ORLANDO, Fla. — Nearly 20 years after Jennifer Kesse vanished from her Orlando condo, Florida investigators are reexamining evidence with updated DNA testing and artificial intelligence, her family says. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is also working to sharpen a side view of the “person of interest” seen on surveillance video — down to an ear the family believes could unlock an identification, Dec. 21, 2025.
The case remains unsolved, and investigators have not publicly identified a suspect. Still, Jennifer Kesse’s parents say the combination of new testing and new technology has brought rare momentum to an investigation that has stretched across nearly two decades.
Jennifer Kesse investigation turns to ear biometrics and retested DNA
In a Sky News report published Sunday, Drew and Joyce Kesse described a new attempt to pull sharper details from the footage that once stumped investigators — even after NASA helped enhance the video years ago. Drew Kesse said the goal is to clarify the ear on the side of the unknown figure’s head, saying, “An ear is just as good as eyes or fingerprints or DNA.”
That AI work is running in parallel with renewed forensic testing. In an interview with WWSB in October, Drew Kesse said all DNA evidence has been sent back for re-examination using newer technology and that testing has expanded from 19 markers to 26 markers since the original investigation. He said investigators were also working with a “very reputable” AI company to review the case file and the grainy surveillance video connected to Jennifer Kesse’s disappearance.
A separate ClickOrlando report said the family was told DNA was found within evidence that had not been tested and that the list of “people of interest” has been reduced to a few individuals. Drew Kesse also urged the public to ignore viral claims about the case that are not confirmed by the family or investigators.
Jennifer Kesse case timeline: from local search to state-led review
Jennifer Kesse, 24, was reported missing after she failed to show up for work Jan. 24, 2006. Her black 2004 Chevrolet Malibu was later found about a mile from her home, and surveillance footage showed a person of interest walking away after parking it at a nearby apartment complex, according to the FBI missing-person posting.
As years passed without an arrest, Jennifer Kesse’s parents pushed for broader access to evidence and a deeper review of early investigative steps. In 2019, they reached an agreement to obtain unredacted police files from the city of Orlando, allowing their private team to comb through records and focus on gaps they believed still mattered. That same year, ABC News reported that a new tip had sparked a targeted search as the family continued to press for answers in the Jennifer Kesse case.
In December 2022, the family said FDLE had taken the Jennifer Kesse case for a cold-case review and planned to restart key interviews and revisit evidence that might benefit from newer testing, WFTV reported in 2022. By May 2025, FDLE said it did not consider the Jennifer Kesse case cold and was pursuing new leads and persons of interest, according to WFTV.
For now, the outcome of the new DNA work and the AI-enhanced imagery remains unknown. But Jennifer Kesse’s family says the latest steps represent the strongest sign in years that the investigation is moving — and that someone who recognizes the person in the video, or knows what happened, may finally feel compelled to come forward.
