Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Jennifer Kesse's family pleads for answers in Florida woman's disappearance

Episode Date: February 15, 2019

The parents of Jennifer Kesse, who disappeared over a decade ago, are struggling to solve the mystery but they are frustrated by police reluctance to share information with a private investigator hired by the family. The 24-year-old Florida woman has not been seen since she did not show up for her job on the morning of Tuesday, January 24, 2006. Nancy Grace visits again with Jennifer’s father Drew Kesse and her mom Joyce Kesse to talk about their efforts to open up the investigation files and to raise money to pay for their own digging.  Nancy's expert panel includes Cold Case Research Institute Director Sheryl McCollum, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan, Atlanta lawyer Ashley Willcott, and psychologist Caryn Stark. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Do you know another parent or expecting parent? Are you wondering what can I give them as a gift? Don't give them another onesie. Don't give them a plastic toy or God forbid a toy gun that's just going to end up in the garage. Give them something that matters and what matters the most is protecting their child.

What do you love most in the world? Your children. What will you do to protect them? Anything. I sat down with the smartest people I know in the world on matters of child safety, finding missing children, fighting back against predators. And what I learned is so important, powerful, and information so critical. I want you to have it. I want them to have it. Go to crimestopshere.com for a five-part series with action information that you can use to change your life and protect your child. Give that as a gift, not another onesie.

Find out how to protect your child. When you're out at the mall or the store or the grocery, in the parking lot, at home. Find out about protection regarding babysitters and daycare, even online. I'd rather have that any day of the week than a plastic toy or, God forbid, a toy gun. Join Justice Nation. Go to crimestopshere.com. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. But first, this CrimeOnline.com news update. I'm Alan Duke.

A mom is missing in Mississippi for three weeks now. Danielle Whiteside-Nipper, 51, was last seen by her 14-year-old daughter January 24th in a home she shared with several roommates. Nipper left behind several basic things you would expect they would take if they intended to leave, a pocketbook, a cell phone. WJTV's Margaret Ann Carter is on the story in Raymond, Mississippi. A breast cancer survivor, recent widow, and single mother. Friends of Danielle Nipper say the 52-year-old was dealing with a lot. IN RAYMOND, MISSISSIPPI. A BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR, RECENT WIDOW AND SINGLE MOTHER. FRIENDS OF DANIELLE NIPPER SAY THE 52-YEAR-OLD WAS DEALING WITH A LOT. In this past year, I don't think too much of anybody had really heard from her.

She kind of cut everybody off. BUT WHEN FRIENDS RECEIVED THE NEWS, SHE DISAPPEARED, LEAVING BEHIND HER PHONE, WALLET, KEYS AND PURSE. THEY KNEW SOMETHING WASN'T RIGHT. I don't feel like she left of her own free will. THEIR OWN FREE WILL. I FEEL LIKE SOMETHING HAPPENED TO HER. IF YOU'RE GOING TO GO AWAY JUST FOR TWO OR THREE DAYS, WHAT WOMAN LEAVES THEIR PURSE BEHIND? LONGTIME FRIEND TRACY

HONENSTEIN WRITES MYSTERY NOVELS FOR A LIVING. BUT THIS ISN'T ONE OF HER BOOKS. THIS IS REAL LIFE. AND SHE CAN'T CONTROL WHAT COMES NEXT. TRACY HONENSTEIN,

HONENSTEIN'S FRIEND, HONENSTEIN'S FRIEND, HONENSTEIN'S FRIEND, HONENSTEIN'S FRIEND, HONENSTEIN'S FRIEND, HONENSTEIN'S FRIEND, HONENSTEIN'S FRIEND, HONENSTEIN'S FRIEND, HONENSTEIN'S FRIEND, HONENSTEIN I am answers. Well versed in her career as a suspense author, Hohenstein knew where to begin creating missing posters with her friend's face plastered on them and talking with anyone who might know something. I start from the beginning just like I would um you know

