob has gotten married and had two children. I know that as the boyfriend, Im prime suspect number one, Rob said. This week, the Kesse family, now living back in Bradenton, are beginning their seventeenth year without Jennifer. No one.". You can watchthe full episode here. And to make sure I was in it for the long haul. Creepy Catalog is owned by the Thought and Expression Company, a small, independent media company. Unfortunately, no. ', He urged people in the know to get in touch and said: 'If you know where Jennifer is and the information is real name your price, go ahead. In speaking with Floridas Fourth Estate last year, Kesses father revealed a theory that his daughter may have been taken by human sex traffickers. He's written articles for MU and Daily Grail and has been a guest on Coast to Coast AM and Binnal of America. Eventually she was indicted on a first-degree premeditated murder charge for the death of Cummings. ORLANDO, Fla. - Tuesday marked 17 years since Jennifer Kesse disappeared in Orlando. Both Drew and Jenns mother, Joyce, tried to call their daughter, but their calls and texts also went unanswered. From January 2005 until January 2006, Rob and Jenn traveled back and forth between Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale to see each other, and also traveled together internationally as much as they could. Rob, along with Jenns parents and brother, were all ruled out as suspects right away, according to the familys legal team and private investigator, Mike Torretta. Her black, Chevy Malibu car was later found a mile away on Thursday, January 26 at a condo complex around a mile down the road from where she lived. In 2016, Jennifer would be officially pronounced dead, but her family fought this, and in the meantime fought the State of Florida for access to the case files, finally in in March of 2019 receiving more than 16,000 pages of documents and 67 hours of video and audiotape, but this has not led to any breakthroughs. Drew Kesse has been vocal about what they feel have been missteps by Orlando police in the investigation. Prison photos of Kessler since her arrest show her in prison-issue jumpsuits and with her hair parted down the center and pulled back tightly in a ponytail or bun. For her disappearance and for the fact that its gone on this long without answers.. When she uncharacteristically didnt show up for work, her employer called her parents and they immediately left their Tampa home and drove toward her apartment. Dailymail.com Reporter, Have you seen Jennifer? Three years later, a former housekeeper reportedly told Wright the guy in the security camera image sort of looked like a guy named Chino, a former maintenance worker at Kesse's condo complex. A coworker named Adam said that a few days before Jennifer disappeared, Campos was upset she was dating her boyfriend rather than Campos. They told us, Oh, shes an adult, she had a fight with her boyfriend, shell be back, and they left, Drew said. A few days later, on January 26, 2006, came the first big break in the case. She had a stable job working as a finance manager for Central Florida Investments Timeshare Company in Ocoee, Florida and was the proud new owner of a condo in nearby Orlando. It was as if she had just parked it there and walked off the face of the earth. Her condo complex was undergoing a renovation, and many of the workers had been living in the empty condos. Thats how it was with Jenn. Timeshares are big business in Florida. Her purse, keys, cell phone, and iPod, which family members said she always kept with her, were missing. . I cant even imagine how horrific of a person you have to be to abduct someone or harm someone. Joyce said shell never give up hope that her daughter is out there somewhere, alive, needing to be rescued. I didnt see a whole post about it, so I thought Id type one up and share the strange connections. 16:06 EST 25 Jan 2021 You never think something like this could ever happen to someone you love.. Jennifer had repeatedly told her family that many of the workers repeatedly sexually harassed and catcalled her. Im unsure if Kessler had any known connections to Orlando or the areas or places Kesse lived, worked, or frequented. Video surveillance showed an unidentified person parking the car and walking away from it. 2. Seventeen heart-shaped balloons were left . On right, how Jennifer may look today. Investigators interviewed a coworker of Jennifers named Johnny Campos but concluded he was not guilty. As of this posing, the judge in the case has not made a ruling. But despite extensive searches, few clues to her alleged abduction have ever been found. Jennifer Kesse was first reported missing on January 24, 2006. Kesse was 24 when she went missing. Kesse appeared to have disappeared after leaving her home around 7.30am. She was in very good spirits at the time, having thoroughly enjoyed her vacation and telling her mother that she was on a cloud. That evening she would come home from work and talk to her boyfriend on the phone for a time before heading to bed, and this seems to be the last time anyone ever spoke to her. In an open letter to their daughter on the 15th anniversary of her disappearance, the Kesses said they remain 'relentless' in their pursuit of answers. Wright interviewed Chino inside a prison in 2009. Jennifer Kesse was a successful young woman with a good job and a loving boyfriend when she simply vanished from her Orlando, Fla., condominium. Authorities began to investigate the multiple construction workers and day laborers who worked in the area of Jenns apartment complex, which was only half-finished when she moved in two months prior to her disappearance. On November 8, 2019, for the first time in years, there was a second possible break in the case. The Mystery of New York's Renegade Subway Psychic, Forget About What We Know About Roswell: It's What's Missing About the Case That We Need to Look For, Archeologists Discover Another Secret Corridor Inside the Great Pyramid of Giza, UFO Whistleblowers: When Secrets are Revealed. The case generated media attention. Drew and Joyce took legal action against the Orlando Police Department in order to gain access to Jenns case files. Although a married man, other workers allege that Campos made it very clear that he desired a relationship with Jennifer but was rebuffed because not only did she have a boyfriend, she refused to date coworkers as a matter of policy. And it puts life in perspective. Jenns disappearance wasnt the only heartbreak for Rob that year. She drove the two and a half hours directly to her job in Ocoee, Florida, where she worked a full day. In January of 2006 she had just purchased a condo in Orlando, Florida, and was working as a finance manager at Central Florida Investments Timeshare Company in Ocoee making good money. "We're fed up . "That four-month agreement has turned into three years and ten months and the department is still incapable of fulfilling their end of the agreement. In fact, she'd just moved. Logan and several friends had stayed in Jenns condo while she was on vacation and one of his friends left his