ORLANDO, Fla. – The family of Jennifer Kesse says they have the best opportunity to find the missing woman now, 17 years after she disappeared from her Orlando condo complex.
The Kesse family released an update on their GoFundMe page to mark 17 years since they last heard from Jennifer, who was 24 at the time of her disappearance.
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“At this point in time and after countless attempts to get authorities to do what is needed to find Jennifer or not, decisively, we believe we have now positioned her case with authorities that are willing, able, and wanting to find Jennifer even after 17 years, outside of the Orlando Police Department,” the family wrote.
They also said the family’s team is working with state law enforcement in the continued search.
Kesse was last seen at her workplace, Central Florida Investments, on Jan. 23, 2006. That night she talked to family, friends and her boyfriend as well.
The next day she did not show up for work. No one has heard from her since.
Two days later, her car was found at Huntington on the Green condominiums at Texas Avenue and Americana Boulevard, about a mile away from her complex, Mosaic at Millenia.
Valuables were still in the vehicle, which lead police to believe this wasn’t a robbery or a carjacking.
Surveillance video showed someone walking near the car, and has been sought as a person of interest.
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While the Orlando Police Dept. has never closed the Kesse case, the family, frustrated by the agency’s efforts, has launched its own investigation. In 2018 they sued to get the Kesse investigative file, and a judge ruled in their favor in 2019. However, the family has said as recently as 2022 that they are still working to get the complete unredacted file from the city.
A profile of Kesse’s disappearance on the CBS show “48 Hours” lead to renewed interest in the case.
In 2020, Kesse’s father, Drew, went on “Florida’s Fourth Estate” and said he believes his daughter may have been the victim of human trafficking, which is why the family believes she is still out there.
Last year Drew Kesse accused the Orlando Police Dept. of negligence in the investigation.
“Now imagine, over that time, fighting for unredacted copies with the city’s lawyers and trying to have our private investigators find Jennifer from all those files. Then finding out that the lead detective on Jennifer’s case did not write a single report or any document since 2010, 12 years!!!” Kesse wrote at the time. “We firmly believe the department’s negligence and lack of competency cost Jennifer the chance to be found.”
Anyone with information into Kesse’s disappearance can call the Kesse Family Tip Line at 941-201-4009, or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477).
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