with when I'm writing my books just go from the beginning what happened who was the last person to see her um you know who her friends and family are um what was she doing the last couple of days. However she also knows how many of her stories end. The longer a person goes missing, it gets tougher to find them, and you definitely don't want the trail to go cold, and yeah, your mind starts going, okay, it's been 48, it's been 72 hours, they haven't shown up, and then you have to start thinking about other things. Hohenstein continues to play her

role as a friend while investigators work to find Danielle Nipper. Reporting in Hines County, Margaret Ann Carter, WJTV 12. Tony Wade, commander of the Cajun Coast Search and Rescue Team, is now helping with the search for Danielle Whiteside Nipper. He says there are suspicious circumstances. All the events surrounding the case, so with the roommates and, you know, her leaving with the roommates and her 14-year-old daughter at home and her coming home and the roommates coming back, but her never being seen again. There was some, from what we understand, there was some arguing between the roommates that morning over some money issues. And, you know, they left together and she's never, she never came back. She's never been seen again. You know,

we understand there's probably some drug use involved with somewhere surrounding the roommates and everything, but we haven't been to pinpoint anything like that on Danielle herself. But it's just the whole scenario is not making any sense at all. Wade, who has helped find many missing people, will start searching on Sunday. That's correct. We're heading in on Sunday to start working with them to try and, you know, search some areas. They have a lot of areas of concern. And again, where she came up missing from was last seen at. It's just extremely rural. There's just,

I mean, there's woods and stuff everywhere. So it's just going to be a tough search to try and pin down something. Danielle Nipper was last seen wearing maroon sweatpants, a white t-shirt and Nike shoes. She's described as being 5'5", weighing about 150 pounds, dyed black hair and brown eyes. If you have any information on the whereabouts of Danielle Whiteside Nipper, please contact the Hines County Mississippi Sheriff's Department at 601-974-2900. See photos, details, and updates on the search at Nancy's Crime and Justice website, crimeonline.com. The investigation into last month's alleged early morning attack in Chicago on actor Jussie Smollett takes a dramatic turn with increased suspicions the Empire star was involved in the incident,

staging it as a publicity stunt. Chicago police raided the homes and took into custody two men who worked as extras on the hit Fox TV show. The two men for now are not being called suspects, but are persons of interest. Their attorney, Gloria Schmidt, says they do both know Smollett. The people of interest, my clients, they do know Jesse. They have worked with him on Empire. My preliminary investigations show that the onset, it's very tight.

They're all very cordial with each other. So they're baffled why they are people of interest. TMZ is reporting that while Smollett says the two attackers were white and are the two men seen in security video, police say the men in the video are the two men they're questioning. They are both black and from Nigeria. Chicago's CBS2 quotes unidentified sources who have intimate knowledge of the investigation saying the two men and Smollett potentially staged the attack. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Drew Kessie has and says he will continue to ask the public for tips as to where his daughter Jennifer might be.

No one, no one should go through not being found. Not for the family. No one should not be found. The then 24-year-old disappeared without a trace. THEIR CUSTOMERS ARE EXPECTING A NEW TESTING PROCESS. THEIR CUSTOMERS ARE EXPECTING A NEW TESTING PROCESS. THEIR STRONGEST PIECE OF EVIDENCE IS SURVEILLANCE IMAGE OF A PERSON OF

INTEREST AS WELL AS JENNIFER'S CAR, WHICH WAS FOUND AT A CONDO COMPLEX ABOUT A MILE FROM WHERE SHE LIVED. ACCORDING TO ORLANA POLICE, THEIR CURRENT FOCUS IS RE-EXAMINING AND

RESUBMITTING EVIDENCE FROM THAT CAR, HOPING STRIDES IN CRIME LAB TECHNOLOGY WILL RESULT IN NEW LEADS. A LOT OF THE TESTING THAT'S BEEN DONE CAN BE REDONE WITH THESE NEW KITS. THEY ARE HOPING TO GET THEIR TESTING DONE. THEY ARE HOPING STRIDES IN CRIME LAB TECHNOLOGY WILL RESULT IN NEW LEADS.

A LOT OF THE TESTING THAT'S BEEN DONE CAN BE REDONE WITH THESE NEW KIDS. SO MOST OF IT IS WE'RE CONCENTRATING ON JENNIFER'S VEHICLE. WE THINK THE ANSWERS PROBABLY LIE THERE.

