When it comes to great philosophers, I’ve always said my favorite is Winnie the PoohPooh once said, ““How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

When today’s guest Bill Gilmour last saw his niece, Jennifer Kessee, he didn’t know that he would have to find a way to be able to say the same thing. 

Welcome to another episode of The Unlovely Truth. I’m your host, private investigator Lori Morrison. Join me for another captivating true crime story, where physical, spiritual, and emotional safety takeaways are waiting for us. If you are listening, I believe you have a unique calling—to become a different kind of PI, not a typical private investigator, but a person of impact!

This is Season 5, Episode 2. Our book this week is “Aftermath of Jennifer Kesse's Abduction: An Uncle's Quest for Understanding & Inspiring Life Lessons" and our guest is the book’s author, Bill Gilmour, Jennifer’s uncle. 

On Tuesday, January 24, 2006 Bill Gilmour got a call from his sister telling him that his niece Jennifer Kesse was missing. Two days later the lives of every member of his family were changed forever when it became apparent that Jennifer hadn’t just disappeared on her own. She’d been kidnapped.  Bill wrote this book, incredibly, to share not just Jennifer’s story, but how he was able to eventually regain joy.

Despite their efforts, their beloved Jennifer remains missing. Bill Gilmour has endured his own agony over the past nearly 18 years. By writing his book, he hopes to share the brokenness he used as a catalyst to change the course of his outlook on life. Now he’s here to share his heartbreaking story and invite you to emerge from suffering into joy through family, community, and God.

Romans 15:13 NIV

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Hope is always forward focused. That’s one reason I think it is so important to highlight unsolved cases like Jennifer’s. We can’t change what’s happened, but we can hold onto the hope that someday soon there will be answers for her family. In the meantime, Bill learned how to still have joy and peace in the time of hopeful waiting. Is someone that you know in a period of hopeful waiting, whether it’s for answers, or healing, or the return of a prodigal. Share Bill’s story with them so they can be encouraged. 

And of course, as always, share this episode with your Florida friends, and ask them to share it as well. Someone out there knows what happened to Jennifer, and it’s time for her family to know as well. 

Let me know what you think about this episode! Send me an email a lori@theunlovelytruth.com or message me on social media. I love it when people are willing to have those hard, but impactful conversations!

Visit my website to access more episodes, read my blog posts, or check out ways you can financially support the podcast so that together we can impact more people, more families, and more communities. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting and investigative services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 

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