Father of Jennifer Kesse, missing since 2006, to sue OPD
BRADENTON (FOX 13) - The father of a woman who went missing more than 10 years ago says he now plans to sue the Orlando Police Department in hopes of taking the investigation into his own hands.
Meanwhile, the public's interest in his daughter's case has been renewed thanks to a podcast and thousands of amateur detectives determined to solve the mystery of what happened to Jennifer Kesse.
The announcement of the lawsuit comes on the same day police officially announced changes on how they are hoping to generate new tips in the case.
“It's been twelve years. Did they do this last year? No. The year before? No. This is a joke. This is comical,” Jennifer’s brother, Logan Kesse said.
Logan did not hold back at a Wednesday morning press conference marking the 12th anniversary of his sister’s disappearance.
At the event, Orlando police announced they would appoint a dedicated detective to look into the case, and that Jennifer's face would now be displayed on city buses and some billboards.
READ: Podcast brings new leads to Orlando woman's 2006 disappearance
But while the Kesse family said they appreciated the gestures, they also question the motives.
“The only reason this is going on is because we're putting pressure on them, because we have attorneys involved now and we are over it,” said Logan.
FOX 13 News spoke one-on-one with Jennifer’s father, Drew Kesse outside his home in Bradenton.
He says the family is in the final stages of filing a lawsuit against OPD.
Drew argues the department refuses to dub the investigation a cold case which would allow the family to more easily access all the case files.
“We had to make it very clear to them that we need to get involved in the investigation more than we ever have,” said Drew. “I said to the chief myself, 'If this was your daughter, after 12 years, I think you'd be standing in the same place as me.'”
Investigators think Jennifer was abducted after she left for work back on January 24, 2006.
Police found her car two days later, about a mile from her home, and surveillance video of a mystery man walking away from the car is one of the few clues.
Police argue the case is not cold and tips are still coming in.
“We believe that can jeopardize our investigation as well as set a precedent for future investigations,” said OPD Chief John Mina.
Drew believes Jennifer’s disappearance was the work of human traffickers and hopes his own private investigators can access the police files and uncover something new.
“We've done every single thing that you have asked for. It's time you do a little for us,” he said.
And as if the Kesse family wasn't dealing with enough, they also had to file a police report after someone broke into their unlocked SUV during the press conference. The thieves got away with Jennifer's mother's purse.
“Money's gone, credit card is gone,” said Drew. “That stuff is replaceable. She's not.”