SOMEONE SAW SOMETHING. AND IT'S JUST, IT'S SO PAST It's just, it's so past time to have closure. Since Kessie's disappearance, thousands of tips have come into the family and through Crimeline. Orlando Police Chief John Mina says his staff will continue those efforts. We will never forget Jennifer. We will never give up our search to find Jennifer. Our friends at WKMG News 6 Orlando reporting on the very latest in the search for a beautiful young girl, Jennifer Kessie. With me right now, in addition to psychologist Karen Stark, judge and lawyer Ashley Wilcott at AshleyWilcott.com, forensics expert, author of Blood Beneath My Feet, Joe Scott Morgan. Director of the Cold Case Research Institute, Cheryl McCollum.

Special guests joining me now, Drew and Joyce Kessie, the parents of Jennifer. Welcome to everyone. First to Joyce Kessie. This is Jennifer Kesey's mom. Joyce, I think about you and Drew and Jennifer so often. And I go back over and over and over the facts. I know that right now there's a lot breaking in your world, a lot of breaking news regarding a lawsuit, regarding a GoFundMe, all with the aim of finding the truth about the whereabouts of your daughter. But when you look back, what do you recall about that day?

Because that's where it all starts and ends, that day that Jennifer goes missing. What do I recall? I recall arriving at the condominium complex and there being a multitude of workers just going about their business because it was the condo to apartment to condo conversion. And I just remember high anxiety on our family behalf as we drove to Orlando and the nightmare began. And the nightmare began. And the nightmare began. When you say the nightmare began, what do you mean by that? Jennifer's journey, the journey to find Jennifer, the journey, not so much at this point to find out exactly who did it, but we need closure. We need to find Jennifer. And that's our goal, is to give Jennifer the best chance. I mean, 13 years is just, it's surreal into itself that it's 13 years, Nancy. But yet here we are. So that's why we're moving forward with trying to get answers from law enforcement

so that a private investigator may be able to look at the records and come up with something different because Orlando Police has never had a suspect in 13 years. To Drew Kessie, Jennifer's father, Drew, I want to backtrack, as we often do, to start at the beginning. What happened in your world the day Jennifer went missing? Well, it was January 24, 2006, first thing in the morning, and I was working as normal, and Joyce was working as normal, and Logan was living with us, her brother at the time.

He was out at the gym, and we got a call from a good friend of mine who also works at Jennifer's work, and he asked if Jennifer was okay. She didn't show up for work. And I said, well, as far as I know, she's okay. Let me give her a call and I'll find out. And for the first time since she was 16 years old, when we gave her a phone and a car, when I called her, it went directly into voicemail. It didn't ring four times as it normally does. It went directly into voicemail.

And at that second, I knew something was wrong. So I got in touch with Joyce. She was at work and we started to immediately call friends, call police, call hospitals and make our way to Orlando where she just bought a brand new condominium for herself and was doing very well. And that's how it started. We called the police and we were met with an officer that said, well, she probably had a fight with her boyfriend and she'll be back. And he walked out. And that's when we started to lose, to be up front with you. But it has not progressed since January 26th or 27th when her car was found one mile down the road in a very poor condo complex.

And we have film of a gentleman getting out of that car that he parked and walking away and never looking back and we cannot find that person either but that's where it has stuck it has stuck on day three um when jennifer was taken and we have not been able to move the case forward whatsoever, which is why 13 years later, we have no other choice than to put our own team together legally and investigatively and do justice for Jennifer and find her. That's the most important thing is to find Jennifer. Guys, I want to pause right here and thank our partner making today's program and our attempt to uncover evidence of the disappearance of a beautiful, beautiful young girl, Jennifer Kessie. Our partner is Blink. Blink. And that brings the question, when do you want to spot the burglar? When he's casing your home or when he's sticking his foot through your bedroom

window. Blink, B-L-I-N-K. Blink cameras alerted John to burglars actually breaking in while he and his family were home. Shannon, her blink camera caught a thief stealing packages and both times blink video clips helped cops catch the bad guys. Blink motion-activated indoor-outdoor cameras, wire-free, set up in minutes, run on two AA batteries that last up to two years. And when you're traveling, Blink's live feed option lets you monitor your home from anywhere with the Blink smartphone app. No contracts, subscriptions, completely affordable. Blink works with Alexa. Blink camera systems make great gifts. They're a great way to monitor your home.

