Jennifer Kesse: Missing Florida woman’s family hopes DNA evidence will revive her 2006 disappearance case
ORLANDO, FLORIDA: It has been more than 17 years since Jennifer Kesse mysteriously disappeared from her condo, but her devastated family is still holding out hopes that DNA evidence might help investigators solve her cold case.
Kesse was only 24 years old when she mysteriously disappeared from her condo in Orlando, Florida on January 24, 2006. Her colleagues reported her missing that same day because it was unlike her not to call if she was going to miss work.
Kesse’s uncle Bill Gilmour revealed at CrimeCon 2023 that she had laid out several outfit choices on her bed before leaving her new condo housed in a building named Mosaic at Millenia.
On January 26, 2006, authorities discovered her 2006 Black Chevy Malibu in a separate residential complex named Huntington on the Green, about a mile from Mosaic at Millenia, according to Fox News.
What evidence did police find in Jennifer Kesse’s car?
The Orlando Police Department (OPD) initially stated "that there wasn't... any evidence or nothing of consequence with [her] car," according to Gilmour, who recently published a book titled 'Aftermath of Jennifer Kesse's Abduction: An Uncle's Quest for Understanding & Inspiring Life Lessons.'
However, when Kesse’s family sued the OPD, they released a bundle of records stating that they collected DNA evidence from her car.
“After my sister and brother sued them and got the records from the OPD and had their own team comb through the records — some 15-18,000 records — it said that they collected DNA in the car, which they originally said that they did not," stated Gilmour.
The official documents also uncovered several images of Kesse's vehicle, which had dust from the ongoing construction at her condo complex.
Gilmour further stated that the images showed "signs of a struggle" against the hood of her car. "We were never aware of that either. So it's just, it's just disheartening," the uncle described his family’s frustration with the OPD.
What are other evidence in Jennifer Kesse’s missing case?
Another vital piece of evidence in Kesse’s missing case includes surveillance video images of a person of interest, who is yet to be identified.
In the footage, the person’s face was obscured by a gate on the edge of the Huntington complex after they walked away from Kesse's car after parking it at the complex.
Kesse's family is still unsure of exactly how the 24-year-old, who was excelling at her job and was in a healthy relationship with her boyfriend at the time, went missing after leaving for work at Westgate Resorts in Ocoee.
"What we knew at that time was whatever happened was totally out of character for Jennifer. She was predictable in a good way. She was intelligent, always conscious of her surroundings, and planned for her safety," Gilmour writes in his new book.
"Those who knew Jennifer would agree she didn't show any signs of discontent with her life, relationships, or work environment,” he added.