Joel Wright [2008] We know there was quite a bit of a renovation going on inside her complex. There's no lease. Jennifer Joyce Kesse is an American woman from Orlando, Florida, who has been missing since January 23, 2006. But that evening Jennifer spoke with Rob. Joel Wright: However, the logs that we went through didn't appear to be complete. by the walk. When he showed the woman the security camera photo of the unidentified person, she told him it resembled a man she knew from the complex known as Chino because of his hair, clothing and the way he walked. Start to work. You know aliens didn't abduct her. Her condo complex was undergoing a renovation, and many of the workers had been living in the empty condos. It's just difficult not having her, you know, she's like my other half so [wipe away tears] I just miss talking to her. Drew Kesse: We were probably on the road within 5 minutes. We need her. Lauren McCarthy: She was the type of person who would call her mom or her dad or me when she was simply walking from Target in the parking lot and it was dark out. Jennifers new home was in a rough part of Orlando, Florida, but the area was being revitalized. Here is a related episode. The 24-year-old has been missing for 15 years after vanishing one . Around noon on the day Jennifer disappeared, one of the cameras captured a person driving Jennifer's car. My heart is here. Louis Bolden: If you had told me then, in 14 years we would still be looking for Jennifer Kesse, I would not have believed it. She was declared dead by the State of Florida. Chino was a name Detective Wright had not heard before. She had a stable job working as a finance manager for Central Florida Investments Timeshare Company in Ocoee, Florida and was the proud new owner of a condo in nearby Orlando. In January 2006, 24-year old Jennifer Kesse had everything going for her. After months of legal wrangling, in March 2019, they all reached a settlement. Jennifer's disappearance was discussed with him, but he denied any involvement. Kesse's family says they are now convinced the image of the black Chevrolet . She is 5'8 and weighs 130lbs. Nothing had been stolen from the car and there was no evidence of a struggle. Chino with "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant. First published on October 24, 2020 / 11:01 PM. At the time she vanished, she was living in Orlando. For more information, please see our And now with the case files in their possession, they are more determined than ever to keep their daughter's story alive. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. . She had just gotten promoted," her mother Joyce Kesse told "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant. Jennifer did that, and the workers argued with her saying that you cant do that because it would ruin the paint. But it did. This individual is the prime suspect in Kesse's disappearance. OK, call the police again.". Two days after Jennifer Kesse went missing, her black Chevy Malibu was found in another condo complex parking lot approximately 1 mile away from where she lived. Two days later, her black Chevy Malibu was found at an apartment complex in a high-crime area of Orlando, about a mile from her condo. Security footage recorded a person parking Kesse's car and walking away; the person could not be identified due to poor camera quality and the absence of any visible distinguishing physical features. Chino agreed to take a lie detector test. What do you think happened?" Fifteen years have passed since Jennifer Kesse vanished -- years of anguish for her family and friends, but they are determined to keep Jennifer's story alive. More from Medium Yasmin Scherrer Student Possibly Becomes Victim of Santa Rosa Hitchhiker. The harassment of the Kesses began in August 2007, when a . At the time of her disappearance, she was employed as a finance manager in Ocoee, Florida, She lived by herself in the Mosaic . Kesse and her boyfriend, Robert Allen, had recently vacationed in . It's actually a complex that's been known where stolen cars were -- would be recovered from. / CBS News, [This story first aired on October 24, 2020. Joel Wright [2008]: We've done quite a bit of measuring and work with the camera angles. Sgt. "Until we can find that carpet and see what's in it, we need to follow up on that particular lead.". We need to see what's inside that carpet. Torretta says he knew he had to get this tip checked out. They are looking to solve the case themselves. Bloodhounds tracked Kesse's scent from her vehicle back to her own residence. I have a meeting. 12. Lauren McCarthy and Jennifer were best friends since childhood. In fact, she'd just moved. They feared that time was running out. He was serving time in a Florida prison for statutory rape of a teenage girl a crime he committed two years after Jennifer disappeared. Wright also re-interviewed another maintenance worker who had done repairs with Chino in Jennifer's condo. Yes I see the resemblance. Chief Rolon gave his investigators six months to work the case. The person captured on video parking Kesses vehicle has never been identified, but he is believed to be a male who wore workmans clothes. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace: Murder Suspect Bryan Kohberger Stalks Victims on Instagram? PUBLISHED 11:00 AM ET Jan. 26, 2020. Jennifer's car had been seen the morning she disappeared. After all the interviews and reviewing the case file, Torretta says he now has a new theory as to what could have happened to Jennifer Kesse. Michael Torretta: I think it's important because it paints a picture that I don't believe I would have gotten from the 16,000 documents. Det. 