Father’s Pursuit For Missing Daughter Heats Up With New Evidence In Case That’s No Longer Cold

Nearly 2 decades aft a Florida woman vanished from her flat building without a trace, authorities person announced a caller break that could respire caller life into a formerly acold case. 

Jennifer Kesse, 24, vanished from her Orlando condo complex aft leaving for activity connected nan greeting of Jan. 24, 2006, stumping some authorities and national investigators arsenic authorities raced to drawback her abductor. 

"About an hr and a half into nan workday, I received a telephone from her work," Drew Kesse, Jennifer’s father, told Fox News Digital. "And they said, ‘Hey, Jennifer had a gathering this morning, it’s not for illustration her to show up. Do you cognize wherever she is?’" 

MISSING FLORIDA WOMAN JENNIFER KESSE'S FATHER HOPES FOR ANSWERS 18 YEARS AFTER 

Jennifer Kesse smiles successful an undated family photo. (Courtesy of nan Kesse Family )

Kesse instantly tried to scope his girl – relying connected a family norm that they would ever reply each other's calls – but her telephone went consecutive to voicemail. 

"I knew thing was incorrect immediately," Kesse said. 

Kesse and his wife, Joyce, quickly made nan two-hour thrust from their location successful Tampa to Orlando, wherever they recovered their daughter’s flat quiet pinch respective outfit choices laid retired connected nan bed. 

DETECTIVES’ TRUE CRIME PODCAST HELPS DIG UP BREAKTHROUGH IN CASE THAT HAUNTED FAMILY: ‘DREW AUDIBLE GASP’

Jennifer Kesse and her father, Drew, unfastened presents successful an undated family photo. (Courtesy of nan Kesse Family )

The parents instantly called nan Orlando Police Department to study Jennifer missing. 

"They looked astir her apartment, shrugged their shoulders and said, ‘She had a conflict pinch her fellow probably, she’ll beryllium back,’" Kesse said. "They walked out. And that was Jennifer’s past chance." 

More than a decade later, nan family revenge a suit against nan City of Orlando, OPD and nan mayor’s office, citing a botched investigation into Kesse's disappearance and requesting documents pertaining to nan search. 

MISSING JENNIFER KESSE'S FAMILY HOLDS OUT HOPE FOR POSSIBLE DNA EVIDENCE

Jennifer Kesse has been missing since she was past seen astatine her Orlando residential analyzable connected Jan. 24, 2006. (FDLE/ Fox News)

OPD, nan City of Orlando and nan mayor's agency did not instantly respond to Fox News Digital’s petition for comment. 

The suit resulted successful nan first successful petition for records involving an ongoing case, pinch nan metropolis handing complete 16,000 pages of materials progressive successful nan investigation. Drew Kesse compiled a squad of 13 members of rule enforcement – including erstwhile U.S. Secret Service and FBI agents – to proceed advancing nan hunt for his daughter. 

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In November 2022, nan Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) took complete the case, pinch immoderate leads into Kesse’s disappearance yet moving cold. 

Until past month, erstwhile Kesse received a telephone from FDLE telling him that investigators had obtained caller DNA grounds and, utilizing a database compiled by Kesse’s team, narrowed down their persons of interest.

MISSING CALIFORNIA MOM’S FAMILY DIGS FOR HOMICIDE ‘COVER-UP OR CLEANUP’ AS POLICE EYE PERSONS OF INTEREST

Jennifer Kesse smiles alongside her mother, Joyce. (Courtesy of nan Kesse family )

"[FDLE] said that they nary longer see Jennifer’s lawsuit cold," Kesse said. "It is active. They are connected what they request to do and they genuinely judge that they are getting somewhere."  

FDLE declined Fox News Digital’s petition for comment, citing nan ongoing investigation. 

Kesse credits nan break successful nan case to his ain squad of investigators and caller exertion removing erstwhile roadblocks pertaining to evidence. 

HUNT FOR MISSING MIDWEST NEWS ANCHOR FOCUSES ON FIGHT OVER UNSEALING EVIDENCE

An FBI handout photograph shows a personification of liking successful nan disappearance of Jennifer Kesse. (FBI )

The squad asked NASA to heighten information footage revealing Jennifer’s car was removed from her flat analyzable connected nan time of her disappearance, reemerging 3 days later astatine a abstracted condo parking batch 1 mile down nan road, pinch nan driver’s look obscured by a adjacent gross wherever nan conveyance was found. 

"We person movie of that [car] being parked," Kesse told Fox News Digital. "A personification stays successful it for 32 seconds, gets retired and walks away."  

Kesse hopes nan usage of artificial intelligence will lead investigators to place nan personification of interest. 

Additionally, 2 witnesses antecedently reported seeing Jennifer and a man fighting while successful nan beforehand spot of her achromatic Chevy Malibu. Records obtained by nan family besides indicated nan hood of Jennifer’s conveyance was covered pinch particulate from ongoing building astatine her condo analyzable and indicated signs of a struggle. 

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"An unidentified personification of liking and imaginable fishy was photographed parking Jennifer Kesse’s conveyance and stepping away. The unidentified personification was astir 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-5 and was wearing achromatic apparel akin to a creator aliases a manual worker," a missing persons flyer from nan FDLE says. "Prior to Kesse’s disappearance, she had complained astir immoderate building workers that were moving connected her flat analyzable and were making her uneasy."

For now, nan family is anxiously awaiting immoderate caller accusation that could perchance uncover what happened to Jennifer. 

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"I want to cognize wherever Jennifer is," Kesse said. "Dead aliases alive." 

Anyone pinch accusation astir Jennifer’s disappearance is encouraged to interaction FDLE’s Orlando agency at (407) 245-0888 or [email protected].

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In ray of Jennifer’s disappearance, nan Florida House of Representatives unanimously passed "The Jennifer Kesse and Tiffany Sessions Missing Persons Act," fundamentally reforming really missing persons reports are investigated successful Florida by requiring rule enforcement agencies to enact written policies for handling specified cases. 

"Until authorities yet put [Jennifer’s disappearance] together, hopefully very soon, we’ll support working," Kesse told Fox News Digital. "We support moving guardant pinch nan authorities, hopefully to bring her location someday." 

Fox News Digital's Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.