Visit BlinkProtect.com slash Nancy. BlinkProtect.com slash Nancy. B-L-I-N-K. BlinkProtect.com slash Nancy. Blink's an Amazon company. Blink, thank you for making today's program possible. At the Orlando Police Department, we never stop searching for missing persons. But today we're announcing an enhanced focus on the Jennifer Kessy investigation

and renewing our plea for anyone with information to come forward and help us solve this case. Through the years, the public's interest in this case has not waned. Um, that is due in large part to Drew and Joyce and who have been committed to keeping this case in the public eye. Uh, and it's worked. This case continues to generate tips. So I'm announcing today that Orlando Police Department Detective Teresa Sprague will focus exclusively on this case.

She's going to pour through the thousands of pages of documents and case files and the hundreds of tips with a fresh set of eyes. We were also announcing today that the Crimeline reward has been up to $15,000. We'll never stop looking for Jennifer. I was working the night she went missing. I remember talking to Drew on the phone, and I remember hearing the voice of a very concerned and upset father and I'll never forget it. It is not lost on me after 12 years what an enormous task this will be.

Some of our most experienced detectives have been assigned to this case. I'm the next person in charge of it and I look forward to the opportunity. I wanna start from the day Jennifer went missing, the day she should have shown up and went to work like every other day. We're going to start with the first week, the first few tips. Again, if you've called in tips in the past and you think that we need to take a fresh look at what you said, please call those in again. We need to know who this person of interest is. That is the key to finding Jennifer and bringing her home and giving the answers to her family that they so desperately want and deserve. We're going to start from the beginning. We're going to take a fresh look at

every tip from the first day through last week and see if a pattern develops. Because there's been so many tips called in in Jennifer's case over the last 12 years, it's imperative that someone take a really long look at this exclusively and see what we can figure out. Is there something we missed? It's certainly possible that there is. Is there something that's happened in the last five to six years that we need to compare to the first two weeks and see if a pattern develops? We need the public's help.

We cannot emphasize that enough. If you know who this person of interest is, please call us. Come talk to me and let's bring Jennifer home. Is it a day late and a dollar short? Is there hope of finding Jennifer Kessie? With me, in addition to Cheryl McCollum, Joe Scott Morgan, Ashley Wilcott, and Karen Stark, Drew and Joyce Kessie. Joining me, the parents of Jennifer.

To Cheryl McCollum, director of the Cold Case Research Institute, I wonder if the Orlando police decision to refocus on Jennifer had anything to do with a lawsuit her family has filed. I mean, does it really take that to get answers? Sadly, in this case, it looks like it did. The police, Nancy, they've got 43 binders of information. Why not let the family look through it at this point? It's not like this case is a week old. Say that 13 years, Nancy. Let her mama look at it and say, this doesn't seem right, or I know this name, or possibly this can't be right at all.

Let them help in this case. What does that mean to you, Drew Cassie? Is it true you have not been able to review police files? Yes, absolutely. And in fact, that recording that you just played of our lead detective saying that she's starting from the beginning and assigned, she had the case seven years at that point. So you're just, we're getting lip service, unfortunately, and that's what we're doing legally now is to try and get in there. But yes, we truly believe that given the opportunity, we know just as much as they do about this case. We've been there since day one. We've been standing next to them since day one. But yet we don't have all the information they do.

We do have an investigative team. What is their explanation to you as to why they won't let you look at the files? It will set precedence that if it is an open and active case, that they will never share any information. Not even with the family? No. That is outrageous to Ashley Wolcott, judge, lawyer. You can find her at AshleyWolcott.com. Ashley, can you imagine police not sharing information with you if your child is missing?

