JENNIFER KESSE, 24, 1/24/06, ORLANDO, FL #1 9/16/06 -

[Nut44x4]

April 12, 2010 6:30 AM
Jennifer Kesse Missing: Police Search for Orlando Woman Called Off

ORLANDO, Fla. (CBS) Police are calling off the official search for Jennifer Kesse, a 24-year-old Orlando woman who vanished four years ago. Drew Kesse and his wife, Joyce, were told Thursday that Orlando police have exhausted all credible leads in their daughter's case.

According to the  Orlando Sentinel,  detectives say they pursued their last plausible lead this February, when they searched an overgrown field. More than 60 law-enforcement officers walked, dug and sifted through the site but found no clues. A tip triggered the search, which was the third for Kesse in nine months.

Police believe Kesse was abducted from her condominium near the Mall at Millenia in January 2006. She failed to show up for work at Central Florida Investments on Jan. 24, and her car was found abandoned two days later, about a mile from where she lived.

The Sentinel reported the Kesses met with law enforcement for nearly three hours Thursday, including Orlando police Chief Val Demings. Drew Kesse said he told Demings he doesn't have faith in her department, which he said botched the investigation early on, before Demings was in charge. However, he praised the lead detective in the case.

"They tried their best," said Kesse. "We're fortunate that we're very strong people. And we don't stop. We have unconditional love for Jennifer."

The family vows to continue the search on their own. They maintain a Web site, jenniferkesse.com. A reward of as much as $15,000 is being offered "Closure is everything," Drew Kesse to the newspaper. "To be in limbo, you can't even call it hell. There's not even a word for it"

Police still consider the investigation active, they said through a spokeswoman. The criminal-investigations division will pursue any additional viable leads.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20002136-504083.html

[Lovinlife]

Not a day goes by that I don't think of what the Kesse family goes through.  Jennifer needs to come home and the Kesse family needs answers on what happened to this young lady.

http://www.bradenton.com/2010/04/17/2212746/authorities-target-manatee-cold.html

News - Local - Crime & Courts
Published: Saturday, Apr. 17, 2010
Updated: Saturday, Apr. 17, 2010
Comments (2) |  Recommend (0)
Playing cards target Manatee cold cases
By ROBERT NAPPER - rnapper@bradenton.com Buzz up!
 
MANATEE — The brutality of the crime shocked the community: A 42-year-old woman was shot to death in front of her 13-year-old daughter, who the gunman then pistol-whipped.

Machelle Brinson’s Nov. 19, 2007, killing during a home invasion in Palmetto remains unsolved — a source of great frustration for Manatee County Sheriff’s Office detectives. There is very little forensic evidence and no cooperation from the public on the case, Manatee Sheriff’s Brad Steube said.

Now Steube is hoping that Brinson’s case profile — included in a new deck of playing cards outlining details on cold cases across Florida — will lead to tips in the case.

On Friday, the Florida Association of Crimestoppers announced a fourth edition of the cards, which will be sold to inmates in Florida’s prisons in an effort to generate leads on 52 missing persons and homicide cases.

The deck also includes a double fatal shooting more than three years ago in Oneco.

Sheriff’s detectives are still searching for whoever shot two men sitting in a GMC Yukon parked outside the Tia Oli Restaurant, at 6320 15th St. E., on Jan. 21, 2007.

Brinson is the three of diamonds; Fortino Hernandez-Ramirez and Jose Bautista-Guzman share the four of clubs.

“It only takes the smallest piece of information sometimes that we can verify that can crack a case,” said Steube.

All of the 52 cards feature a profile of the victim, and most have a picture of the person unless they are juveniles.

FAC president Steve Rowland led the news conference at the Manatee County jail attended by Steube, officials with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and family members of victims on the cards. Rowland explained that inmates often have the most knowledge of crimes that occur on the street, including who committed them. Criminals also tend to discuss their crimes with other inmates, he said.

“This puts these cases in front of that knowledgeable criminal base that may provide crucial information,” Rowland said.

The search for information is not only sought by law enforcement. Behind the faces on the playing cards are family members desperate for clues about their loved ones, according to Drew Kesse, whose 24-year-old daughter is the seven of diamonds.

