FL - Jennifer Kesse, 24, Orlando, 24 Jan 2006 - #5

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...adlines-orange

Reward runs to Sunday in Kesse case

Posted March 15, 2006

ORLANDO -- The anonymous donor in the case of a missing Orlando woman that gained national attention extended the deadline for a $100,000 reward.

The deadline for tips leading to the safe return of Jennifer Kesse, 24, is now Sunday. It had been set to expire today.

The donor set the deadline to encourage tipsters to come forward quickly, and extended it because he said he hadn't seen much publicity about the original date.

Anyone with details can call Crimeline at 1-800-423-8477.

http://www.nbc-2.com/articles/readaf...d=6231&z=37&p=

Police seek leads in woman's disappearance

WPTV: West Palm
Last updated on: 3/15/2006 2:18:16 PM

DELRAY BEACH: A central Florida woman is gone without a trace. Now her loved ones hope someone in south Florida has information that will lead to her safe return.

It has been seven weeks since Jennifer Kesse went missing in Central Florida.

There's been no sign of her and Orlando police need more leads.

Now her friends and loved ones in South Florida are spreading the word about her disappearance hoping someone in our area knows something.

"Jennifer, we're coming for you. We're doing everything we can to find you stay strong and stay positive," said her boyfriend Rob Allen. Strength and a positive attitude keeps Allen going.

Allen, who lives in Broward County was in a long distance relationship with 24 year old Jennifer Kesse, who lives in Orlando. After the couple returned from a weekend getaway to St. Croix, Kesse disappeared on January 24th.

"Every morning she'd text me or call me on my way to work to say I miss you, I love you have a great day kind of thing when I didn't receive that I thought it was kind of unusual," said Allen.

Allen's fears grew when Jenn's parents called to tell him she never showed up at her Orlando job.

"Jennifer is probably the most responsible person I know she would never not show up for work without letting someone know," said Allen.

Allen's concerns became greater: two days later when police found Jenn's abandoned car at an apartment complex about a mile from her condo, but still no sign of her.

"There wasn't any sign of struggle or markings or anything out of common but it was frustrating because it was found two days later," said Allen.

Kesse is a graduate of the University of Central Florida. The school's alumni group in Southeast Florida has distributed photos to members in hopes they've seen her.

"If she got taken away heaven forbid someone could have taken her to South Florida or anywhere in between here and Orlando," said UCF Alumni Association Chairman Marco Pena.

There's a $115,000 reward right now for information that leads to Kesse's safe return. But Sunday, an anonymous donor will take back $100,000. Allen hopes the deadline will encourage anyone who may be motivated by money to give police the leads they need to bring his girlfriend home.

"I just plead with everyone and anyone out there who knows something come forward stop this nightmare for Jennifer stop this nightmare for her family and friends," said Allen.

Jennifer's photo will be on Jeremy Mayfield's No. 19 NASCAR during this Sunday's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

NASCAR team owner Ray Evernham attended high school with Jenn's mom and felt compelled to help the family find her.

Family vows to keep up search despite few clues - Orlando Sentinel : Orange County News Family vows to keep up search despite few clues - Orlando Sentinel : Orange County News

Family vows to keep up search despite few clues
--------------------

Joyce Kesse: 'I so believed and prayed and hoped for that Christmas miracle, that someone would know something. The miracle didn't happen.'

Kate Santich
Sentinel Staff Writer

January 20, 2007

Joyce Kesse keeps this little box in the back of her brain.

There she puts all the dark thoughts she cannot bear to entertain, the ones that, given free rein, might rush out like floodwaters and drown her. There she puts the legion of unspeakable scenarios that could explain what happened to her beautiful, bright, beloved daughter, Jennifer.

"Every now and then the lid to the box pops open," Joyce says. "I just try to re-close it as quickly as I can so I can focus on staying positive for Jenn."

It has been nearly a year since Jennifer Kesse -- a happy, ambitious 24-year-old financial planner -- disappeared. She had recently bought her first home, a condo near the Mall at Millenia, and had just returned from a long weekend in St. Croix.

Sometime between 10 p.m. Monday, Jan. 23, 2006, when she called her boyfriend in Fort Lauderdale for the nightly chat they always shared, and the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 24, Jennifer simply vanished. Though her car was found two days later in an apartment complex less than a mile away, there have been precious few clues to explain her disappearance.

Her cell phone and credit cards have never been used, her purse and briefcase never found. There was no sign of violence in her condo, no sign of violence in her car, and there were valuables left behind, so robbery was not a motive.