No. And so first and foremost to both of you, I can't even imagine. And thank gosh, because I see children who don't have families to advocate for them and to push an investigation forward. I'm so appreciative that you both are there to do it. You deserve the closure you're seeking. And Nancy, here's the thing. I completely agree that if this had happened within the last year, for instance, yes, open investigation, maybe you shouldn't, couldn't share records with family. At this point, this many years later, I would hope you would embrace the help,

the extra set of eyes, people who knew her best, knew her better than anyone to look at these records. There's no reason I could think of they should not be given access. You know, that's just a huge, huge slap in the face. And also to learn this investigator talking about detective, we're going to put fresh eyes on it. She's had it for seven years and it takes a lawsuit to put fresh eyes on it she's had it for seven years and it takes a lawsuit to get fresh eyes on it cheryl mccollum cold case research institute director let's talk about the day that jennifer goes missing start at the beginning cheryl what happened nancy it looks like she got up and got ready for work there's a wet towel her brand new

pumps are missing um some clothes are on the bathroom floor that she wore before pajamas, you know. And her car is missing. And she doesn't show up for work. And the people at her job call her dad and say, hey, she hasn't shown up, which is completely unlike her. She always texts or calls her boyfriend that morning on the way to work. That didn't happen either. And calls are going straight to her voicemail at eight o'clock. So she is missing by eight o'clock in the morning. The last communication

anybody had with her was 10 o'clock the night before. So her car is then found in an apartment complex at noon. So we have a four hour window where something terribly goes wrong. To Joseph Scott Morgan, forensics expert, professor of forensics, Jacksonville State University, and author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon, Joseph Scott Morgan, I've gone over and over and over the scene. That morning where Jennifer, we last know that she was alive and well in her condo. What jumps out at you regarding that scene? I think the thing, kind of going back to what Cheryl said,

was the freshness of everything that had occurred within there. You have specific evidence of the fact that she was just going about her daily business as she normally would, getting, you know, getting ready for work, all this sort of thing. And Cheryl talked about a window relative to, to this is four hour period. The window I'm concerned about is now all of these years later in that evidence that they have, she had mentioned new technologies and all this sort of thing. And my God, it's just sitting there and no one has truly have a new set of eyes on this thing. And I understand that it's currently under investigation, but they really need to get a fire lit under them.

And I think the family's doing the right thing. I think they are too. And I usually do not advocate suing a police department, but this is crazy. It's crazy. To Joyce Kessie, Jennifer's mother, what led you to go along with the lawsuit? Answers. Wanting to find answers. And again, it's trying to find justice. We're having a really hard time comprehending law enforcement not wanting to share the information because they're saying that the case is active. And as Drew mentioned, that it would set precedence for the family to look at the records. It's not per se that we want to, we want a private eye to be able to look at these records as well

and try to see if Orlando didn't miss something. I mean, it's just insane that with the immediate response that we had to Jennifer not showing up for work, that we don't have any answers that we've never had a suspect. It's very, very sad. Take a listen to this. Miss Cassie, what more can you tell me about what time, if you know, that she would contact her boyfriend in the morning? Well, Jen typically left for work between 7.30 and 8 in the morning, and it was her habit to call rob when she got in her car so as she got in her car and was driving to work is when she would make that good morning call

um and as we know rob never received that call drew tell me the condition of her apartment uh her condition it was obviously brand new. She had just purchased it. I mean that morning, what did it look like? Had she made breakfast? Had she done her hair? What? No, no. It looked like she slept in her bed. She had two or three outfits laid out on the bed as if she was choosing an outfit to wear. She, as was stated, the bathroom looked like someone got ready to go to work. The rest of the condo was just perfect. It honestly looked like a maid came through,

right down to a full setting, four-piece setting, table setting on her dining room table. Hi, Nancy Grace here. Have you ever Googled yourself, your neighbors, somebody at work, a crush? 57% of Americans admit to keeping an eye on their own online reputation. 46% admit to using the Internet to look up somebody from their past. But Google and Facebook, the tip of the iceberg when it comes to finding personal information. There's an innovative new website called Truthfinder. It's now revealing the full scoop on millions of Americans. Truthfinder can search through hundreds of millions of public records in a matter of minutes. Truthfinder

members can literally begin searching in seconds for sensitive data like criminal, traffic, arrest records. Before you bring someone new into your life and around the people you care for, your children, consider using Truthfinder. What you find may astound you. Go to truthfinder.com forward slash Nancy right away to start searching. Truthfinder.com forward slash Nancy. Truthfinder.com forward slash Nancy. Find the truth. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

