Florida
Missing Florida woman Jennifer Kesse's father hopes for answers 18 years after disappearance: 'Blows my mind'
Missing Florida woman Jennfier Kesse’s father, Drew Kesse, is still holding out hope he will find out what happened to his daughter 18 years after she vanished from her Orlando condo complex.
Jennifer was last seen leaving Mosaic at Millenia for work Jan. 24, 2006, when she was 24 years old. She left her condo that morning with several outfit choices laid out on her bed.
“We have great hope that we will someday locate Jennifer. And I hope it’s within my lifetime. I mean, I don’t have too much longer left,” Drew Kesse told Fox News Digital, 18 years after his daughter’s disappearance.
“It blows my mind at this point,” he said of a lack of answers in the case, adding that he’s sure law enforcement is “trying their best,” but he’d like them to walk in his family’s “shoes for one year.”
MISSING JENNIFER KESSE’S FAMILY HOLDS OUT HOPE FOR POSSIBLE DNA EVIDENCE
Jennifer Kesse vanished from her Orlando, Fla., condo Jan. 24, 2006, when she was 24. (Find Jennifer Kesse)
On Jan. 26, 2006, authorities located Jennifer’s vehicle, a black 2006 Chevy Malibu, at a different residential complex called Huntington on the Green about a mile away from Mosaic at Millenia after a neighbor reported seeing her missing car.
Jennifer’s parents later sued the Orlando Police Department for thousands of records related to the case, which revealed police collected DNA in the car. The records also indicated the hood of Jennifer’s vehicle, which was covered in dust from the ongoing construction at her condo complex, showed signs of a struggle.
JENNIFER KESSE DISAPPEARANCE: NEWLY RELEASED POLICE PHOTOS SUGGEST VIOLENT STRUGGLE
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement took over the case in 2022. (Find Jennifer Kesse)
The complex allowed workers to stay in vacant condos while they were finishing construction, Fox News previously reported.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) took over the case in November 2022, and the Kesse family continues to hold out hope for new testing of potential DNA evidence from Jennifer’s car, though they have not heard of any new developments.
Jennifer Kesse was living at Mosaic at Millenia, pictured above, in 2006. The property was undergoing a conversion from apartments to condominiums at the time of her disappearance. (Fox News )
“We don’t even know right now … if they’ve sent in all the physical evidence for DNA testing,” Drew Kesse said.
Other significant evidence in Jennifer’s case includes surveillance video images of a person of interest who has yet to be identified. The person’s face is obscured by a gate on the edge of the Huntington complex, where her car was found.
Jennifer Kesse’s colleagues reported her missing Jan. 24, 2006, because it was unlike her not to call if she was going to miss a day, Gilmour said. (Find Jennifer Kesse)
“An unidentified person of interest and possible suspect was photographed parking Jennifer Kesse’s vehicle and walking away. The unidentified person was approximately 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-5 and was wearing white clothes similar to a painter or a manual worker,” a missing persons flyer from the FDLE says. “Prior to Kesse’s disappearance, she had complained about some construction workers that were working on her apartment complex and were making her uneasy.”
JENNIFER KESSE DISAPPEARANCE: FAMILY SAYS IT’S ‘CLOSE’ TO ANSWERS IN THE 15-YEAR-OLD COLD CASE
It remains unclear exactly how the 24-year-old woman, who was excelling at her job and in a healthy relationship with her boyfriend at the time, disappeared after she left for her job at Westgate Resorts in Ocoee.
The records obtained as a result of the Kesses’ lawsuit against OPD also included images of Kesse’s vehicle, which had dust from the ongoing construction at her condo complex. (OPD)
Her colleagues reported her missing that same day because it was unlike her not to show up for work.
“It’s easy as the father of a missing child to say, but we as Americans, we have to start caring more about ourselves.”
“What I see in America today is the total breakdown of family,” Drew Kesse said when asked if he has a message for the public. “If we don’t start loving ourselves, first and foremost, so we can learn to love other people, such as our wives, our husbands, our children, and then our community, our country — it’s what we need. It’s what made this country the greatest nation on Earth.”
LISTEN TO HOUSE OF BROKEN DREAMS: THE JENNIFER KESSE STORY
He added that the case is “more than just Jennifer.”
“It’s our culture and our nature right now.”
Kesse’s family still does not know how the 24-year-old woman, who was excelling at her job and in a healthy relationship with her boyfriend at the time, disappeared after she left for work at Westgate Resorts in Ocoee. (Find Jennifer Kesse)
Drew and Jennifer’s mother, Joyce Kesse, have been married 45 years with their two children and now grandchildren. He emphasized his belief that the well-being of the country depends on parents loving and guiding their children.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
A GoFundMe page, “Help Us Find Jennifer Kesse,” has raised more than $117,000 to help her family pay for the “monstrous legal fees and PI bills that have accrued over time.”
Anyone with information about Jennifer’s disappearance is asked to contact the “Find Jennifer Kesse” Facebook page or the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) at 1-888-FL-MISSING (1-888-356-4774).