Kesse’s daughter, Jennifer, has been missing since Jan. 24, 2006, from her condominium in Orlando. Over the years, numerous leads on her disappearance have dried up, but hope has not faded for the Kesse family, who live in Bradenton.

“Our love for Jennifer will always keep us going. This is just another tool in the war chest to try to get any information we can use. Maybe the lucky number seven will get something,” Kesse said, staring at the card holding his daughter’s picture.

Like Kesse’s case, the disappearance of 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel has made national news with the first anniversary of her disappearance coming up April 25.

Drexel left her home in Rochester, N.Y,, last April and traveled to Myrtle Beach, S.C., where she was last seen near a hotel where she was staying. Drexel’s grandfather John, of Ellenton, and aunt Keri, of Bradenton, attended the press conference Friday. Brittanee Drexel is the two of clubs.

“Her father lives in Tampa, so she has ties to Florida,” Keri Drexel said. “These cards are just another thing that gives us hope to find her. Awareness is power.”

That power has already been successful in Manatee, as a deck issued to inmates in 2007 led to the conviction of Brian Curry, who is now serving a life sentence for killing his ex-girlfriend Ingrid Lugo in Manatee.

Curry had been in prison on another offense and told two other inmates he killed Lugo. They called Crimestoppers after seeing her card in the deck, according to Rowland.

“We know it works,” he said.

The cards will be sold in prison commissaries in the coming days, and inmates are eligible for rewards for information, or can call anonymously. The public can also report information on crimes to Crimestoppers locally by calling (866) 634-TIPS.



Read more: http://www.bradenton.com/2010/04/17/2212746/authorities-target-manatee-cold.html#ixzz0lP2SjbGE

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=132149&catid=8
Kesse family helps raise money for Missing Person's Foundation
1 day ago
Tampa, FL -- Bay area businesses banded together today to give back to the community.

Dozens of young professionals hosted an event with food, fun and live music. Part of the money raised goes to the Moffitt Cancer Center and the Florida Missing Person's Foundation.

The family of one of the Bay area's most high profile missing persons, Jennifer Kesse, was also there. The Tampa High School graduate went missing in Orlando more than four years ago. Since then, her case has grown cold.

"Three weeks ago, we were informed that police have gone through all viable leads, all 1,082 of them, so we're a desperate family still trying to spread the word of Jennifer's abduction," Jennifer's father, Drew Kesse, said. "We love her and will not stop and we hope to find her as soon as possible."

For more information on how you can help find Florida's 4,000 missing persons, click here.
http://www.fmcdf.org/

[Nut44x4]

Kesse parents deal with criminal trial on missing daughter's birthday
By Joe Ruble @ May 19, 2010 7:31 PM

Jennifer Kesse's parents plan to celebrate her 29th birthday today, but first they have to deal with the trial of a Georgia man who once hinted at being their daughter's killer.

Jennifer remains missing almost five years after she disappeared from her Orlando home on January 24, 2006.

Andrew Scott Haley called himself the "catchmekiller" and on You Tube he claimed to have 16 victims, hinting that Jennifer was once of them. Haley also claimed that missing Georgia teacher Tara Grinstead was another.

You had to play his game to find them. The "clue" was scrolled at the end of his videos. Instead the cops found him and he confessed to a hoax.

Haley on Trial
Jennifer's father remains upset with Haley, not even glancing at him during testimony Wednesday.

"You know, I haven't been looking his way. I don't know what it even is to look at the man," Drew Kesse told WDBO in a phone call from Hall County, Georgia, where the three-day trial is being held.

Haley is charged with making false statements and evidence tampering.

Drew Kesse says he and his wife, Joyce, plan a dinner to mark Jennifer's 29th birthday, wishing they were home instead. "It's obviously very tough doing what we have to do here and having that come up," said Kesse.

Fond memories of their daughter remain. "We loved her until the last day that we saw her and we still love her now," he explained.

