Disappearance of Tiffany Sessions
Tiffany Sessions | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Tiffany Louise Sessions October 29, 1968 Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Disappeared | February 9, 1989 (aged 20) 35th Place, Casablanca East Apartments |
| Status | Missing for 35 years, 10 months and 10 days |
| Known for | Being the subject of the largest search case in the history of Florida |
| Height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) |
| Parents |
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Tiffany Louise Sessions (born October 29, 1968)[1] is a missing woman from Tampa, Florida,[2] who was last seen on February 9, 1989.[3] Her family nickname was "Tiffy".[4][5][6][7][8] She was attending the University of Florida[9] in Gainesville and was majoring in business.[5]
Disappearance
[edit]| External image | |
|---|---|
 Age progression of Sessions to age 44 (2013) |
On the afternoon of Sessions' disappearance, she told her roommate that she was going out alone for a power walk.[5] Between 4:00 and 5:00 in the afternoon, Sessions left her apartment on SW 35th Place.[7] Sessions left her wallet, identification, and keys in her apartment.[1] Sessions was wearing a white pullover sweatshirt with long sleeves and grey horizontal striping with "Aspen" printed on the front of the shirt's collar, red sweatpants, and tennis shoes. She was also wearing a two-tone silver and gold women's Rolex wrist watch and was carrying a black Sony Walkman.[1][10]
After five hours, when Sessions had still not returned, her roommate alerted Sessions' mother that her daughter was missing. The police did not initially handle the disappearance as a crime because a crime scene had not been found. There was no sign that Sessions had left her apartment's parking lot, nor were there any signs of a struggle.[6]
People who were in the area of Sessions' disappearance have stated that someone fitting Sessions' description was seen speaking to individuals sitting inside a vehicle. Eyewitnesses were uncertain whether the woman entered the vehicle, and authorities have never confirmed that the individual in question was Sessions.[4]
Investigation
[edit]Michael Christopher Knickerbocker was considered a suspect in Sessions' disappearance. While Knickerbocker was in prison serving five consecutive life sentences, he reportedly told his fellow inmates that he had murdered Sessions. He also said he had chained Sessions to a tree and discarded her body close to Fort Myers in the Caloosahatchee River,[11][12] but because Knickerbocker was not living in Gainesville at the time of Sessions' disappearance, the feasibility of his involvement has been questioned.
As of 2014[update], police believe that now-deceased and convicted serial-killer Paul Eugene Rowles was responsible for Sessions' disappearance and murder.[13][14] At the time Sessions disappeared, Rowles was working for a construction-related company near the path where Sessions was last seen. Rowles did not show up for work on the day Sessions went missing.[15] Rowles had kept an address book with information on people he had murdered (discovered by investigators in January 2013 following interviews with Rowles; he died a month later). The book listed Linda Fida, known to be one of his victims, as the first woman he killed; it may also contain a cryptic reference to Elizabeth Foster[16] (another known victim whose body was found about one mile from where Sessions disappeared). Notably the book contained a notation "#2 2/9/89 #2",[17][18] believed by investigators to refer to Sessions' date of disappearance, and to identify her as Rowles' second victim.[19][20][21]
Sessions has been excluded from 150 unidentified decedents in the United States.[6]
Finding Tiffany Sessions projects and aftermath
[edit]The Federal Bureau of Investigation have said the search for Sessions is the largest in Florida's history.[22] Public efforts to find Sessions include the Charley Project,[4] and the Tiffany Sessions Facebook Project Page. The Sessions family are offering a $25,000 reward for any information in the case.[23] They have worked closely with the Alachua County Sheriff's Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to find Sessions' remains or convict any suspects involved in this case. In 2013 detective Kevin Allen said he had made finding Sessions his number one case.[24] Sessions' mother Hillary has written a book about her missing daughter called Where's My Tiffany?, describing her joy in raising Tiffany and her heartbreak in losing her.[25]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "About - Tiffany Sessions". Tiffany Sessions. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
- ^ YouTube video, ABC Action News (February 5, 2014), New information in the disappearance of Tiffany Sessions, retrieved October 9, 2016
- ^ "The Doe Network: Case File 101DFFL". www.doenetwork.org. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
- ^ a b c Good, Meaghan Elizabeth. "The Charley Project: Tiffany Louise Sessions". www.charleyproject.org. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
- ^ a b c Belinda Kramer (March 3, 2011). "Tiffany Sessions' mother writes book about the missing UF student, her own transformation". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on July 12, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
- ^ a b c "NamUs - National Missing Persons Data System - Tiffany Sessions - MP # 2413". www.findthemissing.org. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
- ^ a b "GINA For Missing Persons - Tiffany Louise Sessions". www.411gina.org. Archived from the original on November 7, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
- ^ "22 years later, Tiffany Sessions case cold, not closed, ABC Action News, YouTube video, Posted Feb 9, 2011". YouTube.
- ^ "Tiffany Louise Sessions". www.nampn.org. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
- ^ Lise Fisher (February 5, 2009). "15 years later, Sessions' mom seeks answers". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
- ^ "Tiffany Sessions -- Missing 2/9/89". Archived from the original on September 20, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
- ^ Good, Meaghan Elizabeth. "The Charley Project: Tiffany Louise Sessions". www.charleyproject.org. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
- ^ Chabeli Herrera; Glenn Garvin (February 6, 2014). "Alachua sheriff: We found Tiffany Sessions' killer". Miami Herald. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
- ^ "Tiffany Sessions case: Suspect's name, Key evidence revealed, YouTube video Posted Feb 6, 2014". YouTube.
- ^ The Alachua County Sheriff's Office has identified a deceased serial killer, Paul Rowles, as the pri, retrieved 2021-08-06
- ^ Festo, Alan. "35 years later, mother of Tiffany Sessions hopeful that daughter's remains will be found". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ Tiffany Sessions investigation, retrieved 2022-02-11
- ^ "Police announce break in Tiffany Sessions murder case". WPLG. 2014-02-06. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
- ^ Scouten, Ted (2014-02-05). "New Development In Tiffany Sessions Disappearance". Retrieved February 26, 2017.
- ^ Eliott C. McLaughlin; Jason Hanna. "Police: Now-dead convict likely linked to woman's '89 disappearance". CNN. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
- ^ "Dead convict linked to 1989 disappearance of UF student". WPBF. 2014-02-06. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
- ^ Martin B.News (June 2, 2014), "48 Hours" investigates updates in case of Fla. student missing 25 years, YouTube video, posted June 2, 2014., retrieved April 9, 2017
- ^ "Press Releases Archives - Tiffany Sessions". Tiffany Sessions. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
- ^ "Tiffany Sessions' Cold Case Reopened, YouTube video, Posted March 21, 2013". YouTube.
- ^ "Suspect uncovered in 1989 Tiffany Sessions case". TBO.com. 2014-02-05. Archived from the original on 2018-03-22. Retrieved 2018-03-21.