Share

The Unsolved Podcast
The Disappearance of Jennifer Kesse
On the 23rd January 2006, Jennifer Kesse returned to work following a vacation in the British Virgin Isle with her boyfriend, Rob. Her colleagues said she appeared her usual self, glowing from her recent trip.
On the 24th January - Jennifer didn't show up for work, made no call in to say she was sick or needing PTO. Due to how uncharacteristic this was for Jen, her boss called her Dad, who tried to call Jen - her phone went straight to voicemail. Her family jumped into their car to make the two hours trip from Tampa, FL to Orlando, FL - when they arrived, they found her new condo looking clean, tidy and like she had gotten up to get ready for work, with a wet towel in the bathroom and a selection of clothes on her bed, her car was also gone.
Knowing this wasn't like their daughter to just vanish, the Kesse's called Orlando Police Department and the search for missing Jennifer began.
Two days later, her car was found a mile away in an apartment complex parking lot and luckily, it was covered by CCTV - the police now had possession of the car being parked up AND the person walking away from the car...so why is it still unsolved? Well, despite having the surveillance, something happened which now Joyce Kesse states them to being "the luckiest criminal out there!"
Was it one of the construction workers Jen had told friends were odd, when they stopped and stared at her? Was it the ex boyfriend who miraculously had been drinking in a bar across the road from Jen's condo the night before her disappearance? Or is it someone we haven't considered yet?
We may soon find out, as in a development released this year, the Kesse's advised that AI is now being used in hopes of identifying the person caught on camera.
If you have a story in mind that you would like featured, please email sslpod.kd@gmail.com, you can also find me on instagram and TikTok
If you would like to sponsor the podcast, you can do so via buymeacoffee
More episodes
View all episodes

The Mysterious Death of Rey Rivera
43:28|This weeks episode discusses the opinion of suicide - extra care must be taken when listening. Rey Rivera's case is one that has played on my mind for years, despite forgetting where I had first watched the case and Rey's name, I was reminded recently and decided to cover the case. Rey was in his early 30's, he had just married the love of his life, Allison and the couple were currently residing in Baltimore, Maryland. Rey was a writer and his goal in life was to write screen plays however, in May 2006, he was writing newsletters and making videos for his oldest friend, Porter Stansberry for his company Stansberry and Associates. However, Rey and Allison had recently made plans to move back to California, Rey had been writing a screenplay and had spoken to some big names in LA regarding it, they had also discussed plans to start a family. On 16th May 2006, Allison was on a work trip and she tried to call Rey in the evening for the pair to catch up, but his phone went straight through to voicemail. When Allison spoke to their houseguest, she told Allison that Rey had taken a call and left abruptly. When Rey hadn't returned by the next morning, Allison knew something was wrong, and so began a week long search with efforts from Allison, Rey's family and the police to find him. A week later, his body was found in a hotel conference room, at first it seemed like a clear suicide but the more the case was looked into, the more questions arose. Rey's body had extensive injuries including two breaks in his leg that the medical examiner deemed as not consistent with a fall from height.So, what happened to Rey? Listen in to hear the twists and turns of his case.
The Unsolved Murder of Karen Hales
30:01|It was November 1993 in Ipswich, England, snow had fallen on the ground and young couple Karen and Peter had started to prepare for their wedding following the birth of their daughter Emily. On Sunday 21st November, Peter had picked up a shift at work and offered to drop Karen to her parents, where she would usually go to spend time with them, however, on this Sunday Karen declined the lift and instead choosing to stay at home and do some housework. Peter left for work at 3:50pm, his future in laws stopped by to see him at work around 4:15pm and said they would pop in to see Karen, when they arrived to Karen and Peter's home on Lavenham Road, they were met with a shocking scene - Karen was dead, with multiple stab wounds and her body had been set alight - just feet away, sat 18 month old Emily. Multiple witnesses recall seeing a man in the area, all describing him to be between 20-30 and wearing a Parker jacket, but to this day, no one has been charged with her murder. But the biggest question has always been - why? Karen didn't appear to have enemies. 1994 Crimewatch Crimewatch Live 2024 Suffolk Police Page including details on submitting tips
Where is Mekayla Bali?
32:40|On the 12th April 2016, 16 year old Mekayla got up and got ready for school like any other day. Her grandmother dropped her to Sacred Heart High School in Yorkton, Canada and watched her teenage granddaughter enter but when Margaret returned to picked Mekayla up - she wasn't there - and when she ventured into the school to see what had held her up, teachers tell her - Mekyala didn't attend any lessons that day. Once reported as missing, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police start to piece together her whereabouts with 100 of hours worth of CCTV and manage to gain a good idea of where Mekayla had been and what she had been up too - including her last known whereabouts being at a bus depot....but....Mekayla never boarded a bus.With the 10 year anniversary just passing, theories around Mekayla's case still remain - did she run away? was she trafficked? or did she met an individual online?Whilst some of her known behaviour on the day of her disappearance can point a direction in each theory - none of them are proven to be correct and 10 years later the question still remains - What happened to Mekayla Bali?
