A bombshell update has emerged in the case of missing 24-year-old Jennifer Kesse with investigators finally closing in on suspects more than 19 years after she vanished without a trace.
Jennifer’s father Drew Kesse tells the Daily Mail that persons of interest have been identified in connection to her disappearance for the very first time – and that this pool of people is ‘pretty small’.
‘[Law enforcement] have at this point been able to throw a lot of people out of the bathwater and have whittled things down to a finite group of persons of interest,’ he says.
‘And we were told that that’s pretty small at this point.’
Investigators have also found new evidence that is being tested for the first time, Kesse reveals.
‘Who knows what that is and who knows what that could bring?’ he says.
He has also learned that authorities have turned to advancements in artificial intelligence to aid in the investigation but did not reveal the exact details of how.
‘And they told us that Jennifer’s case is no longer considered cold whatsoever. They will not use that terminology any longer,’ Kesse says.
Jennifer Kesse, 24, vanished more than 19 years ago in Orlando back on January 24, 2006
Jennifer’s father Drew Kesse (pictured together) has revealed a major break in the case
This marks the first ever major break in the long-unsolved case and came out of the blue to the Kesse family, who for years felt they were facing an uphill battle to get law enforcement to take their daughter’s disappearance seriously.
It was January 2006 when Jennifer suddenly vanished, setting off a desperate search to find her and a now decades-long mystery.
The 24-year-old had just returned home from a trip to St Croix in the Virgin Islands with her boyfriend Rob and his family and, on the night of January 23, she had called family and friends telling them what a great time they had had.
But the next morning, Jennifer failed to show up for her job as a finance manager at Central Florida Investments Timeshare Company.
Kesse and his wife, Jennifer’s mom Joyce, instantly knew something was wrong.
Inside Jennifer’s condo on the Mosaic at Millenia complex in Orlando, all the signs indicated she had gotten ready and left for work as normal.
Her pajamas were on the floor, a damp towel was left by the shower, her hair tools had recently been used and the front door was locked.
Jennifer’s 2004 Chevy Malibu was gone, as was her cellphone, purse, iPod and keys.
Surveillance footage captured a person of interest leaving Jennifer’s car at a condo complex
Two days later, Jennifer’s car was found abandoned around one mile away at a condo complex at Huntington on the Green. But there was no sign of Jennifer or her phone, purse, iPod and keys.
Haunting surveillance footage at the complex captured a shady figure abandoning the vehicle there and walking off at around 12pm on the day Jennifer went missing.
This person of interest was believed to be a man around 5 foot 3 to 5 foot 5 tall with unusually large feet for his height and dressed in workman’s clothes.
But because of the fencing, investigators were unable to obtain a clear image to identify him – even with the help of NASA.
For an agonizing 19 years, the identity of this shady figure and the whereabouts of Jennifer have been unknown and the case had long grown cold – with no suspects, persons of interests or credible leads.
Finally, that all changed.
At the start of this week, Jennifer’s family had been bracing themselves for another heartbreaking milestone.
May 20 would have been their beloved daughter’s 44th birthday.
Investigators noticed signs of what appeared to be a struggle on the hood of Jennifer’s vehicle
But instead of celebrating together as a family, it would be the 19th time they were forced to mark the occasion without her – not knowing where she is or if she is even alive.
That all changed the day before her birthday when the phone rang out of the blue.
It was the family’s contact at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) on the end of the line, who gave Jennifer’s dad news they had waited almost two decades for.
Kesse said it was finally a happy moment for the family.
‘I felt happy that it’s moving forward. Happy that someone who has the ability to do what needs to be done is finally doing it. Happy that the resources are there and not being held back,’ Kesse says.
‘Happy that Jennifer’s finally getting her time to truly have everything thrown at her to see if we can bring her home. You know, we’ve been sitting around for decades, and it’s kind of a good feeling.’
Who the persons of interest are – and how many people the list includes – is currently unclear.
Kesse says he only knows ‘they have gotten it down to a list of several’ but his gut tells him that more than one person was responsible for whatever happened to his daughter.
Jennifer and her family should have been celebrating her 44th birthday this week
He has long feared she was trafficked by a group of people. Meanwhile, suspicions have fallen on construction workers who were working at Jennifer’s condo complex at the time.
Kesse acknowledges there’s still a ‘lot of work to be done’ before the family will finally learn the truth.
But, for the first time in 19 years, he says things are moving ‘in a very good direction’.
‘We knew all along that Jennifer’s case is solvable,’ he says.
‘It’s going to take a while, but we are truly moving in the right direction. And that’s all we’ve ever asked for.’
The FDLE told The Daily Mail its investigation ‘remains active’ and that ‘there have been developments associated with “persons of interest” and there are still necessary investigative steps that need to be conducted.’
‘In an effort to protect the integrity of this case and maintain our primary focus of ensuring justice for Jennifer and the Kesse family, FDLE will not be providing information on persons or potential persons of interest at this time,’ a spokesperson said.
The FDLE took over the case in 2022 and, since then, the Kesse family feels law enforcement have been committed to solving the mystery of what happened to their daughter.
The Mosaic at Millenia condo complex in Orlando where Jennifer lived. Inside her condo, everything appeared to be as it should be on the morning of her disappearance
But it’s been a long time coming.
When Jennifer first disappeared, the family says the case was hampered by Orlando Police not taking it seriously.
The family took matters into their own hands, pouring $700,000 of their own money into the case and hiring private investigators to carry out their own work.
In 2018, the family took the unprecedented step of suing the Orlando Police Department to get them off the case and hand over all 16,000 pages of records and 67 hours of video and audio.
Kesse previously told The Daily Mail that, among the records, a private investigator found several leads that weren’t followed up on properly at the time.
Among them was signs of a struggle on the hood of Jennifer’s car – marks that were never tested for DNA. The Daily Mail has contacted Orlando Police for comment.
While grateful for FDLE’s dedication since taking over, Kesse is frustrated it has taken 19 years to finally get a break in the case.
Whatever answers they may get, Kesse heartbreakingly reveals he doesn’t think they will find Jennifer alive.
The Kesse family has spent 19 years and around $700,000 searching for the missing 24-year-old
Persons of interest have been identified in connection to Jennifer’s disappearance for the first time
‘I don’t think Jennifer has been alive for many, many years. I think we taught her at a young age that if you’re ever taken, you fight because you’re not coming back,’ he says.
Instead, it’s about finding her and bringing her home.
‘Personally, I don’t give a crap about the person who did this anymore. I just simply want to bring Jennifer home,’ he says.