Joyce wrote a letter to her missing daughter this month, In part, it reads: "I think of you and smile and remember the good times, our rough years when you were a teen, and then our relationship transforming once you went to college. I am so glad that we had the chance to have that adult relationship, not just mother-daughter, but 2 women who loved and respected and treasured each other."

Tips keep coming in on Jennifer's appearance. Some to Orlando Police, others directly to the Kesse Hotline and website.

http://wdbo.com/localnews/2010/05/kesse-parents-deal-with-crimin.html

[Nut44x4]

Gainesville man found guilty in YouTube video hoax
Man gets 2 years in work-release jail for making false claims

POSTED  May 22, 2010 12:33 a.m. 

By posting a pair of videos of himself on the Internet falsely claiming to have killed 16 people and implying he was involved in the abduction of a missing Georgia woman, Andrew Scott Haley broke the law, a jury decided Friday.

In what could be the first case of its kind in Georgia, Haley, 28, was convicted of felony tampering with evidence and making false statements and was sentenced by Hall County Superior Court Judge C. Andrew Fuller to two years in a work-release jail.

Haley’s short videos, which were posted in early February 2009 on the video-sharing website YouTube, showed him with his face digitally blacked out and speaking in a deep, electronically-altered voice. At the end of one video are clues that reference the case of a missing Ocilla woman. Haley posted a link to the video on a Web page dedicated to a missing Florida woman, along with the words, “Maybe I can help.”

The families of the two missing women said Friday they were thrown into emotional turmoil by the videos, which were credited to “catchmekiller” and prompted an extensive criminal investigation.

“We thought we might have found out what happened to our daughter,” said Joyce Kesse, mother of Jennifer Kesse, an Orlando, Fla., woman missing since January 2006. “The posting of that YouTube video was so heartless and painful and cruel.”

Connie Grinstead, stepmother of missing Ocilla woman Tara Grinstead, said she held on to hope that her stepdaughter, missing since October 2005, would still be alive.

“On the day I found out about your video, you robbed me of that hope,” Grinstead said.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation spent hundreds of hours tracking down the source of the videos before interviewing Haley at his Gainesville home and determining there was no evidence he had anything to do with either woman’s disappearance.

Haley was charged with tampering with evidence for “knowingly creating false evidence to prevent the apprehension of and to obstruct the prosecution of another person,” according to the indictment. He also was charged with making false statements when he said in one of the videos that he killed 16 people.

Haley, who testified in his own defense, never denied posting the videos. He said he made them for an interactive mystery game and chose Grinstead’s case for the clues because she was a missing woman in his home state.

In an unusual case that pitted First Amendment rights in the Internet age against the interests of the criminal justice system, Haley’s attorney argued that her client’s videos were no different than the fiction found in movies, literature and songs.

In her closing argument to the jury, public defender Kristin Jordan quoted the song, “I Shot the Sheriff.”

“Bring Bob Marley in here, because either that was a confession or a false statement,” Jordan said. “(We know) it’s not — it’s a character in a song.”

“Everything points to his intent to create a game,” Jordan said. “Constantly he’s saying game, game, game. He conceived of this game in that world of fantasy.”

In the videos shown to the jury, Haley speaks of leaving clues that lead to bodies, which lead to additional clues. He says it is pointless for law enforcement to try to find him.

Assistant District Attorney J.D. Hart told the jury in her closing that Haley knew people would take his videos seriously.

“He wanted people to believe he was a real serial killer,” Hart said.

“What the defendant did is terrorize those families,” she continued. “He did it for his own selfish entertainment purposes. He wanted to be known for something — that’s not just a game. In Georgia, you don’t get to claim you murdered someone and post it on the Internet and when the GBI comes knocking on your door, say it’s just a game.”

The jury of seven women and five men spent less than an hour deliberating before returning with the verdict of guilty on both counts.

“We applied the law the judge gave us, and we just felt that after seeing the videos and hearing the testimony of the witnesses, that what he did came under the law, and he was truly guilty of the violations,” juror Brenda Ramsay said after the trial.

Ramsay said the jury did not let the emotional effect of the testimony from the two missing women’s relatives affect its deliberations.

“(But) I can say my heart breaks for them,” Ramsay said. “For the loss of their children, the doubt, and then to have someone almost taunt them.”

