She vanished from one day to the next: 20 years on, is Jennifer Kesse’s disappearance closer to being solved?
Kesse, a 24-year-old financial analyst in Orlando, Florida, has been missing since Jan. 24, 2006.
The family of missing Orlando woman Jennifer Kesse, who disappeared exactly two decades ago this weekend, says it’s now hopeful her case is closer to being solved, as Florida detectives seemingly ramp up their search.
What’s more, the Kesses’ own investigative efforts have seen them join forces with an artificial-intelligence firm, whose specialists are helping to analyze a potentially key piece of evidence: surveillance footage filmed in the days after Jennifer vanished.
What happened to Jennifer Kesse?
Then 24, Jennifer was reported missing on Jan. 24, 2006, after failing to show up for her job as a financial analyst. She has not been heard from since speaking to her boyfriend on the phone at about 10:00 p.m. the night before.
Jennifer’s condominium, where she lived alone, showed no signs of a struggle - and offered ample evidence that she had slept in her bed, got up, and left for work on the morning of Jan. 24. Her purse, keys and cell phone were not found.
Nor, initially, was Jennifer’s car, a black Chevrolet Malibu. But two days after her disappearance was reported, the vehicle was tracked down to the car park at the Huntington on the Green, an apartment complex about a mile from her condo.
Evidence photos of the Chevrolet show signs of a violent struggle, Jennifer’s family says. “It looked like someone was thrown down on the top of the hood - arms spread out and then dragged back almost like off the hood to the point where you can almost see fingers scribbling down the hood,” Jennifer’s father, Drew, told Fox News in 2020.
“If we find that person, it’s over”
Significantly, there is also CCTV footage of the individual who parked Jennifer’s car at the apartment complex. However, this potential person of interest has never been identified, having benefited from a combination of good luck and primitive surveillance technology.
As the driver walked away from the vehicle, security cameras only captured the individual in a series of grainy stills - all of which were taken at the precise point when the person’s face was largely obscured by thick fence posts.
Speaking this month, Drew said AI experts are now working with the family to try to identify the person, by arrowing in on an ear visible in the footage and comparing it to others found in publicly available photos.
“An ear is just like an eye or a fingerprint,” Drew told Fox 13 Tampa Bay. “It’s very unique to a person. When we find the ear, then we find the person.”
In an interview with WESH 2, Drew added: “If we find that missing man, we’ll have [answers to] our questions. Whether that person did something directly to Jennifer or was asked to do something with Jennifer’s car. If we find that person, it’s over. I can guarantee it.”
Drew also says the AI firm is helping the Kesses to comb through vast case files from Orlando Police Department’s (OPD) probe into Jennifer’s disappearance. Running over 16,000 pages long, the files were obtained by the family in 2019, after the Kesses successfully sued the city of Orlando and its police force.
The OPD no longer leads the investigation, with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Florida’s state police agency, taking the case up for review in 2022.
And in October, Jennifers parents revealed that FDLE investigators have made “exciting” progress - including the discovery of a potential DNA lead.
“Huge for the investigation”
Writing on the family’s GoFundMe page, Drew and Joyce Kesse said the FDLE had told them "there was DNA found within evidence that was never tested“. Describing this as ”huge for the investigation", the Kesses said: “Hopefully that will lead to more factual information leading to Jennifer.”
Drew and Joyce continued: “We were also told that the list of people of interest has been greatly reduced and down to a few individuals they are working heavily on.
“This again is great news. We can hear it and see it in our investigative team at FDLE. They are definitely hyped up and moving forward quickly.”
”We will never stop looking for you"
In a further GoFundMe update, posted in the days before the 20th anniversary of Jennifer’s disappearance, her family spoke of their optimism that the two-decade-old mystery might finally be cleared up.
Addressing the FDLE directly, they said: “The strides you have made give this family great HOPE that we will bring Jennifer home, and you will be the ones to do it! We thank you for your dedication and expertise. We promise you, Jennifer is worth the effort you are putting forth.”
And in a message to Jennifer, the Kesses said: “The love we share is unbreakable, never-ending, and grows stronger every day. We feel you with us because you are a part of us. You are loved and missed by so many.
”We will never stop looking for you until you are found and brought home where you belong.”
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