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Open caseMissing person

The Drive to Work That Never Ended

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Status
Open case
Case type
Missing person
Person involved
Jennifer Joyce Kesse
Location
Orlando, FloridaOrange County
Date
Investigating agency
Florida Department of Law Enforcement (lead since 2022), with Orlando Police Department
Case number
2023-06-01 (historical A2007-07-02)FBI ViCAP Alert
Last checked

The story

In short: An open missing person case involving Jennifer Joyce Kesse from Orlando, Florida, January 24, 2006. Florida Department of Law Enforcement (lead since 2022), with Orlando Police Department is the investigating agency (case no. 2023-06-01 (historical A2007-07-02)). Tips: FDLE Orlando Regional Operations Center, 407-245-0888.

Our summary of the public record. The small numbers show where each fact comes from. Tap one to see the source.

Jennifer Kesse, a 24-year-old finance professional, was living alone in a new condo off Conroy Road in south Orlando in January 2006. She spoke with family and her boyfriend by phone the night of January 23, and investigators believe she left for work the next morning. She never arrived at her job at Westgate Resorts in Ocoee, and her worried employer contacted her family, who reported her missing on January 24.

Two days later her black 2004 Chevrolet Malibu turned up in the lot of an apartment complex about a mile from her home. Surveillance video from that complex showed an unidentified person parking the car around midday on January 24 and walking away; fencing blocked the person's face in every frame. That person has never been identified. Her phones, iPod, keys, driver's license and purse were never found.

The Orlando Police Department led the investigation for more than a decade. In 2018 her parents sued the city for access to the case file and later received roughly 16,000 pages of records. In late 2022 the Florida Department of Law Enforcement took over the case at the family's request, re-interviewing people and re-testing evidence.

FDLE has said the case is now an active investigation rather than a cold one. In 2025 the agency said it had obtained new DNA evidence and narrowed its list of persons of interest, and on the 20th anniversary in January 2026 it said agents had conducted more than 115 interviews. No one has been charged, and Jennifer has not been found.

Timeline

What happened, in order.

  1. Jennifer talks by phone with family and her boyfriend from her condo on the night of January 23.67

  2. She does not arrive at work at Westgate Resorts in Ocoee; her family reports her missing.12

  3. Around midday, surveillance cameras record an unidentified person parking her Malibu at an apartment complex about a mile from her condo and walking away.164

  4. Her car is found at that apartment complex.26

  5. Her parents file a public-records lawsuit against the City of Orlando and its police department seeking the case file.56

  6. The lawsuit is resolved and the family receives about 16,000 pages of case records.6

  7. FDLE's cold case unit takes over the investigation, working with Orlando police.32

  8. The FBI reissues its ViCAP missing-person alert, listing an FDLE special agent as the contact.1

  9. FDLE reports new DNA evidence and a narrowed list of persons of interest, and says the case is no longer considered cold.4

  10. On the 20th anniversary, FDLE says agents have conducted more than 115 interviews and asks the public for tips.2

Key facts

What is known for sure. Each one is checked against a source.

  • Kesse was 24, 5'7", about 130 lbs, with sandy blonde hair, green eyes and a small shamrock tattoo.12
  • Missing with her: a Verizon phone, a Nextel phone, an iPod, keys, Florida driver's license and purse.1
  • The person seen parking her car has never been identified; fencing hid the person's face in the video.16
  • FDLE has led the investigation since late 2022 and says it is an active case.234
  • Her parents' 2018 lawsuit led to the release of about 16,000 pages of case records.56

Still unanswered

What nobody knows yet.

  1. Who is the person seen on video parking Jennifer's car and walking away?
  2. Where did Jennifer encounter that person on the morning of January 24, 2006?
  3. What happened to her phones, iPod, keys and purse?
  4. Will the newly tested DNA evidence identify anyone?

Photos & video

Official releases, public-domain and openly licensed files, credited. Tap a photo to see it larger.

View larger photo: Jennifer Kesse, as pictured on the FBI ViCAP missing-person alert
Jennifer Kesse, as pictured on the FBI ViCAP missing-person alertFBI ViCAP · Public domain
View larger photo: Surveillance still released by investigators of the unidentified person of interest walking away after parking Jennifer's car, January 24, 2006. This person has never been identified.
Surveillance still released by investigators of the unidentified person of interest walking away after parking Jennifer's car, January 24, 2006. This person has never been identified.Orlando Police Department surveillance image, via FBI ViCAP · Public domain
View larger photo: FBI ViCAP missing-person alert for Jennifer Kesse (2023)
FBI ViCAP missing-person alert for Jennifer Kesse (2023)FBI ViCAP · Public domain

Outside coverage and documents

Linked, not copied. These open on the publisher's site.

Sources

Everything on this page comes from these 8 public sources. News coverage is linked, never copied.

Official records

  1. 1Jennifer Joyce Kesse - Orlando, Florida (ViCAP missing person alert)FBI, July 11, 2023
  2. 2FDLE continues search for Jennifer Kesse 20 years after her disappearanceFlorida Department of Law Enforcement, January 24, 2026

Databases

  1. 6Disappearance of Jennifer KesseWikipedia
  2. 7Jennifer Joyce KesseThe Charley Project, October 8, 2015
  3. 8Jennifer Joyce Kesse (case 4684DFFL)The Doe Network

News coverage

  1. 3Investigation into Orlando woman's disappearance turned over to FDLEWFTV Channel 9, December 8, 2022
  2. 4Father's pursuit for missing daughter heats up with new evidence in case that's no longer coldFOX 13 Tampa Bay, July 6, 2025
  3. 5Jennifer Kesse mysteriously vanished 19 years ago. Here's what her family knows so farGray News / WWSB, January 25, 2025

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