Jennifer Kesse disappearance: 17 years later, family says they have new leads in Orlando cold case
ORLANDO, Fla. - Tuesday marked 17 years since Jennifer Kesse disappeared in Orlando. Seventeen heart-shaped balloons were left at the Mosaic at Millenia complex where Kesse was last seen on January 24, 2006. The 24-year-old vanished without a trace, and no one's been arrested.
Her family tells FOX 35 they have new leads in the case. Drew Kesse – Jennifer's father – says the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is working on the case with the family’s investigators.
After spending over $80,000 on case files from the Orlando Police Department, Kesse says they’re getting new leads. Orlando police initially investigated the case, but the family was not happy with how it was handled.
Kesse says the department botched the investigation from the moment an officer was sent out when calls were first made about her disappearance.
Tuesday marked 17 years since Jennifer Kesse disappeared in Orlando. Seventeen heart-shaped balloons were left at the Mosaic at Millenia complex where Kesse was last seen on January 24, 2006. The 24-year-old vanished without a trace, and no one's bee
"We went up to the condo, and they sent an officer out, officer came in, looked around for about 30 seconds, and said, ‘She probably had a fight with her boyfriend. She’ll be back,’ and he walked out."
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The Kesse family and Orlando Police reached an agreement outside of court.
Her father says he’ll never give up looking for his daughter.
Jennifer Joyce Kesse has been missing since January 2006. Kesse was 24 years old at the time of her disappearance in Orlando, Florida.
"She is our flesh and blood. We created her," he told FOX 35. "We created her out of joy and out of love. We raised her, nurtured her, educated her. She’s our love child. How do you walk away from that? We can’t. I can’t. I never will. And I think she knows that."
Kesse says Jan. 24 is the actual day Jennifer was reported missing.
In 2006, Kesse chatted on the phone with her parents and boyfriend from inside her Orlando home before disappearing, stumping investigators and the young woman’s family who have searched relentlessly for her from Florida to Mexico and Russia.
Evidence photos obtained by Fox News suggest a violent struggle took place on the front hood of the 24-year-old woman’s car, a clue the family hopes will yield new leads in a case that has long been unsolved.
"It looked like someone was thrown down on the top of the hood – arms spread out and then dragged back almost like off the hood to the point where you can almost see fingers scribbling down the hood," said Kesse’s father at the time.
"The photos look suspicious and show what appears to be a hand mark going across the hood," added Mike Torretta, a former federal agent and private investigator hired by the Kesse family.
The person of interest – believed to be male and dressed in workman’s clothes – has never been identified.