And it is the second revelation in two days for a case that almost fell off the radar here in Central Florida. The first grainy surveillance video from the Huntington Greens apartment complex. It shows Kessie's car the day she disappeared around 1 in the afternoon, January 24th of 2006. This parking lot is about a mile from where Kessie lived near the mall at Millennia. The person driving the car gets out and starts walking around. The cops are just now telling us what that person left behind in the car, a fingerprint and possible DNA. Her picture is still up all over Central Florida, but the leads have started to dwindle.

Tonight police are hoping the release of this video, information about the fingerprints and possible DNA will generate some more tips and hopefully lead to Jennifer Cassie. It's all about awareness when you're trying to find a missing loved one. So what does the release of this new information and this new video mean for their daughter's case? I invited former police chief and Seminole Community College professor Richard Weinblatt to our station to take a close look at the video. If you're living with someone, you know what shoes they wear. You know how they walk. Something about this might spark a chord in somebody.

He says it's possible even this grainy, faraway shot will trigger someone's memory and provide for a tip that could blow this case wide open. Like the person's shoes and socks. Weinblatt says a lot of people might not wear white socks with dark shoes. The smallest things can help. So what about the timing of all of this? 15 months after her disappearance, why release this video now? Information is withheld and released at different stages of the investigation

because they want to try to preserve the integrity of the investigation. Our friends at Fox 35 in Orlando, that was 15 months after Jennifer Kessie went missing. Now we are going on to year 13 and no answers. It has taken a lawsuit by her family to try and get those files in addition to a GoFundMe. You know, when you hear that to you, Drew K Cassie, Jennifer's father, that they were saying they wanted to protect the integrity of the investigation by not releasing video of the person getting out of her car 15 months after the incident? It just sounds like the same thing all over again, Drew. It is. It is. There's just, you know, our very first detective team said that they would never release that tape ever because they were going to catch somebody in a months, not even two years. And we're at 13 years and we're on Groundhog

Day. I can tell you the same thing today, as I just said there. When you say Groundhog Day, it just means like the movie Groundhog Day over and over and over the same thing happening. And in the middle of all this, your daughter's missing. To Joe Scott Morgan, forensics expert, let's talk about the car. Weigh in. Hey, listen, Nancy. This is the one spot where we have an individual that, to the best of my knowledge, did not previously have access to the car. You know, I'm speculating here, that was contained in an environment. I want everybody at home to think about this. When you get in your car,

there are various, what we refer to as points of contact in that environment, where your rear end is positioned, where your hand is positioned, you know, where your feet are positioned. And every, just like LeCard said over a hundred years ago, every contact leaves a trace. So in this environment, where did this individual put his hands? Where could he have left fibers behind? On the headrest, did he actually leave hairs there? And I want to know how thoroughly this car was searched by the teams at that particular time, and what did they collect? Because at a period of time, the car was finally released to the family did did they cover everything they possibly could uh during that period during that golden period of time to collect all of this evidence the golden period of time to collect evidence to joyce cassie

jennifer's mother joyce when your husband drew said this deja vu, same thing, Groundhog Day all over again. Tell me where you summon the strength to keep trying because it's just got to be overwhelming. Just one obstacle after the next, after the next, after the next for you guys. It is overwhelming, but it's for the love of Jen that we'll keep fighting the fight to find answers and to, you know, finally bring her home. It's strictly loving your child, your child, your children and wanting answers. I mean, it defies logic how something like this could happen. And yet it's happened. And here we sit, as Drew said, Groundhog Day.