Hall County District Attorney Lee Darragh said after the trial that the First Amendment does not protect all speech, “especially that which is designed to cause unjustified panic, such as yelling fire in a crowded theater where there is no fire.

“In this case, there was speech by this defendant by which he could have reasonably expected to cause an extensive criminal investigation as to whether his claims were true or false, to the detriment of these families and the public at large,” Darragh said.

Darragh said he hopes the state legislature will create a law that more specifically addresses similar situations.

Haley was apologetic as he addressed the court after his conviction.

“I made a mistake,” Haley said. “I hurt a lot of people. I learned from my mistake. I just want to tell the families I am sorry.”

Fuller told Haley that his actions were “an egregious example of complete lack of concern and care and consideration for other people.”

“The court can’t fathom what was going through your mind,” Fuller said. “It’s not within this court’s grasp to understand what you did and why you did it.”

The judge’s full sentence was 10 years, with the majority of it to be served on probation once Haley completes 24 months in work release. He also fined Haley $4,000 and ordered him to undergo mental health evaluation and treatment if any mental health issues are identified.

“I can’t imagine that there wouldn’t be one here,” Fuller said.

http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/article/33451/

[klaasend]

Don't miss the Dana Pretzer show tonight at 9pm ET:

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.bradenton.com/2010/05/23/2306176/law-to-make-online-threats-felony.html
Published: Sunday, May. 23, 2010
Updated: Sunday, May. 23, 2010

Law to make online threats felony
BRADENTON — Jennifer Kesse would have turned 29 last week.
The 24-year-old was taken near her Orlando condo a little over four years ago and has been missing ever since.

Since then her Bradenton parents have searched for her and stepped into a national media spotlight in hopes of giving her case exposure.

In the process, their lives have been open to threats from strangers mainly through a web site the Kesse family set up, www.jenniferkesse.com, to find Jennifer. The site features case information, family letters and message boards.

Anonymous posters were able to make threats online. However, last week Gov. Charlie Crist signed a bill making it a second-degree felony to send threats to kill or do bodily injury whether it’s signed or anonymous online.

The law, which takes effect Oct. 1, allows a person to be sentence up to 15 years in prison, according to state statutes.

“What it really did, it just truly brought the law into the 21st Century,” said Drew Kesse, Jennifer's father who lobbied for the bill introduced by Rep. Janet Adkins R-Fernadina Beach. “I think it’s going to help many families. ... It’s amazing how we do everything by computer now and how we didn’t have that included in the law in Florida.”

A 27-year-old man finally was admitted into a hospital and went before a judge after he made threats towards the Kesse family for years online.

And on Jennifer’s birthday, May 20, the Kesse family was in court for the five-day trial of a Georgia man who called himself the “Catch Me Killer,” falsely claiming he killed 16 people — including Jennifer Kesse. He was convicted of making false statements after he broadcast himself on Youtube, Kesse said.

“You just can’t go after people and threaten them,” he said recalling when he was turned down for an injunction in Manatee County courts when threats were made online towards his family.

Rep. Bill Galvano R-Bradenton, supported the bill which passed unanimously through the House last month.

“The existing statute didn’t reference electronic communication. Electronic communication is how we communicate today. And as beneficial as it has been, it’s also been a hotbed for problems,” he said. “One such issue is the ability to send threats and to be anonymous. This is an added tool. We need to have that in place.”

Mark Lipinski, a criminal defense attorney based in Bradenton, said there could be constitutional challenges arising from the new law.

“Mainly evidential, an unacted thought to do violence to a person is not a crime,” he said. “A person may think or even speak horrible violent things, but without some sort of act, it’s legal. The problem with written language is that it always depends on the context. People always talk in terms of metaphors”

Galvano said he doesn’t see a constitutional issue with the new law. He noted it could help in cases of bullying in schools.

“When the speech rises to the level that it becomes injurious to people, there’s the ability to regulate it. So, I don’t see the constitutional issue,” he said.

“There will be challenges. The challenge will come from someone (writing) an e-mail — that states someone wants to hurt or kill someone. They will not want to be guilty of doing that. Is it good policy for those types of messages to be sent unchecked?”