You’re watching the NBC6 South Florida News streaming channel, which plays local South Florida news 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can find the “NBC6 South Florida News” streaming channel on your phone or computer, and on Peacock, Samsung, Roku, Xumo or on our app, so you can watch our local news on your schedule.
Brevard County couple gets married in NICU after birth of premature twins
A Florida couple, told they may not be able to have children, welcomed premature twins and had an impromptu NICU wedding.
Provided by AdventHealth for Children
Ben and Danielle Cassidy were told they likely wouldn’t be able to have children.
But this year they will celebrate Mother’s Day just months after having an impromptu wedding in the AdventHealth for Children hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit shortly after Danielle gave birth to twins prematurely — a week before the Palm Bay couple was scheduled to get married.
Both babies, Joshua and Rhett, are doing well despite arriving nine weeks ahead of schedule on Jan. 19, 2026, just one day after their scheduled baby shower. With a proper wedding out of the question with two premature babies in the NICU, a nurse took action.
Issabel Kenkel, the nurse behind the ceremony, said she was already in wedding planning mode for her own upcoming nuptials when she found out the Cassidy family’s ceremony would be interrupted.
“I couldn’t just let them do something small. They needed decorations and something fun, so I spoke to the music therapist and the chaplain,” Kenkel said. In short order, a wedding was being planned for their hospital room and the couple was saying their vows in the company of their safely delivered newborns.
“When we found out we could request staff members to be on our team, that’s when we requested Issabel and having that kind of consistency from someone who has such a big heart and is so kind,” Danielle said.
The hospital ceremony was all the more special because of the Cassidy family’s own health struggles.
“I have five autoimmune diseases and didn’t really think I would have kids. It’s been a rough journey. When Ben and I met, we were floored at how much a miracle it was to have kids,” Danielle said.
Ben, who battled and beat cancer, said he was worried that his prior treatment would result in negative health outcomes for his future children. Having twins for him was an unexpected blessing.
“When we found out we were pregnant, we found it so shocking. We said, wouldn’t it be great if it was twins? It filled out our hopes and dreams list,” Ben said. “They’ve been miracles for sure.”
The Cassidy couple said there was so much fear and uncertainty when their twins were born nine weeks early. Being able to get married right away just made them feel all the better about the future.
“It was nice getting married because we didn’t have to wait any longer to make it official. It made it that much harder for her to get rid of me,” Ben said.
“The unknown made it scary,” Danielle added. “We had no idea how long we would be in the hospital. Our wedding was going to be at the beach with immediate family and parents. Having NICU babies, we realized we’d never be able to get to the beach. It was really special having the people who care for our babies be part of the ceremony.”
The couple hadn’t even planned to have a band at their wedding ceremony and now the hospital’s music therapist was performing live for them and the chaplain was conducting the ceremony, something nurse Kenkel said was just part of her job.
“The babies are going to have the best outcomes if the families are taken care of and going home happy,” she said. “Being in the NICU is already so stressful. This is just one more thing I could do to take care of my patients.”
Tyler Vazquez is the Growth and Development Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Vazquez at 321-480-0854 or tvazquez@floridatoday.com. X: @tyler_vazquez.
The Vero Beach Police Department took a man into custody May 8 in connection with a threatening phone call directed toward a business.
The agency received information at 5:21 p.m. May 7 about a threatening call to Thrive IRC Inc. at 2300 5th Ave. in Vero Beach, according to a news release. The call included someone threatening to come to the business with an AK rifle and “light the building up.”
Detectives began investigating the threat and identified Michael Sean O’Brien, 27, of Vero Beach, as the person associated with the phone number used during the call.
O’Brien was taken into custody at about 3:30 p.m. May 8 without incident. He was charged with the false report concerning the use of firearms in a violent manner, which is a second degree felony, according to the news release.
O’Brien was booked in the Indian River County Jail at 6:13 p.m. May 8 but was released at 1:36 p.m. May 9 after posting the $5,000 bond, according to the jail website.
No additional information was available the afternoon of May 9.
Olivia Franklin is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at olivia.franklin@tcpalm.com, 317-627-8048 or follow her on X @Livvvvv_5.
-
Idaho57 seconds agoDelicious New Menu Item Expected To Hit Idaho Costcos Soon
-
Illinois7 minutes agoPPP Loan Scandal Busts Joliet Woman Working For Illinois Department Of Corrections: AG Kwame Raoul Reveals
-
Indiana13 minutes agoFernando Mendoza, citing Raiders obligations, misses Indiana’s White House visit
-
Iowa19 minutes agoIowa City police seek help identifying persons of interest in vandalism investigation
-
Kansas25 minutes agoBoeing makes $1 billion investment in Wichita facility
-
Kentucky31 minutes agoLiberty Trees planted throughout Kentucky
-
Louisiana37 minutes agoNeuty, the beloved Bucktown nutria rat that charmed Louisiana, has died
-
Maine43 minutes agoHow a data center derailed $240,000 for affordable housing in Wiscasset