ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando police detectives conducted a search near the Mall at Millenia after receiving a tip related to the case of Jennifer Kesse, who was last seen in January 2006, but turned up nothing.
The search took place Monday near the area of John Young Parkway and Millenia Boulevard, Orlando police Sgt. Barb Jones said.
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Kesse's father, Drew Kesse, contacted a private search group over the weekend and asked them to inspect the lot again. The Kesse family has always believed the area might hold clues to their daughter's disappearance.
Drew Kesse said the land has always bothered him because it once contained a large pond, but sometime after his daughter's disappearance part of the pond was filled in.
"I hoped she hadn't been lying there for three years and five months right there under our nose. We have to find her someday. We have to," Drew Kesse said.
The independent search group identified the search area using penetrating radar. Private K-9 dogs searched the area and appeared to find something, Drew Kesse said.
"They went out there and it seems as though equipment and dogs made hits on the area but OPD was called in that point and they did some dig and nothing was found," Drew Kesse said.
Orlando police and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement became involved Monday afternoon. Police used a backhoe to dig a hole, but nothing was found.
"Obviously with us not finding anything to move the case forward, that's certainly a positive for the Kesses and for us as it relates to her disappearance," said Sgt. Barb Jones of the Orlando Police Department.
It's not known if detectives were searching for a body.
Kesse vanished on Jan. 24, 2006, from the Mosaic at the Millenia condo complex, which is located near the Mall at Millenia. She was 24 years old at the time of her disappearance.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.