Every day is the same. We don't have answers, and it doesn't appear as if we're any closer to getting answers. Joyce Kessie, that morning, how did you first learn that anything was wrong, Anything was out of the ordinary. By getting a phone call from Jennifer's work, I'm sorry, asking if there was a family emergency was Jennifer's sick. And that started the dominoes just falling as they may. And Logan and his friend Drew and I drove to Orlando making phone calls. I reached out to my colleagues who worked in Orlando to call hospitals, call police stations. Was there an accident? I mean, we were crazed. We were absolutely crazed because it's so unlike Jen to just not show up somewhere.

So we instantly knew that something was wrong. And it was very wrong. You know, they have this drive to her condo, you know, a long drive to Joseph Scott Morgan, forensics expert. When they get there, let's just start with a moment they get there. What do you notice about that scenario, Joe Scott? Referring to the parents or referring to the police? Both. Okay. Well, for the police, when you arrive at a scene like this, the first thing that pops into my mind is how many individuals have had access to this environment.

Because now if I'm missing a person, you want to go through here and look for evidence of why they might be missing. But you're not necessarily working a case at that point in time that would give you an indication that some foul play had occurred, like trauma, homicide, that sort of thing. So you're looking for clues. But during that period of time,

you're having to rifle through everything and it disrupts the scene. Now we're so many years down the range, down range, and the case was initially worked as a missing person. And now when you need delicate forensic evidence, I really wonder how much stuff was lost at that point. So that leaves me scratching my head as an investigator. To Karen Stark, psychologist at karenstark.com, how do people keep going this many years later? That's the problem, and you can hear it in their voices, can't you, Nancy, how upsetting this is? This is their daughter, and they have no idea what became of her. And the brain works in such a way that it can never let it go. So you're on an endless loop of wondering and wanting an answer and wanting her. And it's just horrific.

You know, to Ashley Wilcott, judge and lawyer, what do you make of a lawsuit against the police department? Well, I agree with you, Nancy. Ideally, I don't like to see them because generally law enforcement busts their rear ends to investigate and do a phenomenal job. However, in this circumstance, in this case, I really believe that the parents taking that action has caused it to move forward. And you cannot not do that in this case for the sake of your child. They've done the right thing. I think in this case, it was warranted. Nancy, if I could interject one more thing, please. Having worked at the medical examiner in the coroner's office for most of my adult life and doing what I do, you've got a real dichotomy that's going on here, and it's heartbreaking. The police have their interest,

and I know that they will say that they want to find this precious girl, okay? But they're looking to solve a crime. You have the heart of a mama and a daddy here that want to find their baby. And that trumps at this point, and I'm not trying to speak for them, but as a mama and daddy, that trumps everything else. What happened to my daughter and where is she? And that's why this is so emotionally driven because we don't have those answers. The only reason this is going on is because we are putting pressure on them because we have attorneys involved now and we are over it. It's been 12 years. Did they do this last year?

No. The year before? No. The year before? This is a joke. This is comical and I hope everybody can realize that. This is only being done because we have attorneys involved now. And we are on their ass. Because they f***ed up. Okay? They didn't do things right. Okay? This is facts. I'm bleeping out, guys. This is it.

It's 12 years. This is a joke. This is all. Everybody standing up here behind me. It's a joke. Everybody. This is a joke. Please see through it.

Shannon, you know. You've been here from the beginning. You know more than anybody. This is a joke. Okay? We have attorneys involved. And that's why they're doing this. I'm showing face right now. And half the stuff you said is an absolute slap in the face. And I think we all know that. You are hearing Jennifer's brother, Logan Kesey, at a news conference telling reporters that the only reason police are now talking about the case

is because they have lawyers who are pushing them to do it, that they are insulting the Keseie family by refusing to open up and give them the files to really pursue this case. Jump in, Cheryl. Nancy, they've got a PR problem as well as an investigative problem. They should have, before it ever got to this point, sat with her brother and her mama and a daddy in a room with the 42 binders and said, let's go over this together. Y'all help us. What have we missed? What do you see that we don't see? Let them go

name by name, frame by frame, line by line. At this point, after 13 years, they know damn well her mom and daddy didn't take her. They know her brother didn't hurt her. So let them help you. It should never have gotten to this point. Straight out to Joyce Kessie, Jennifer's mother. Weigh in, Joyce. Oh, I agree.

