By  Chuck Hustmyre

(Continued)

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"They had very credible information," Drew Kesse said.  "They thought Jennifer was there but she was not."

Despite the heartbreaking setback, Kesse said he and his family believe that the officers assigned to the case are doing a remarkable job.  "We have full trust in the detectives that are running this," he said.  Many of them have worked without a day off since his daughter was reported missing.  "These guys just don't stop," Kesse added.

One possible scenario that investigators do not appear to be seriously considering is that Jennifer Kesse disappeared voluntarily.  Last spring, Jennifer Wilbanks of Georgia, dubbed the "runaway bride,"

set off a nationwide search when she vanished less than a week before her wedding.  After police located her in New Mexico, Wilbanks spun a wild tale about having been kidnapped but later admitted she'd made the whole thing up and had just needed some time alone.

"I would be shocked," Sgt. Rich Ring said, if that turns out to be the situation in this case.  "I'm talking about stepping all over my tongue shocked."

Despite the length of time that it's been since Jennifer Kesse disappeared, family, friends, and investigators remain hopeful that she will be found alive. 

"It's a very critical point from what I'm being told," Drew Kesse said Tuesday, "and they (the police) hope to have results for us very soon."

Sgt. Ring believes in miracles.  "We're going to get to the bottom of it," he said Tuesday.  "We're still hoping that it can be a fairy tale ending."

Twenty-four-year-old Jennifer Kesse vanished Jan. 24, apparently after leaving her home in the Mosaic condominium complex in Orlando and heading to her office.  When she didn't show up at the investment firm where she works, her co-workers became concerned and notified police. 

Two days later, Kesse's 2004 black Chevrolet Malibu was found parked at another condominium complex less than a mile from her home.

Over the course of the last three weeks, more than 1,700 hundred volunteers joined police in several exhaustive searches of the area surrounding Kesse's home.   Using bloodhounds, helicopters, horses, and four-wheelers, law enforcement officers and volunteers swept everything within a 10-mile radius.   

According to a family friend, 60,000 flyers bearing a photograph and information about Kesse have been handed out since she disappeared.

Jennifer Kesse's family has set up a Web site with information about the case at www.jenniferkesse.com.

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Contact  Chuck Hustmyre at chuck3174@yahoo.com