Despite this, despite scores of fruitless leads and the expected smattering of strangers who have preyed on the parents' desperation, Joyce and Drew Kesse share a hope as unwavering as in the first days after Jennifer disappeared.

"It is a mission," Drew says.

Most weeks, they still return to Orlando from their home 2 1/2 hours away in Bradenton. They replenish the fliers they have plastered on utility poles and coin laundries and strip malls across town. They meet with detectives, thank their army of volunteers and drive the streets in their poster-covered SUVs -- "The Jenn-Mobile," as Joyce calls her Chevy.

At home they man a tip line and Web site: findjenniferkesse.com. They publicize the $25,000 in reward money, including $10,000 from family and friends for information that could identify a "person of interest" -- a slightly built man or woman captured on grainy security-camera footage near where Jenn's car was found. They network with the parents of other missing children. They rally for funding for the nearly defunct National Center for Missing Adults. They pray.

And, in private moments, they cry.

"We cry every day," says Drew, 49.

Three days a week, during the hour-plus commute to her job in at Tampa's H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Joyce, a registered nurse who coordinates home care for cancer patients, allows herself to grieve. But when she reaches the junction of Interstates 4 and 75, she dries her eyes.

"I can't look a wreck when I go to the hospital," the 49-year-old says. "I just have to put my game face on."

Back the lid goes.

A quest to know

Perhaps you saw them, pacing along a busy intersection, waving placards and passing out fliers.

For four straight months, Joyce and Drew Kesse did not leave Orlando. They didn't work, couldn't eat and rarely slept. In the early days they even felt guilty having the "luxury" to shower and shave.

Drew lost 30 pounds.

Joyce functioned in a fog. Anti-anxiety medication kept her going.

"We were very concerned for her in the beginning," says veteran Orlando police homicide Detective Glen Gause, who worked the case for nine months with partner Emmett Browning before both retired in September. "But as time went on, you could see her gaining strength."

In part, she was bolstered by an outpouring of support: The second week after Jenn vanished, 1,100 volunteers showed up on a rainy, cold Saturday to help pass out fliers and to comb nearby woods for clues. Restaurants offered free meals. Businesses offered copiers and supplies. Friends took weeks off from work to pitch in.

Maybe it was the beaming smile of the young woman in the poster. Maybe it was the devotion you could see in her parents as they held hands and comforted one another.

Maybe, too, it was the raw nerve it seemed to touch in anyone who had ever worried about a child.

"My rules got stronger at home," Browning says. "I have a daughter who's 22, and I told her, 'I need to know where you're going and when you expect to get back.' "

The irony, for Jenn's many friends and co-workers, was her devout adherence to personal safety. When the former honor student went out, she insisted there be a designated driver. If she went to a bar, she never accepted a drink from a stranger. Sometimes after shopping, she would call home and keep her dad on the line as she walked across a darkened parking lot to her car.

And on the rare occasions when she ran a yellow light, she would press two fingers to the roof in a sort of kiss. It meant: Keep me safe, God.

"Jennifer was the safest person," says Drew, who negotiates large contracts for Staples. "Since her abduction, four of her girlfriends -- all of them very much on their own -- decided to move back home and be with their families."

For 110 days, Drew and Joyce stood at the intersection of John Young Parkway and Conroy Road at rush hour, waving their signs to the long line of drivers. They took fliers to bars and check-cashing stores. Joyce went to indigent clinics, homeless shelters and seedy hotels. She went door to door at Huntington on the Green, where Jenn's car had been found.

"Please do not tell me that no one in that complex saw anything," she says, angry. "Her car was dropped off at noon."

They had fliers printed in Spanish and Creole. They did public-service announcements and went on television with Greta Van Susteren and Dateline. They put Jennifer's picture and description on matchbook covers and 500 decks of playing cards that were passed out to prison inmates. They used billboards and bus-shelter ads and the JumboTron at Magic games.

They even flew banners over Citrus Bowl games.

In late May, the couple slept in their own bed for the first time. It was the weekend of Jennifer's 25th birthday. Jenn's best friend flew in from Boston.

Rob Allen, Jenn's boyfriend, came over from Fort Lauderdale. Jenn's 21-year-old brother, Logan, who scrapped his plans to move to California when Jenn disappeared, joined the celebration, too.

They went to Jenn's favorite beach bar on Longboat Key and toasted her. They looked through photo albums of her through the years, the pictures all showing that broad, captivating smile. They told funny Jenn stories and laughed. It felt so good to laugh.

