(Jennifer Kesse. Picture credit: nbcnews)
It's been nearly 20 years since the beautiful, bright and popular 24 year old Jennifer Kesse mysteriously vanished without a trace from her luxury apartment on the morning of the 24th of January 2006 in Orlando, Florida. Jennifer had recently graduated university and had only just moved into the apartment, she had a very loving relationship with her boyfriend (who she had just spent some quality time with in the virgin Islands) and she had parents and close family who doted on her. Life could not have been better for the pretty young blonde but suddenly nobody could reach her.
Jennifer had a full and busy life but she always had time for her family and friends, when nobody could get in contact with her on the 24th of January alarm bells were ringing straight away and those close to Jennifer didn't waste any time contacting the police and searching for her.
Despite being over excited to be living at the apartment Jennifer did share some concerns to her friends and loved ones before she was reported missing. She had become a bit concerned and nervous about some of the workmen who had been around the property and had spoken about feeling uncomfortable as these men would watch her. Being an attractive young woman one can imagine this situation as it can be quite commonplace for a female to experience some unwanted attention or comments from some men who work in those types of industries (I'm not throwing shade as anyone can stare or make inappropriate comments, male or female no matter their profession). Some of these workmen had to undertake some repairs in Jennifer's apartment and this made her even more nervous so she would stay on the phone with friends and family whilst these men were in attendance.
Some people would say that she was being paranoid and that there was nothing to worry about but what was happening to Jennifer was her instincts were in full swing. She was right to be worried and vigilant as since she had spoken of these concerns about these men, she suddenly vanished and has not been seen or heard of for almost 20 years.
The night before she went missing all seemed to be normal, she had arrived back to the apartment from work and had made a few phone calls to her boyfriend and family, nothing seemed to be untoward. She was reported to have spoken to her boyfriend before going to bed. Jennifer and her boyfriend would always speak to each other on the phone when she was getting ready in the morning or travelling to work. On the 24th of January, her boyfriend texted her as usual and tried calling her but found no response. After several attempts he became worried because this was very out of the ordinary for Jennifer and he knew that she had no other plans for that time that particular morning, Jennifer was very much a creature of habit and would stick to the same routine every morning for work.
On that morning at Jennifer's place of employment an important business meeting was due to take place and her lack of attendance was also out of character for her but nobody received any phone call to say that she was taking a sick day. After several attempts to try and contact Jennifer to no avail, they contacted her parents and with everyone not being able to reach her, the panic set in and her parents decided to drive over to the apartment to see what was happening.
Once they arrived at the apartment they noticed that Jennifer's car was missing which at first thought may have seemed that she had left off her own accord. When they had gotten into the apartment there was no sign of a break-in or struggle. Everything was more or less in order, nothing seemed to be missing and the apartment looked just like Jennifer had woken up, took a shower, got dressed and put on her favourite pair of shoes which notably were not in the apartment and had some of her every day toiletries out on the counter as well as some clothes on the bed.
The whole scene at the apartment indicated that Jennifer had left her home with the intention of going to work but the theory was that something must have happened when she approached her car. Either someone or a group of people had abducted her or the possibility that someone may have dragged her into one of the apartments, nobody knew for sure what had happened. As time went on and with no sign of Jennifer, her family and friends continued to be worried sick and trying everything to find out where she was. Two days after her reported disappearance a member of the public had contacted the police about the sighting of a car matching the description of Jennifer's Black 2004 Chevy Malibu. The car had been located outside this person's home and was thoroughly searched by the police, the car was identified as belonging to Jennifer but there was no sign of her personal belongings.
Her bank card has not been used since she went missing and there is no trace on her phone so her family and the police remain baffled at what really happened to her and it's utterly heartbreaking. The police believe that the motive was not robbery since the apartment remained relatively intact, the car was abandoned and there was no access to her bank accounts.
A terrifying piece of information was later discovered when investigators examined the CCTV footage from the location from where Jennifer's car was found. Apparently around 12 noon on the day that Jennifer went missing, someone had been captured on the camera driving Jennifer's car into that spot and leaving it there. What's also very strange is that this person's face is not identifiable because there was a gate post in the way so nobody knows if this was a male or female who left the car. It wasn't Jennifer, it was somebody else but the question is who and why? This footage has been examined numerous times by various experts trying to find out any clue however small as to the identity of this person.
Jennifer's boyfriend, friends, family and co-workers were all looked into by investigators and none of them had anything to do with her disappearance. There was an update on the case more recently with Jennifer's family informing the public that the case is no longer classed as a 'Cold Case', apparently some evidence has been found which has found a possible link to certain possible suspects. Jennifer's car, according to her father, had signs of a struggle on the hood with what looked like tell-tale signs of dirt or dust possibly consistent with a construction site. Her father also has a theory that she was a victim of human trafficking.
There are so many theories and the investigation remains open with more testing on possible evidence but as of yet there is no suspect or suspects. Jennifer's loved ones have not given up looking for her and keeping this investigation open. They are reportedly working on a new documentary with updated information which will soon be released to the public.
Along with everyone else who has followed this heartbreaking case, I am hoping and praying for answers for Jennifer's family. I really hope that the outcome to all of this is a positive one but after nearly 20 years and the fact that this beautiful girl who had everything going for her, just vanished without a trace, leaves one feeling that the news may not be as we all hope but the search for the truth should never stop.
My thoughts are with the family, boyfriend, friends and former co-workers of Jennifer. I cannot imagine what it must be like for them after all of these years and the police haven't been as forthcoming with the family as they could have been. Jennifer's father has expressed some concern about the lack of proper focus by the police in the early days of the investigation.
Let's all keep Jennifer and her loved ones in our prayers and hope for some updates (which I will include here) very soon.
Further Reading & Sources:
Anyone with information, no matter how small should contact Florida Department of Law Enforcement and ask for Special Agent Jen Spears on 407 402 0223.
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Stay safe, until next time.....x
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