It should never have gotten to this point. And that's why we're fighting the fight right now is there's going to be other families in this situation, and, you know, we want to let our son know that we're never going to give up, that we're never going to give up. We're not going away. We will do everything and anything that we can

to try to give Jennifer the best chance of being found. Joyce, in your heart of hearts, what do you believe happened that morning? I mean, I know she got up and took a shower. The shower stall was still wet. The towels were damp. As I recall, you guys telling me her clothes were laid out on the bed because she would do that. That was her practice to try to pick out what she was going to wear to work that day. You know, she got up that morning, you know, that she was in contact that night before at 10 o'clock. It was between getting up in the morning and taking a shower and leaving for work. And those 45 minutes or so, that is when Jennifer seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth. I don't believe in coincidences in criminal law. I think there was a huge group of people, construction

workers, and many of them, I believe, were illegals and not documented. And I just do not think there was a coincidence with them being there and her going missing. That was the only wild card. We know where the boyfriend was. The neighbors have been checked out. We know where the boss was. They are the wild card in my mind, Joyce. And I want to hear your theory. I definitely feel that there's something about the workers because we had blanketed the complex on the evening of the 24th with missing posters of Jennifer. The very next morning, more than two thirds of the workers didn't show up for work. So obviously they were frightened. Now we had put flyers on every car and every condo door on every utility door. And I just think it's telling that two thirds of the workers never showed back up for work. So how can the police say that they

investigated and interrogated the workers when more than two-thirds of them didn't come back to work. Oh, man, talk about behavioral evidence. Cheryl McComb, they didn't even show up to work the day after Jennifer goes missing? And that's our point, Nancy. That file is going to show what was done and what was not done. The police don't maybe want them to know where they dropped the ball if they dropped the ball. But by not sitting down only sees this belief that they didn't do the right thing at the right time for Jennifer. To Drew Cassie, tell me about your GoFundMe.

Well, after 13 years, I guess one can imagine the money that one spends trying to find their loved one. In our case, it's been our life savings, over half a million dollars. But at this point, we don't have funds to do legal and investigative work. They basically have run out. And in fact, I wrote an $18,000 check yesterday for court records, for actually police records. They're going to hand them over, but they're going to redact 95%. They told us that, period. The form came over and said, have the Cassie send us $18,000, and we will have the detective start to go through every single page and redact what she feels needs to be redacted, and we'll let you know how we're doing in a few months.

That is why we're in court. Oh, Drew, I am so sorry. I don't understand why the police are fighting with you. We don't either, Nancy. I don't understand why they would charge you nearly $20,000 to get the files. And then as if taunting you say, we're going to redact 95% of that. Just know that. But pay me 20 grand to get it.

And we know that because we did get one file from them in a request and it was all redacted. And they told us that's what they're going to do because we're not to have the information. Drew and Joyce, we are putting your GoFundMe account on CrimeOnline.com. Thank you. We are Facebooking. We are Instagramming. We are tweeting it. Please tell me the name of your GoFundMe. I want to help you so much because you've been now I consider my friends for all these years.

I think about you. I think about Jennifer. I replay what I know over and over in my mind. I can only imagine what you do. Please, how can I help you? Tell me what how do I get to your GoFundMe? Well, many ways. First of all, you can go to Jennifer's homepage at JenniferKessy.com. You can go on to her Facebook page. It's right there at the top, too, Jennifer Kessy Community. You can go on her Twitter page. It's right there, FindJenniferKessy. But you can go right to GoFundMe slash HelpUsFindJenniferKessy, and it will take you right to her.

GoFundMe slash help. Tell me again. GoFundMe slash help us find Jennifer Kessie. Or you can go right on the page and put in search Jennifer Kessie and it'll pop up for you. Tell me the name of her homepage one more time. JenniferKessy.com. For those of you that are hearing us now, it's K as in Kentucky, E-S-S-E. There's not an I in there. K-E-S-S-E. Please help them find their girl. I would want you to do the same for me

if my children were missing, and I would you to do the same for me if my children were missing, and I would want to do the same for you, our friends, Drew and Joyce Gessie. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.