'It was crushing'

Joyce Kesse has this recurring dream. Jennifer is home at long last, lying in her bed, Joyce next to her. Drew and Logan and Rob are all sleeping on the floor around her, just as Jenn has asked. She is fragile and thin, her skin pale and her sandy blond hair matted. But she is unhurt. She even tries to reassure them.

It wasn't as bad for me as it was for you, she is saying. You were left not knowing.

Twice last month, Joyce awakened in the middle of the night to check on Jenn in her bedroom. She was halfway up the stairs before she remembered: She's still gone.

For weeks, the mother had prayed for a Christmas miracle -- that someone who knew something would come forward. She had always loved the holiday -- "Christmas-crazy," she called herself -- filling the house with decorations, putting a tree in every room.

But on Jan. 1, as she repacked the few decorations she had managed to put out, her spirits sank.

"I so believed and prayed and hoped for that Christmas miracle, that someone would know something . . . that they would find it in their heart to come forward," she says. "And to not have that happen was just crushing. The miracle didn't happen."

For two weeks, she couldn't drag herself out of bed until noon. She didn't bother changing out of her pajamas.

One day as she washed her hands, she glanced up and stared hard to recognize herself in the mirror. Then she felt a sort of tug.

"I turned around and looked, and I felt like Jenn was sitting on the bed saying, 'Mom, you've got to pull yourself together.' "

Bad odds

The Kesses are not ignorant people. They know that most people missing this long will eventually turn up dead. But they still want answers. And they still think Jenn is alive.

There is no evidence she isn't. Then again, there is no evidence she is.

One October night, about 3 a.m., the phone rang. Joyce answered to a feeble voice: "Mom?"

Then the line went dead.

"I would have bet my life it was Jenn," she says. She immediately called police.

By noon, detectives in Michigan had arrested the caller, who had become obsessed with the case.

There have been psychics eager to take the Kesses' money. There was a stranger who ran across that intersection where the Kesses stood, dropped to his knees and told them God wanted him to write them a check for $15,000.

It bounced.

But Joyce Kesse spent 15 years caring for terminally ill cancer patients, dealing with death and dying every day. She, more than Drew, has learned to find the positive amid so much negative.

Her brother, Bill Gilmour of Lake Mary, has been rebaptized. Orlando police have created a missing-persons unit. Drew is working with state legislators to pass a law simplifying reporting procedures for missing adults and pushing for more thorough DNA testing when human remains are found. "Jennifer's Law," it would be called.

On Thursday, the parents will again stand with family and friends at John Young Parkway and Conroy Road, from 7:30 to 9 a.m., reminding passers-by they still need answers. In the evening, from 5 to 5:30, they'll be at a special service at First Baptist Church of Orlando, where they want to thank those who have supported them. They know Jennifer's homecoming has been added to thousands of prayer lists.

"We pray every day," Drew Kesse says. "But I'll tell you this much: He and I are having some discussions. We're not on the same page right now."

Drew stops. His face hardens. "I have to wonder," he says after a moment, "is he listening?"

Kate Santich can be reached at ksantich@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5503.

I hope for people who have not been following this since the beginning that it gives you a pretty good overview as to Jenn and when she went missing.

There is a guestbook at www.findjenniferkesse.com that the Kesse's do read and go there for continued strength and positivity. Feel free to leave them messages there.

I also just wanted to point out that the photos taken with the Greta link was a week or two after her abduction and I believe that her parents were staying at her condo using it as a command center if I remember correctly from the articles above.

UCFAlumni2002,

Welcome.

I also don't think anything was staged in the condo. It's likely she was ready for work and when she stepped outside and locked her door, is where the mystery starts, just like her father said.

however nothing can be discounted.

did you see the hallway of her complex? it was so dark, it would be quite easy to hide and grab her there.

Enrique Sparta said:

UCFAlumni2002,

Welcome.

I also don't think anything was staged in the condo. It's likely she was ready for work and when she stepped outside and locked her door, is where the mystery starts, just like her father said.

however nothing can be discounted.

did you see the hallway of her complex? it was so dark, it would be quite easy to hide and grab her there.

Click to expand...

Agree, that the crime probably did not occur in the condo, but, I would have still processed the condo.

Enrique, if JK was grabbed in her hallway, then why did the POI use her car?

Doesn't the most logical scenario suggest the abduction happened at, or inside the car?

Why would an abductor take JK in her hallway, and not take her to his car, his condo, her condo, etc, but, take Jk to her own car? How did the POI know Jk would be alone? How did he know which car was hers? Why didn't Jk fight?

