On February 9, 1989, twenty-year-old Tiffany Louise Sessions, a University of Florida student, vanished after telling her roommate she was going for a jog. Thirty-six years later, her disappearance remains one of Florida’s most persistent cold cases.
The Disappearance
Tiffany disappeared sometime between 4 and 5 p.m. from her Gainesville apartment. Because she left behind her identification, car, and other personal possessions, investigators quickly concluded she did not leave voluntarily. When she failed to return after several hours, her worried roommate called Tiffany’s mother, launching an extensive search.
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Though a potential unconfirmed witness sighting reported a woman resembling Tiffany entering a vehicle, investigators found no definitive evidence to suggest where she may have been abducted, or how far she got on her run.
The belief is that she was murdered, as there has been no sign of activity since she vanished, and her intentions appeared to be to return home. Tiffany has been excluded as the identity of at least 150 unidentified bodies across the country.
The Suspects and The Break
The case has long been considered a potential involvement from serial offenders. Serial rapist and killer Michael Christopher Knickerbocker, while incarcerated, once bragged he had discarded Sessions’ body in the Caloosahatchee River near Fort Myers.
However, this claim has been undermined by circumstantial information about his whereabouts at the time.
Police believe a different man is the likely killer: Paul Eugene Rowles. Rowles, who had a history of sexual offenses, died in 2013 while incarcerated for an unrelated crime. His potential link to the Sessions case was released in 2014.
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Evidence supporting this theory includes:
- Rowles was employed close to Tiffany’s residence and reportedly failed to show up for work on the day she disappeared.
- An address book he used to catalog his victims had an entry for the date of her disappearance.
- A murder victim linked to Rowles through DNA was discovered in the same vicinity where Tiffany was likely abducted.
Despite the strong belief that Rowles is her killer, Tiffany Sessions’ body has never been found or identified.
Have Information?
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Tiffany Sessions or any other cold case, please contact Detective Kevin Allen at (352) 384-3323.
You can also remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward by contacting Alachua County Crime Stoppers Inc., at 352-372-STOP (7867), or by downloading the Crime Stoppers P3 Tips app.
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