Podcast brings new leads to Orlando woman's 2006 disappearance

BRADENTON (FOX 13) - Wednesday will mark the 12th anniversary of the disappearance of an Orlando woman with ties to the Bay Area.

Investigators believe Jennifer Kesse was abducted. A few days after she disappeared, her car was found about a mile from where she lived. No suspects were ever named.

Now, not only is the family doing everything they can to find her, but they're getting help from a pair of men who started a podcast dedicated solely to Jennifer's disappearance.

“We simply have to bring Jennifer home for the good or the bad. That's simply all we want to do,” said Jennifer’s father, Drew Kesse, who lives in Bradenton. “We bend but we will not break.”

Drew Kesse and his family are holding onto hope and say they will not stop until they know what happened to their loved one.

Jennifer Kesse was 24 when she went missing January 24, 2006. She hasn't been seen or heard from since. Her father believes she was the victim of human trafficking.

“Maybe they had to pay off a debt, maybe it's what they do, maybe they had to get into a gang but I believe Jennifer was pointed out as, 'That's the one you want,'” he said.

Orlando police think Jennifer left for work and was abducted somewhere along the way.

Surveillance video of a mystery man walking away from her car is one of the few clues in the case and while thousands of tips have come in over the years, Drew is frustrated with the lack of progress.

“I think they're lacking investigatively (sic), I truly do. When you can't move something forward in 12 years and you won't give us the opportunity, at this point, to get into the file,” said Kesse.

But now a pair of podcasters hope to bring new light to the case. Scott Jamison co-produces a new show dedicated entirely to Jennifer Kesse's disappearance.

It's called “Unconcluded” and it's gaining popularity. In just 9 months, Jamison says he and his podcasting partner already hit more than 2 million downloads.

“Multiple people out there know something and know what happened,” said Jamison. “What if we can just help out a little bit if we can do something?”

And that something, Jamison says, was to bring more exposure to the case. He says the show has already resulted in several new tips being brought to detectives. 

“It's created a situation where people are comfortable coming forward. The podcasting allows for that format,” Jamison said.

And Drew Kesse explains he’s on board with anything which could potentially help find out what happened to his daughter.

“It is amazing because he's not finding people, people are coming to him, and why can't we get more of that at the police-level?” Kesse wondered.

Wednesday morning, Orlando police held a press conference to announce a dedicated detective to solely pore through the tips and leads they've received since the day Kesse disappeared and help to find her.

The detective, along with Drew Kesse, urged the public for any tips and said if there was a tip that people think wasn't followed up on, for people to send it in again.