The Disappearance of Steven Clark
27:56|It was the 28th December 1992 when 23 year old Steven Clark had a decision to make, go and watch the football with his father, Charles, or go for a walk with his mother, Doris. Charles had been trying to help Steven understand money management and had told him if he wanted to go to the football, he'd have to pay for his own ticket - with that being said, Steven chose not to go to the Middlesborough vs Carlisle and instead went for a walk with Doris along Saltburn-By-The-Sea. The walk took them around 40 minutes and as they approached the pier, Steven said he needed the toilet with Doris deciding to go too - Doris went into the ladies, and Steven went into the gents - this would be the last time Doris saw her son. Doris waited outside the toilets for a while, before assuming that Steven had carried on the walk alone - when she got home, he wasn't there. Steven had been involved in an accident as a young child which left him with physical disabilities including a slower gait walk and distinctive limp. Due to this, there were some sightings of him on and around the day he disappeared. In September 1999, the police received an anonymous letter - claiming that Steven was dead and who the killers were. In 2020 - due to this letter, two people were arrested in connection to his murder. However - his case still remains unsolved today. Cleveland Police Q&AUnfortunately, the video of this case mentioned in this episode is no longer available to view. In the event it is republished, it will be added here.
The Story of Vishal Mehrotra
37:55|WARNING - This Episode discusses the case of a murdered child with potential links to paedophile's - extra care must be taken when listening. The 29th July 1981 was a day that most people will remember as a day of celebration for Britain, they were gaining a new princess with the first Royal Wedding being televised to multiple countries. But whilst Britain celebrated along the streets of London, around their TV's or by having a right royal knees up - for one family, a nightmare was just beginning. Vishal Mehrotra has been to watch the Royal Procession from his fathers, Vishambar's, Fleet Street office window, when they returned to Putney and he asked to walk home alone due to feeling tired, the nanny agreed due to Vishal's fierce independent streak that saw him walk too and from school. Later that day, when returning home, the Nanny realised Vishal had disappeared and so began a 45 year nightmare for the Mehrotra family. 7 months later, Vishal's skeletal remains would be found in West Sussex and a murder investigation commenced - over the years, links have been established with multiple paedophile rings and yet, despite these links being exceptionally credible, Sussex police have failed to act on them! Following a 10 part podcast series called Vishal by the BBC in 2023, Sussex police have finally agreed to reinvestigate and yet, there are still no answers! NSPCCNAPAC - for those who may require support from childhood abuse.
Levi Davis: More Than Just Missing?
47:26|*This episode contains discussion of feeling suicidal, drugs and rape - due to quotes, there is also the presence of swearing by the host*Levi Davis was starting to become a household name throughout the UK, he played professional Rugby, he had starred on the Celebrity X factor and he was leading the way within sports as being the first openly bisexual rugby player in the mens game. But in October 2022, Levi's name was splashed across headlines, this time, for very different reasons - he had gone missing in Barcelona. However, four days before his disappearance, he posted a 15 minute long Instagram video talking about how he was being blackmailed, drugged and put into compromising sexual positions - Levi spoke of police corruption and his money going to them - when you then add this to the timeline of events that happened prior to his disappearance, it makes you ask the question? Was Levi trying to warn us? Over the years, investigations have taken place - but not so much by the Spanish police, who simply say there is no evidence of a crime. They didn't even post an appeal years later as there were no new lines of enquiry! There's something about Levi's case that doesn't "feel" right - what do you think? Levi's Full Video
The Unsolved Murder of Vera Anderson
32:59|It was August 1991 when 42 year old Vera Anderson answered a late night call from an unknown person, she then dropped her 7 year old son off to her neighbour and friend sitting she would be just 10 minutes - but 10 minutes soon turned into hours and Vera didn't return. At 3am the next morning, Vera's body was found in her Blue Ford Cortina - a bloody glove and a curtain sash were left at the scene, a brown hatchback car was seen leaving the scene and driving erratically, another witness claims to have seen Vera in The Crown and Cushion pub with a male companion, but family and friends dispute this sighting.After 34 years, police are still actively looking into Vera's murder, having promised the family to never give up - over the years, arrests have been made, and yet no charges brought before anyone. In 2014, a strange appeal by the police came about in the form of CCTV. To this day, it is still not known who killed Vera - despite an apparent cell confession!
The Disappearance of Sage Smith
32:44|Sage Smith was just 19 when she vanished in November 2012, she had just started learning to become comfortable with herself having come out as Transgender. She was living with two friends, hosting parties and hoping to get into cosmetology.On November 20th 2012, Sage left her apartment to go on a date in the early evening, but never arrived home. She had been spotted by her step sister at 6:30pm on the night of the date and was on the phone to someone, stating she would be with them in 5 minutes. When her disappearance was reported, police gained a subpoena to access her phone - but her father, Dean, couldn't wait the couple of days until this approval and managed to guess Sage's password correctly. The last person she had spoken too had come from an out of state number, so Dean used the power of social media to find out - and it worked! He learnt that Sage had been talking to Erik McFadden - but like Sage, he had disappeared from the area too - only making contact with his girlfriend via email. Thirteen years after Sage's disappearance, police finally caught up to Erik - but to this date, what has been discussed has not been disclosed - is he still the number 1 suspect in Sage's disappearance? Or do the other two theories make more sense?Tune in to find out more!