‘We never stop.’ Bradenton family keeps up Jennifer Kesse search after 20 years
For years, a missing person poster for Jennifer Kesse has stood near a busy Bradenton intersection — a familiar sight for drivers passing through the area.
Drew Kesse, Jennifer’s father, placed the poster near the intersection of Manatee Avenue and 75th Street West so he would see his daughter’s smiling face each day during his commute to work on Anna Maria Island. Each morning as he passed it, he told her, “Hello. Good morning. I love you, Jennifer.”
Saturday marked 20 years since Jennifer disappeared on Jan. 24, 2006, beginning a search that stretched across Florida, including Bradenton, where her parents, Drew and Joyce Kesse, live.
“Some days it feels like it just happened,” Drew said. “And other days, it really does feel like 20 years.”
Bradenton family still searching for missing daughter
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which assumed control of the case in 2022, said the investigation remains active, with agents continuing to pursue leads, analyze evidence and conduct interviews related to Jennifer’s disappearance.
“Our agents are methodically pursuing leads, analyzing evidence, and conducting interviews related to the case,” said Felipe Williams, FDLE’s Orlando special agent in charge, in a statement released Saturday. “Our primary focus is finding Jennifer and bringing justice in this case.”
Jennifer was 24 years old when she was reported missing after she failed to show up for work. She was last seen leaving her apartment on Conroy Road in south Orlando. Two days later, her car was found abandoned about a mile away. She has not been found, and no arrests have ever been made in the case.
Drew said the family has never stopped searching.
“We look for Jennifer almost every day. I’ve got to be honest with you. We never stop,” he said. “We think we will find Jennifer. It may not be in the shape that we want, but I believe that.”
Jennifer Kesse missing for 20 years
One of the most frustrating moments in the investigation came early, when surveillance footage captured an unidentified person parking Jennifer’s car and walking away. Because the camera recorded only one frame every three seconds, the person’s face was blocked by a fence post in every image.
Drew has long referred to that individual as “the luckiest criminal in the world.”
For years, Drew said, the family struggled to get meaningful answers from the Orlando Police Department, eventually suing the agency for access to investigative records.
Police required an $18,000 upfront payment to duplicate the files, he said. When the documents were finally released, they were heavily redacted, forcing the family back to court. Even after additional legal action, Drew said the approximately 62,000 pages of records were delivered in disorganized fashion.
“It was like they took the files and threw them all on the floor, picked them up individually, scanned them and gave them to us,” he said.
The case was transferred to FDLE in 2022, a move Drew described as a turning point after years of frustration. He said the family had long pushed for the case to be handled by an agency with experience investigating long-term missing persons cases and believes FDLE has brought a more focused approach.
“That’s all we ever asked,” he said.
FDLE said agents have conducted more than 115 interviews, reviewed tens of thousands of documents and spent thousands of hours reexamining evidence from the earlier investigation.
According to Drew, investigators have told the family that the scope of the case has narrowed significantly in recent years. He said many people who were once considered persons of interest have since been ruled out through continued interviews and investigative work, leaving only a small number of individuals still under scrutiny.
Drew said FDLE has also revisited DNA evidence using technology that was not available during the original investigation, expanding testing beyond what could be done in 2006. He said investigators are using modern analytical tools, including artificial intelligence, to help reanalyze evidence and information tied to Jennifer’s disappearance.
Other DNA evidence is being tested for the first time, he said, although progress can be slow. He said they are still waiting on DNA results from testing more than two years ago.
In addition to breakthroughs in technology, Drew said new leads continue to come in all the time.
Drew said the family has also been working with a production company about a possible documentary on Jennifer’s disappearance, part of the family’s ongoing effort to raise awareness about the case.
Despite the passage of time, Drew said the family feels closer to answers than ever before.
“She was taken heinously against her will,” he said. “She needs to come home. We don’t really care about anything else that goes on. We just simply want Jennifer home.”
From their home in Bradenton, Drew said his family continues to remember Jennifer as a daughter who was driven, joyful and deeply loved.
“We literally don’t have a picture of Jennifer not smiling,” he said. “I miss her voice. I miss her smile.”
Despite everything, he said the family is grateful for the time they did have with her.
“We were lucky,” he said. “We had 24 years with Jennifer. We had time to bring her up and see her evolve and grow into what she became.”
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it until the day I die: I wish everyone could have a daughter like Jennifer,” Drew said.
Anyone with information about Jennifer Kesse’s disappearance is asked to contact the FDLE Orlando office at (407) 245-0888 or email OROCColdCaseTips@fdle.state.fl.us.