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, Drew Kesse told FOX News. "This is something that is haunting me," private investigator Michael Torretta said. Det. DREW KESSE: We don't have her. Residents at the complex stated the car had been parked in the lot for several days. Please enter valid email address to continue. He thinks it was one or more of these workers who abducted her on January 24, 2006. I think it's a win-win for all. She had no problem with me. Colleen says she complained to the leasing office manager. " she was in love. He says it could have been one or more of these workers who abducted her. Drew and Joyce Kesse said they will never stop looking for their daughter and have launched aGoFundMe pageto help with the investigation. One of the first things he did was go back to the scene of the crime and speak to people who lived at Jennifer's complex. She was on a cloud. But when detectives opened the trunk of the car, Jennifer wasn't there. And I think she got up for work as she normally would. Joyce Kesse [2008]: She slept for sure. Sgt. As many of you following blinkoncrime.com are aware, S. Christina Stoy spent several weeks investigating Jennifer Kesse's disappearance in January of 2006. Peter Van Sant: The last time police officially questioned Chino was back in 2009. Orlando Police. FOX News recently obtained evidence photos that suggest a struggle occurred on the hood of the car. ", Peter Van Sant: Do you believe anyone realistically has been working this case in recent years?". JOEL WRIGHT [at the 2008 gathering]: Maybe the right person will see us. One of the people he interviewed on audiotape was a former housekeeper at Jennifer's complex. She turns 25 Saturday. There's nothing in there that indicates that there were problems at the Mosaic. She additionally was as of late advanced at her specific employment where she filled in as a task supervisor for a period share organization. Two weeks before Jennifers vacation to St Croix, the workers returned to do more touch up work while Jennifer was on the phone to her father, Drew advised Jennifer to give them a piece of Tupperware and have them put the paint in it so she could do it herself. SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - The family of missing woman Jennifer Kesse marked the start of another year with no answers. I shed light on unsolved mysteries and shocking crimes. Lauren McCarthy: The searches were massive. 1 min read. Shed stay on the phone in the doorway of her condo until they had left.. Lauren McCarthy: She was always on the radar with everybody. Photograph of Chino https://i.imgur.com/aUzfETn.png, Close up of Chino https://i.imgur.com/7cRZaSb.png. Several items were located inside the vehicle her cellphone, charger sandals and shoes Nothing appears to be disturbed in the vehicle at all. We miss her every day.. I'm a writer, author, wife, and animal lover. Michael Torretta: What I'm thinking is Jennifer comes out. Jennifer attended the University of Central Florida in Orlando, was in the Alpha Delta Pi sorority. Joel Wright [2008]: It's difficult to tell. Kesse, circa 2006; Kesse's car; Unidentified suspect. I vaguely remember it. Within minutes, the Kesses and their son Logan were on the road and headed to Jennifer's condo in Orlando, Florida. Peter Van Sant: And what did that tell you? In 2010, Detective Wright was reassigned. At the time, Jennifer Kesse was a 24 year old finance manager for a timeshare company. There was no signs that a struggle had taken place in or around the car, and its valuable DVD player had not been stolen. Drew Kesse: So, to me, they don't have DNA. And they said, "Well you ruined the crime scene." Jennifer Kesse disappeared from her Florida condo on January 23, 2006. A new witness, speaking exclusively to Fox News, claims she saw Kesse's black Chevy. We wanna find the person responsible for her disappearance. Colleen: When I would come home from work, there would be a large group of men outside drinking. Now, Drew and Joyce Kesse hope they will solve their missing daughter's case. "Her cell phone that she had since she was 16 years old went to voicemail for the first time. Tami filed a police report and to this day she says they have never found the "peeping Tom" or the white van he was driving. And that was part of the development of him as a person of interest. In March 2012, Stoy published an explosive new look into the investigation that remains with the Orlando Police Department to this day. July 10, 2021 / 11:06 PM Produced by Chris Young Ritzen, Tamara Weitzman and Gabriella Demirdjian. by Sarah Jae Leiber Oct. 21, 2020. 48 Hours on ID is in Orlando, Florida, to investigate the abduction and presumed murder of Jennifer Kesse, who disappeared without a trace while making her way to work in 2006. Joyce Kesse: We asked them for several years to make her case cold because there's more resources available for cold cases. In January 2006, 24-year old Jennifer Kesse had everything going for her. Det. Sgt. Chino was then asked about the pictures -- the ones that the housekeeper said may have looked like him: DETECTIVE WRIGHT [2009 audio tape]: you know the photos that you looked at earlier the guy walking by the gate? The case received local and national press attention. Previous publications in Jennifer's case can be . She graduated from Vivian Gaither High School in Tampa, Florida. She also was recently promoted at her job where she worked as a project manager for a time-share company. A Crime Line tip had been received in the first week of the investigation. They sued the Orlando Police Department to get Jennifer's case files. Tami: From the very beginning there were some uneasy things that I kind of brushed off that were red flags. On the two-year anniversary of Jennifer Kesse's disappearance, her family and friends gathered on a street corner and held up signs, just as they had done the day Jennifer went missing. Michael Torretta: I always told the Kesses what I like to do with this investigation is put a puzzle together -- one piece at a time. So, makeup, curling iron all that stuff all over the vanity wet shower, wet towel. It's not about us. Her case