Lipinski said the issue is so widespread that many people could potentially face charges.

A lot of ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends are going to be in trouble. A lot of ex-husbands and ex-wives are going to be arrested after sending an e-mail. They’ll be in jail. Everyone’s going to be in jail because everyone’s going to do it. They will have to set up a ‘You hurt my feelings’ court,” he said. “Of course, every once in a while someone really and truly says things and they mean them. And of course, this is where this law is coming from.”

But for the Kesse family, the law brings some comfort.

It makes them feel “not only safer, but more confident to deal with anyone because the of the law — if they are to threaten us again,” Kesse said. “We’ll see. We’re still looking for Jennifer.

[Nut44x4]

http://www.wesh.com/news/23792987/detail.html

FBI Takes Over Jennifer Kesse Case
Police Request Federal Investigators Handle Case Of Missing Woman

UPDATED: 12:19 pm EDT June 4, 2010
The Federal Bureau of Investigation will now handle the case of a missing Orlando woman at the request of the Police Department.

Officials said in a news release that the FBI agreed to take over the Jennifer Kesse case at the request of the Chief of Police.

Police recently met with the Kesse family and said they exhausted all possible leads in the case.

Kesse disappeared more than four years ago from her apartment near the Mall at Millenia.

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.wftv.com/news/23796159/detail.html
FBI Reviewing Jennifer Kesse Case
Posted: 3:28 pm EDT June 4, 2010
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The FBI is reviewing the disappearance of a central Florida woman several years ago.

Sgt. Barbara Jones of the Orlando Police said Friday that at the request of the police chief, the FBI has agreed to do a further review of the case of Jennifer Kesse, who went missing in January 2006 from her condo.

In April, Orlando police officials said all credible leads had been exhausted. But authorities still consider the investigation active.

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2010/6/4/fbi_takes_over_jennifer_kesse_case.html
 FBI Takes Over Kesse Case
Friday, June 04, 2010 11:37:26 PM
Reported by Jacqueline Fell

ORLANDO -- The FBI is now on the case of missing Jennifer Kesse.

The Orlando Police Department called off its own investigation into Kesse’s 2006 disappearance in April, but now Kesse's family has renewed hope.

This is something the family has been asking for more than a year.

So, they are ecstatic to now have federal agents trying to solve the case.

Chief Val Demings requested the FBI take over the missing woman case.

Kesse disappeared Jan 24, 2006 from her apartment near the Mall at Millenia.

FBI field agents in Orlando have already begun to collect the evidence in the case.

But for the Kesse family, this means so much more.
   
Since her disappearance, Kesse’s parents Drew and Joyce have vowed not to give up on the search for their daughter.

"We know that time is obviously not on her side,” Drew Kesse said. “However, we need her to come home one way or the other and her story to end. Her misery whatever it is be to end. Whether it ended years ago or if it's still continuing, no one deserves this."

There will be several meetings during this process between Orlando detectives and FBI investigators.

The FBI said it will look at what's been done so far in the investigation, analyze the information and see if they can generate new leads.

No one has ever been named a suspect in the case.

It's believed Kesse was abducted.

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/073010new-photos-surface-in-jennifer-kesse-case
New photos surface in Jennifer Kesse case

Updated: Friday, 30 Jul 2010, 7:34 PM EDT
Published : Friday, 30 Jul 2010, 7:34 PM EDT
    *

      By Shannon Butler
      FOX 35 News

ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - New photos have surfaced inside Jennifer Kesse's car; pictures that have never been seen by her father, until now.

"I believe I would have liked to have seen how the car was actually found," said Drew Kesse. "I did not have the opportunity."

Drew Kesse said the pictures of Jennifer's black Chevy Malibu popped up on the JenniferKesse.com website a couple of days ago. One picture is of the car's console and another one shows a DVD player strapped in the back seat.

Her parents say the DVD was given to her by her boyfriend, but they don't know why it is strapped in the back seat.