cell phone behind. Her family still had no answers, and their frustrations were mounting. And police launched an investigation. They Never Told Her Family. Her 2004 Chevy Malibu was found two days later about a mile away from her condo. On her wanted poster, Kessler is cited to be 53 55, the exact height range suggested for the person seen abandoning Kesses vehicle. And made it as far as her car. There doesnt seem to be a clear motive in Kesses disappearance. Rob told Dateline he talked to Jenn multiple times a day, sometimes for hours at a time. The only things missing were her car, purse, keys, and cell phone, and by all appearances it seemed as if she had stepped out for work as usual, so why hadnt anyone heard from her and why hadnt she shown up to work? Our hearts continue to go out to the entire Kesse family, and our detectives will continue to investigate any new leads. This is going to be a long post. We just want to know where she is, what happened to her, before its too late for us.. Mr Kesse said they family have been 'fighting through these files' for the last 22 months, receiving new files two weeks ago. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. You know that feeling, when you dont want to get off the phone because you enjoy talking to the person so much? Rob said. Drews investigative team began searching that area with their own private cadaver dogs and were alerted to something. At the time of her disappearance, Jennifers building was undergoing major renovations and many of the construction workers were undocumented immigrants who were actually living in unoccupied condos on the premises while working there. We had a bit of a disagreement. Jenns parents said it appeared she had gotten ready for work that morning and left, just like any other morning. On January 23, the day she returned to work after her vacation, a coworker reportedly claims he overheard a conversation between Campos and Jennifer in which Campos was allegedly upset she went on vacation with her boyfriend, only for Jennifer to tell him what a wonderful time shed had. In the months leading up to her disappearance, Jennifer Kesse tells her family how uncomfortable the construction workers had been making her feel. Then she disappeared one day in January of 2006 and has never been found. At a press conference, investigators said they had reason to believe Cummings was no longer alive, but they had not found her remains. In December, WFTV reported that cold case detectives with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are now looking over evidence to see if they can solve the mystery of her disappearance. Jennifer Kesse, 24, went missing from her newly purchased Orlando, Florida, condo on January 24, 2006 Her family marked the 15th anniversary this month by announcing that they 'hope' to solving. That evening, she left her office around 6pm and wished her boss a good evening. Thats hell. A personal connection doesnt seem to exist between Kessler and Kesse. When she went off to school at UCF, Logan visited on weekends just in time for the college parties. Other commenters on this theory have pointed out that, in those shapeless clothes and with her hair back, her silhouette is reminiscent of what we can make out in the surveillance videos of the person who parked Kesses vehiclesmaller frame, gender-neutral clothing, and a possible bun or ponytail (instead of what some believe may be as a hat). Jenns family told Dateline their frustration with how local authorities handled her case grew over the years and in 2018, they decided to take the investigation into their own hands. The family has continued to pursue the case through private investigators, who have turned up some potential new clues. Police release age-progressed photo of 24-year-old woman who went missing nine years ago, Prime suspect in unsolved murder of an 11-year-old boy breaks his silence more than two decades later and admits he saw the missing child moments before he was abducted, Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Beaming Harry and Meghan enjoy date night at private members' club, Ken Bruce finishes his 30-year tenure as host of BBC Radio 2, Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' There's been a lot of discussion about how the construction company kept poor records of employees working at this site, so perhaps this isn't an answerable question. Privacy Policy. A damp hand towel draped over the side of the sink. It still has for my parents, Logan said. Nov 08, 2019 at 6:13 pm. Later that year, Detective Joel Wright was named lead investigator in the case. The only evidence was surveillance footage obtained by Orlando Police that showed an unidentified person walking in the parking lot at the same time Jennifers car was left in the lot -- 12 p.m. on Tuesday, January 24, 2006. Yesterday, there was a post on the Unresolved Mysteries sub about the most out-there theories that we were reticent to share and this one came to mind. If she knew she would be five minutes late for work, she would call them thats just who she is.. Her purse, phone and keys were not inside. This week marks 14 years since Jenn disappeared from their lives. . Shed last seen her daughter on July 4, 2004 in Butler, Pennsylvaniaeight years before reporting her missing. But nothing -- absolutely nothing -- was being done.. Other than that, the apartment was completely normal.. I saw this theory discussed in another thread a year or so ago, and it totally blew my mind. But now that I have kids, I have a different understanding of what it would be like, and its heartbreaking.. Jenns mother, Joyce, told Dateline she felt fortunate that their family was able to all speak to Jenn that day. Everything looked normal, with her make-up laid out on a counter and a t-shirt on the floor, and even the shower was still wet, showing that she had left that morning. by Sarah Jae Leiber Oct. 21, 2020. The next morning, when her boyfriend called her office, he was told that Jennifer had not arrived. 7. Police found her car a few days later. Her family has been tirelessly searching for the Tampa Bay-area native for. At the time she vanished, she was living in Orlando. No one has identified this POI parking Jennifer's car, and Jennifer has never been found. Dont worry, you can unsubscribe any time you like. Jennifer Kesse, meanwhile, was abducted after leaving her apartment on her way to work on the morning of Jan. 24, 2006. Police search miles of terrain and interrogate dozens of suspects, yet a decade later her disappearance remains one of Florida's most baffling crimes. Jenns parents also stayed at the condo, for months, in an effort to make a statement that finding their daughter was the number one priority. Jennifer Kesse was 24-years-old when she was last seen in January 2006 after leaving her Orlando condo. Her parents went ahead and moved into her condo, so they could help with the investigation. As of right now, there is no law enforcement working on my daughters case. Kesse was 24 years old at the time of her disappearance. The 24-year-old simply vanished and no one has ever been arrested..