remains unsolved. I love her. [Takes a deep breath with tears in her eyes]. Private Investigator Michael Torretta says he has gone through the more than 16,000-page case file at least three times. In fact, they said it looked like she had just been there. She received numerous job offers and took a job at Central Florida Investments Timeshare Company in Ococee, Florida. We dont care how and, frankly, we dont care who. It was so out of character for Jennifer to not respond, her friends and family rushed to her condo. Ashley: I always wanted to ask him. Pic credit: Orlando Police Dept. "She needs to come home to her family.". More than 15 years after Jennifer Kesse vanished, her parents Drew and Joyce Kesse are leading the investigation into their daughter's case. Rob Allen: That's just not something that even came in my mind. In an . They were also allowed to live in vacant units, according to police records. One week before Jennifer Kesse disappeared, she took a weekend trip to St. Croix with her boyfriend Rob Allen. The tip was anonymous and suggested Chino may have been involved in Jennifer's disappearance, but it's unclear if police had looked into it or talked to Chino at all. In all, the Orlando Police Department handed over more than 16,000 pages of documents and 67 hours of video and audio to the Kesses. Louis Bolden: People just wanted to help them. I didn't like it. If you have any information about Jennifer Kesse's disappearance, please visit the "Find Jennifer Kesse"Facebook page. The long distance was taking a toll on their relationship. Michael Torretta is the Kesses' private investigator. Louis Bolden: Technology then was not what technology is now. Later that afternoon, Jennifer also called her brother and her father. We were hopeful that someone would recognize just the gait or just the general appearance or the stature or maybe the hairstyle or some aspect of this individual but that didn't happen. Her co-workers notified her family after she did not show up for work, and her parents let themselves into her apartment. Peter Van Sant [2008]: Do you think the car was cleaned by someone? She got ready for work and left. Drew Kesse: Yes. 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. In 2008, Detective Wright and Sergeant Brennan analyzed the surveillance tape with "48 Hours.". The Kesses are offering $15,000 as a reward for valuable information on where Jennifer could be at this time. Detective Wright also found an anonymous Crime Line tip that was reported during the first week of the investigation that suggested Chino might have been involved in Jennifer's disappearance. They immediately knew something was wrong when they were told Jennifer was a no call/no show to work that day. When Logan knocked on the window, they ignored him completely and did not respond to him at all. And he says there is nothing in the files indicating that police ever spoke to them. They created the group "Find Jennifer Kesse" to help get answers: cbsn.ws/3jlncFM Do YOU know what happened? This Wednesday, you can watch WFTV's in-depth. And that's what I'm doing. As we all know, Jennifer was unhappy with the workers in her complex as they made her feel uncomfortable. Then in 2010, Detective Wright was moved off the case. Of course, she has her back to the apartment behind her. She graduated from University of Central Florida in 2003 and earned a degree in finance. She was at her residence at Mosaic Apartments in the vicinity of the 3700 block of Conroy Road in Orlando, Florida at the time. Roger Brennan [at the parking lot in 2008] Apparently this video, when it films, captures every two to three seconds as it's filming, so that's why you only see the subject on one side of the gate and then the opposite side of the gate and he's blocked by the posts on either side of the gate. The team spent two days searching, but they did not find anything. "Everything was normal." 885. By sundown, many of Jennifer Kesse's family and friends gathered at her condo and started to search for her. Roger Brennan [2008]: As we were driving around the area around her complex, we were trying to identify different areas that her vehicle may have been seen. It is believed Kesse got up and left for work at approximately 8:00 a.m. the next morning, but she never arrived there. When they arrived at the condo in the early afternoon, a building manager opened Jennifer's locked apartment. But, by early evening, when there was still no sign of Jennifer, police officially declared her missing. In 2009, Detective Wright interviewed him and asked him about working in Jennifer's condo: DETECTIVE WRIGHT [2009 audio tape]: when you did the work in her unit, uh was she present while you were doing it. Again, the case stalled. TRY IT FREE Where is Jennifer Kesse? She had quite recently moved into a condominium in Orlando, Florida, that she bought all alone. Colleen: He was apologetic. Kesse worked at Central Florida Investments Timeshare Company as a finance manager and had graduated from the University of Central Florida with honors. We dont care when. Wright discovered that Chino was known to be working with the head of maintenance ''Ben'' the worker that Logan had an argument with the morning Jennifer disappeared. There has also not been any activity on her credit cards or E-Pass. That's where the mystery starts. Joel Wright: There were an unbelievable amount of man hours went into this case. Rob Allen: You have that initial hope, like, OK, we found the car, it's only going to be a matter of time before we find Jennifer. Jennifer Kesse was born on May 20, 1981, in New Jersey to parents Drew Kesse and Joyce Gilmour. Chino wasnt interviewed until Joel considered him a suspect in 2008. Then she disappeared one day in January of 2006 and has never been found. I called the crime line back then and told them and they took my statement. 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