I'm just playing the other side. My theory is either a knock on the door, or at the car either at Mosaic or elsewhere.

left

UCFAlumni2002 said:

I've been following this discussion for the past 16 months or so, and finally have been able to register and access websleuths. Jenn is a UCF Alumni, and that is how I came to learn of her abduction. Although I did not know Jenn personally, we are all a family at UCF and I'm dedicated in helping to bring her home.

I will be typing more when I get home, but to clarify a few things, I need to research my links to get you all up to date

Thanks,
UCF Alumni 2002

Help Find Jenn
www.findjenniferkesse.com
$1 Million Reward for Her Safe Return

Click to expand...

Welcome! It is great that you are here! We are all dedicated in trying to help bring Jennifer home to her wonderful family.

The majority of us are up to date on every article, every video, and everything we can find on this case. As a matter of fact, I think you will find we have put a lot of time into researching details, debating, and carefully scrutinizing each piece of evidence they have released...either on purpose or not.

If you will read this thread alone (there are 3 other threads since the beginning), you will see we are well versed and have studied this case intensely for some time. It probably isn't neccessary to list each of those articles in their entirety and a link should suffice.

I did mention not seeing Jennifer's friends here, and other sites, combing over every detail they could find. Yes, I saw the interview with her brother, Logan, and her best friend. Her boyfriend, Rob, has done a few interviews in conjunction with her parents. (I have watched and read them all that I could find.) Still, I find it curious none of her friends, family, or boyfriend have been active to post and answer simple questions such as, "Does she have a favorite hangout in Orlando? A restaurant? Does she drive through Starbucks on her way to work?". These small tidbits certainly won't hinder the investigation and may open up new doors.

Isn't this what we are all working for? To find anything which might bring new leads into a stalled case and bring Jennifer home?

As Drew Kesse stated in the most recent interview with Greta on 5/25, they do continue to get leads daily and the police are following up on them.

In regards to her friends, I think that a lot of them are not involved on the forums. I think that it is hard enough to go through the loss of their friend without reading everyone's theories. I truly don't know if it was my loved one or friend that I could be on here posting. I am pretty confident that her family and friends do read a lot of the forums.

Some of her other friends were interviewed at the beginning as well and also around the 1 year mark to discuss the person Jenn is- smart, safety conscious and responsible and a young woman who is truly loved and missed deeply by her family and friends.

I understand what you are saying about links, and in the future I agree with you. I have noticed that since the video was released of the suspect, that there have been a lot of new people here that weren't here before. Hoping to catch them up with what they possibly missed and to bring a lot of articles back to the forefront as we are now over 16 months later and a lot of articles are from last year.

SS

Good post

UCF

Since you have followed this case since day one, how about sharing one or two pieces of information that you have learned over the past 16 months that maybe the rest of us are not aware of.

For example, do you know JK's morning routine? Starbucks? Running? exercising?

What about JK's job. Any threats at work? Any of the "weird" mailroom guys stalking her, or having an interest?

WE all know Jk worked at a "time share" company in finance. Has it been explored if she may have found irregular accounting, finance, etc at work? It is a long shot, but, so is a case that is unsolved with a picture of the POI.

Any pertinent information is what we are looking for. Something that only a "local", or someone who has followed the case would know.

any such knowledge would be greatly appreciated by all, and may just lead to the wise people here putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

thanks

left

http://media.www.centralfloridafutu...o.Of.Potential.Suspect.Released-2905731.shtml

http://media.www.centralfloridafutu...s/2007/01/24/News/Still.Missing-2669772.shtml

http://media.www.centralfloridafutu...If.It.Helps.Bring.A.Friend.Home-1609431.shtml

http://media.www.centralfloridafutu...News/Search.Continues.For.Kesse-1519926.shtml

Here are news articles from the University of Central Florida newspaper, the Central Florida Future.

Hmm

I noticed from the second link above, from UCF, that it says "jennifers clothes were laid out for the day".

What does that mean?

Didn't Joyce interpret that as meaning JK put out a few outfits, chose one, and left the remaining outfits on the bed?

Why is that article worded in such a manner?

It makes it sound like JK was either interupted dressing, or had run out, and was going to come back and change.

What is going on?

left

UCFAlumni2002 said:

I hope for people who have not been following this since the beginning that it gives you a pretty good overview as to Jenn and when she went missing.

There is a guestbook at www.findjenniferkesse.com that the Kesse's do read and go there for continued strength and positivity. Feel free to leave them messages there.