"I was very taken back," said Drew. "Here we have some important pictures of the car. I didn't know they were out there. The Kesses said they have learned that the pictures were aired on a national news program years ago. They want to know who took them and who released them.
We asked the Orlando Police Department if the pictures were taken by investigators and released to one news outlet. We were told in a written statement, "You will need to contact the FBI related to anything in the case. The FBI is now the investigative entity as it relates to the case. The case is an active case with the FBI."

Other pictures on the site show the inside of Jennifer's apartment. They show the bag Jennifer which took with her on vacation the week before she vanished. Her parents said they remember news outlets taking these pictures. These, they said, were not taken by investigators.

The case is being looked at by the FBI. We are told the investigator on the case is out of the office for a few weeks. The family is asking that they look into what these pictures may or may no show.

[tupelohoney]

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2010/09/john-walsh-calls-casey-anthony-case-such-a-sore-on-florida.html

John Walsh calls Casey Anthony case ’such a sore on Florida’
America's Most Wanted, Caylee and Casey Anthony, Fox, WOFL — posted by halboedeker on September, 10 2010 4:17 PM

You’ve seen a lot of Florida stories on “America’s Most Wanted” for a reason. John Walsh lives in Florida.
“I have a personal affinity for Florida cases. We get a huge amount of weirdos,” Walsh told me today. “The Sunshine State is where the creeps come to spend the winter. Florida has a huge transient population.”

“America’s Most Wanted” starts a new season at 9 p.m. Saturday on WOFL-Ch. 35. The premiere showcases a most wanted terrorist who grew up in Florida.

Walsh said he wanted to return to the case of Jennifer Kesse, the Orlando woman who disappeared four years ago. ”America’s Most Wanted” has looked Kesse’s story three times, Walsh said.

“I’m looking for something new that I can crank that case up again,” Walsh said. “Somebody grabbed her. He may still be in Orlando. It’s disturbing. We will try to revist the case before Christmas.”

What’s Walsh’s reaction to the Casey Anthony case? “It’s such a sore on Florida,” he said. “It’s just a nightmare.”

Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee.

“It’s like a horrible reality show,”  Walsh said. “Florida taxpayers say, ‘Put this woman on trial and move on.’ It’s just tragically sad. They should have had the trial six months ago.”

[Edward]

"You will need to contact the FBI related to anything in the case. The FBI is now the investigative entity as it relates to the case. The case is an active case with the FBI."

This case is lost forever.. mo.

[Edward]

<a href="http://&lt;object type=&quot;application/x-shockwave-flash&quot; id=&quot;video&quot; width=&quot;240&quot; height=&quot;220&quot; data=&quot;http://www.myfoxorlando.com/video/videoplayer.swf?dppversion=4227&quot;&gt;&lt;param value=&quot;http://www.myfoxorlando.com/video/videoplayer.swf?dppversion=4227&quot; name=&quot;movie&quot;/name=&quot;FlashVars&quot;/&gt;&lt;param value=&quot;all&quot; name=&quot;allowNetworking&quot;/&gt;&lt;param value=&quot;always&quot; name=&quot;allowScriptAccess&quot;/&gt;&lt;/object&gt;" target="_blank">http://&lt;object type=&quot;application/x-shockwave-flash&quot; id=&quot;video&quot; width=&quot;240&quot; height=&quot;220&quot; data=&quot;http://www.myfoxorlando.com/video/videoplayer.swf?dppversion=4227&quot;&gt;&lt;param value=&quot;http://www.myfoxorlando.com/video/videoplayer.swf?dppversion=4227&quot; name=&quot;movie&quot;/name=&quot;FlashVars&quot;/&gt;&lt;param value=&quot;all&quot; name=&quot;allowNetworking&quot;/&gt;&lt;param value=&quot;always&quot; name=&quot;allowScriptAccess&quot;/&gt;&lt;/object&gt;</a>

[Edward]

damn

[trimmonthelake]

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-09-27/news/os-facebook-missing-children-20100926_1_facebook-children-active-users
Facebook is filled with pleas for help in finding missing children
September 27, 2010|By Walter Pacheco, Orlando Sentinel
t used to be that if a child went missing, his or her image would be posted on telephone poles, neighborhood gathering places and parking lots.