Click to expand...

Thank you UCFA. I just came here today, and the info that you are posting is enormously helpful.

Lion

leftcoast said:

Agree, that the crime probably did not occur in the condo, but, I would have still processed the condo.

Enrique, if JK was grabbed in her hallway, then why did the POI use her car?

Doesn't the most logical scenario suggest the abduction happened at, or inside the car?

Why would an abductor take JK in her hallway, and not take her to his car, his condo, her condo, etc, but, take Jk to her own car? How did the POI know Jk would be alone? How did he know which car was hers? Why didn't Jk fight?

I'm just playing the other side. My theory is either a knock on the door, or at the car either at Mosaic or elsewhere.

left

Click to expand...

I don't really think the abduction occurred in the hallway, just thought it odd how dark it was in her complex.

I wish we knew where the dog tracked the scent to. Is it to the stairwell or in the woods behind the M complex?

Those are excellent, well written articles. Thanks for posting them!

I don't personally know the Kesse family or Jennifer, but I have two daughters and a son near her age. I think it is why I was so drawn to this case in the beginning after hearing about it in the media and the more I have learned about Jennifer's character, her love of life, and the joy she brings to people who truly love her...the more this case touched me. My heart goes out to her parents, family, and friends. I simply cannot imagine their nightmare.

I cannot do much from where I am, but feel in some small way...I can help by being here with likeminded people who try to logically find answers to seeming impossible questions. I know "Think Tanks" can and do work if you get the right people together.

I read all the articles given to us via link from UCF

I especially found the fourth article interesting.

It seems, the article was written by a male friend of Jk's who was associated with JK via the fraternity and sorority system at college.

He mentioned how close he was to JK, and the "time Jk slapped him because he spilled a drink on her", and how he wishes she could be around to slap him again.

What really caught my interest, is how he explained that he had "44" brothers in his fraternity. Jk was only 2 1/2 years out of college.

Does the list of potential suspects ever stop in this case?

Could someone really carry a torch that long? meaning, could one of her fraternity brothers, old flames, etc, still have a "thing" for Jk?

I'm starting to wonder if this case is just an "opportunity" crime. Someone spotted Jk, followed her, and planned this attack.

It just appears to be the most logical, especially since the case is cold.

Another note:

Regarding the release of the video: It appears that "many" in OPD did not want to release the video of the POI parking JK's car. IT appears, that Drew had to "encourage" the release of the video.

OPD finally relented, because "they are out of leads". I don't like the sound of that.

left

Hmmm...I didn't find it. I got sidetracked reading other things.

Left, I found it interesting to go back to first of thread #2 and look at all the questions we were asking and the comments. Here we are nearing the end of #4 and we are actually getting somewhere. IMHO

It is beyond belief that no one at that condo paid any attention to her coming and going. If you ever lived in a condo you would know the condo commando's know everybody's business. If something happened on that property someone should have seen it.

If you haven't read the Kelsey Smith details, you should. The abductor simply shoved her into her car on a busy parking lot and drove her car away.

Beyond Belief said:

It is beyond belief that no one at that condo paid any attention to her coming and going. If you ever lived in a condo you would know the condo commando's know everybody's business. If something happened on that property someone should have seen it.

Click to expand...

Good call BB.

Every place I have ever lived, there has been and old lady, or old man, who are watching everyone coming and going.

They pretend to be watering their gardens, or taking out the garbage for the 4th time, while, all they are doing is spying on neighbors since their lives are boring.

Good call BB, where were these "nosey" neighbors at Mosaic?

And what about the security guards? What good are they? They didn't see anything? didn't see a guy jump the fence? Didn't see Jk's car leave or come?

Your point is why I am so suspicious of a "fight" or altercation on the way to the car. One has to wonder if Jk was overpowered via a stun gun, medicine, inside the condo, or in some manner in which she couldn't fight back.

Any woman who has the ba*** to slap a guy, would probably stand up for herself in a life and death situation.

this case just doesnt' make any sense.

left

Is it just me...or is this an odd statement Jones from OPD made about the detective? What the ?

"In the end, the detective believes he'll have a pretty good concept of what may have happened to Jennifer, but we don't know right now and we're gonna keep hope that we find her alive," said Barbara Jones, Orlando Police Department.
http://www.wftv.com/news/6912982/detail.html

In the END...won't we ALL have a pretty good concept of what MAY have happened?! I think the key here is to get a good concept now to FIND the end to this and bring her home alive!