But now, people are using Facebook — the social-networking website that connects millions through photos and commentary — as a tool in the search for their missing loved ones.

"One of six children is located because someone recognizes them in a photograph," said John Shehan of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) in Virginia. "But with more than 500 million active users on Facebook, that statistic is greatly enhanced when someone creates a page for a missing child."

Tara Yunker disappeared from her New Smyrna Beach home Sept. 3, and Melbourne police found her days later after friends launched a Facebook page for the 16-year-old.

Nadia Bloom, the 11-year-old who disappeared into an alligator-infested area of Winter Springs in April, also was recovered a few days after her family created a Facebook page for the little girl.

Friends of 16-year-old Kristen Brown set up a Facebook page for the missing Groveland girl Sept. 17. It contains pictures of the teen, as well as her description and tips on her whereabouts. Lake County Sheriff's Office deputies said she went missing Sept. 6 and has not been found.

"We look at that information here at the center, but we also know that law-enforcement gleans what they can from those pages for their investigations," Shehan said. "If parents are managing the Facebook site, it also gives them comfort that they are actively involved."
Lt. Bob Kelley of the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said Facebook is "something we use in our missing-children cases, as well as cybercrimes." The Sheriff's Office handled the Yunker case. "It certainly gives missing cases much more exposure."

The NCMEC has taken 3,464 active cases of missing children since Jan. 1, 1990. Social-service agencies in Florida have reported 384 cases to the organization, and 26 of those — about 6 percent — are from Metro Orlando.

Officials at Facebook did not return calls from the Orlando Sentinel for this story, so it is unclear how many pages for missing or exploited children are on the site; however, a search for "missing children" shows thousands of hits.

One of the first Facebook pages created for a missing person was in 2007 for Orlando's Jennifer Kesse. She disappeared from her condo near the Mall at Millenia in January 2006 when she was 24.

The case garnered national media attention, and nearly 3,000 Facebook users identify themselves as friends of the "Help Find Missing Jennifer Kesse" page, which contains several pictures and a description of her.

"It absolutely helps," said Drew Kesse, her father. "If we can get another eye to look at that website, then it means another person now knows her face and can help in the search. It's total awareness that reaches a network of millions of people."

The family of Haleigh Cummings, the missing 5-year-old Satsuma girl, also created a Facebook page for the child in 2009. Haleigh has not been found, and Putnam County Sheriff's Office investigators think the child is dead.

Jessica Russell, who posts comments on the "Help Find Haleigh Cummings" Facebook page, said she has added pictures of the missing girl to her own page and her friends have done the same with the hope of finding the child.

"It think that when you have something that is so good at connecting friends who have not seen each other or family who are separated by thousands of miles, why not use it to find missing children?" Russell said.
Walter Pacheco can be reached at wpacheco@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6262

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.wftv.com/countybycounty/25100025/detail.html
Gun Found In Lake May Be Linked To Murder Case
Posted: 11:57 am EDT September 21, 2010Updated: 5:59 pm EDT September 21, 2010
ORLANDO, Fla. -- There was a bizarre murder mystery at an Orange County lake Tuesday. Investigators recovered a gun from Lake Underhill (see map), but they won't say how it got there, who tipped them off or whose murder they're investigating.

Investigators started to wrap things up late Tuesday afternoon, but they gave no answers to the many questions WFTV asked.

"I'm not surprised. I'm not surprised at all, because they don't patrol the area at night, point blank," Orlando resident James Hoyle said.

Those who watched the search from the shore of Lake Underhill said it's not a surprise that divers found a gun left submerged in lake water, even as it was marked as evidence. Investigators won't talk about what case the weapon might be involved with, but the search continued all day, even after the gun was found.

James Hoyle says there is plenty of activity in the area whenever the sun goes down.
There's no cops patrolling the area to run the activity off that's being performed here at night," he said.

The East-West Expressway runs right over the lake. The road, boat ramp, docks and shoreline are throwing distance from the area divers were searching. A source close to the investigation told WFTV Tuesday the search is part of a homicide investigation.

There are several unsolved murders locally and missing persons cases like Jennifer Kesse and Tracy Ocasio, but no one would say what homicide investigation the search was for. In any case, it's one more reason James Hoyle doesn't frequent Lake Underhill Park.

"We used to bring the kids over here at night. Now we can't," he said. "It's not safe."

WFTV also spoke to joggers who frequent the area who said they're frightened by the latest discovery. Lake Underhill Park, which lies along the south banks of the lake, is a popular spot for walkers and joggers because it has nearly a mile of trail with exercise stations.

The park, which doesn't close until 11:00pm, was renovated in 2000 to add more lighting.

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.wftv.com/news/25469432/detail.html
Missing Woman's Dad Believes She Was Trafficked
Posted: 6:04 pm EDT October 21, 2010
Updated: 6:30 pm EDT October 21, 2010
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- The FBI conducted lie detector tests on the father and brother of missing woman, Jennifer Kesse. It's been nearly five years since she disappeared.

JENNIFER KESSE'S DAD: Full Interview  http://www.wftv.com/video/25469513/index.html
WFTV talked to Jennifer's father, Drew Kesse, about the test and whether the FBI thinks Orange County's biggest missing person's case, extends beyond Florida.

Drew thinks there's a 50/50 chance Jennifer was trafficked and is in another country. As for the lie detector test, he said it's crazy.

FBI agents have been going through more than 1,100 tips in the case of Jennifer Kesse. The agency has played a support role since June when the Orlando Police Department asked it to step in.

Jennifer's dad has a feeling he knows why the FBI came on board.

"Maybe we do have to look at the possibility that she was taken and trafficked," Drew said.

Jennifer disappeared on January 24, 2006, from the Mosaic at Millenia apartment complex in Orlando.

"I say, yes, she's out of this country. I truly believe that," he said. "It's not for her car because her car was dropped with valuables. It wasn't for the valuables in the car. She wasn't there. So it was for her."

Jennifer's family members recently became the focus of the investigation. Wednesday, FBI agents hooked up Jennifer's father and brother to a polygraph machine.

"I think it's kind of crazy actually," Drew said.
"They're going to start from scratch and work their way through the case again," polygraph expert Denny Connors said.

"They don't realize the psychological things that happen," Drew said. "It's like what are you trying to get from us. Are you honestly, where's this going?"

WFTV asked an Orlando police spokeswoman why investigators never conducted polygraph tests on family members in 2006. But she wouldn't comment and neither would the FBI.

Drew Kesse said he knows the FBI doesn't suspect he or his family members played a role in Jennifer's disappearance.

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.jenniferkesse.com/
Jennifer Kesse
Missing from Orlando, FL
Since January 24, 2006

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.wesh.com/r/25480759/detail.html
Kesse Family Upset With Polygraph Requests
Jennifer Kesse Disappeared In 2006; FBI Now Investigating

POSTED: 4:17 pm EDT October 22, 2010
UPDATED: 6:46 pm EDT October 22, 2010
WINTER PARK, Fla. -- The family of a local woman who has been missing for nearly five years says it isn’t happy that the FBI is asking for polygraph tests.

Jennifer Kesse disappeared from her apartment near the Mall of Millenia in January 2006.

The FBI started investigating the case in June 2010 at the request of the Orlando Police Department.

Kesse’s father, Drew Kesse, said he does not feel like he is being placed under a cloud of suspicion in any way, but he does feel that the Orlando Police Department mishandled the investigation.

Kesse said the polygraph tests were a waste of taxpayer money. He feels the tests should have been done within days of his daughter’s disappearance.

“I don't see why it's necessary, but unfortunately it’s necessary because of the things that were not done properly at the beginning of this investigation,” he said.

Kesse said he is glad the FBI is involved, but fears Orlando police did not give investigators much to work with.
She has vanished and at this point it doesn't look like she will pop up from a law enforcement investigator," Kesse said.

He believes his daughter was abducted by people who deal in human trafficking. Kesse claims Orlando police did not take her disappearance as seriously as they should have at first because she was an adult.

Orlando police on Friday referred questions to the FBI. The FBI said it was just assisting and the case is still the Orlando Police Department’s.

video at link