Stay tuned for Tiffany Sessions story on CBS News 48 Hours.

By Lise Fisher, The Gainesville Sun

NEW YORK (CNN) — Tiffany Sessions was a 20-year-old junior studying economics at the University of Florida in Gainesville when she decided to go out for a run. She never came back.

College student Tiffany Sessions has been missing since February 9, 1989.

Sessions left her off-campus apartment about 6 p.m. February 9, 1989. She told her roommate she’d be back shortly and took her Walkman with her.

It was the last time anyone would see her.

That was 20 years ago, a time when no one had cell phones, Blackberries or Web sites to aid in tracking a missing or abducted person.

The only clues came from people who recalled seeing a young woman fitting Sessions’ description walking down the main street just before dusk.

Sessions’ jogging route usually took her down Gainesville’s main street to a small dirt trail that cut through the woods. The loop was 1½ miles each way and took her about an hour.

Police and family believe that she was abducted near the woods. After extensive searches, no clues were found: not her remains, not her Walkman, not the clothes she was wearing.

“Much of the area in the last decade has been paved over, with new construction, making a search today very difficult,” said Detective Bob Dean of the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. However, investigators are still searching and working this case actively.

“We have used ground sonar equipment, even,” Dean said.

Over the years, there have been some possible suspects — people who came forward and confessed — but police have ruled them out as credible suspects.

One potential suspect was a man who was in jail for killing a 5-year-old girl. He’d written a letter to police, claiming he was responsible for Tiffany Sessions’ disappearance.

But when questioned later by police, he denied writing the letter, even though handwriting analysis indicated that he had.

“Although police don’t think so, I still believe this guy could have something to do with my daughter’s disappearance,” said Patrick Sessions, Tiffany’s father.

According to Patrick Sessions, who has been closely involved with the police investigating his daughter’s case, the man who confessed was a sex offender who had been released just a month and a half before Tiffany Sessions disappeared.

The cold case unit of the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office has taken over this case. Patrick Sessions observed the 20th anniversary of his daughter’s disappearance by making renewed appeals through the media.

Police and family urge anyone with more information about Tiffany Sessions or information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for her disappearance to call the tip line at 352-367-4161.

A $25,000 reward is offered.

Tiffany Sessions was last seen wearing red sweatpants, a white sweatshirt with the word “Aspen” on it, a gold Rolex watch and a black Sony Walkman. She was 5′3″ and weighed 125 pounds at the time of her disappearance. She has blonde hair and brown eyes.

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See the full Tiffany Sessions story from News 4 Jacksonville.

Tiffany Sessions Disappeared Feb. 9, 1989

She Was A Junior At The University Of Florida

Cold Case Investigators Continue To Work The Case

During the winter of 1989, at the University of Florida in Gainesville, a young woman left her apartment to go for an early evening jog but she never returned. Her name was Tiffany Sessions and she disappeared without a trace twenty years ago today. To mark the 20-year anniversary of the case, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office is holding a news conference.

Sessions’ father, a Miami real estate developer-turned missing children advocate, Patrick Sessions told CBS4 News partner The Miami Herald that police are expected to reveal new tips in the case; one from a man in jail, who Sessions said had information that would be hard to come by without “some exposure to the case,” stated the Herald.

Tiffany, who would now be 40, disappeared on February 9, 1989. When she left for her jog, she was carrying a black Sony Walkman, but had left her keys, wallet, and identification at home. For days, crews searched the area looking for clues but came up empty. There was no sign of a struggle, no Walkman, no evidence, not anything. More than 2-thousand leads have been investigated over the years but still nothing but conflicting stories and unsubstantiated theories.

Patrick Sessions has never given up the search for his daughter, who was 19 years old the last time he saw her. In his never-ending search for Tiffany, Patrick has launched the “Official Tiffany Sessions” Web site on the 20th anniversary of her disappearance.

Visitors to the web site can leave tips for investigators, learn more about Tiffany’s disappearance and the site also acts as a resource for other parents and friends coping with the disappearance of a loved one by providing phone numbers and links to missing persons organizations.

There’s also a reminder about the $25,000 reward being offered by the Sessions family for information leading to the remains of Tiffany and the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for her abduction.

To read the full story click here.

The 20th anniversary of UF student Tiffany Sessions’ disappearance will be noted Monday with a news conference announcing new leads.

On Monday, 20 years since University of Florida student Tiffany Sessions disappeared, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office will announce new leads.

Sessions’ father, Patrick Sessions, who lives in Miami, said he had not been fully briefed on the leads, which will be discussed at a 10 a.m. news conference, but that they were more solid than others pursued since 1989. Still, he told The Miami Herald he does not expect to find out exactly what happened to her.

One of the new tips is from a man in jail, who Sessions said had information that would be hard to come by without “some exposure to the case.”

Sessions said he does not expect to find Tiffany alive. He just wants closure.

Tiffany, who would now be 40, left her Gainesville apartment for an evening jog and never returned. During the first week she was missing, her father was joined by a 1,000-person search party.

‘You never know when somebody who has moved to Washington state, has totally forgotten about Tiffany, reads about it again and says, `You know, I should’ve called the cops because there was this guy that was really weird and I should’ve told them,’ ” Sessions said.

The fact that the investigation has continued, he said, is “encouraging because at some point a case gets stale and people have done all they can do.”

To remind people of Tiffany, Sessions also launched a website, www.tiffanysessions.com, to make it easier for anyone with information to come forward.

He said he hoped the reminder about the $25,000 reward for information leading to the remains or abductors would bring forth something useful soon.

”It’s a terrible anniversary to go by,” said Sessions, 62. “Twenty years and we don’t know what happened to her. . . . I’d like some closure to find out what happened to Tiffany, and I don’t have any reason to believe whoever did it still isn’t out there.”

To see the full article in the Miami Herald click here.

Patrick Sessions Launches Official Tiffany Sessions Blog and Outreach

Maimi and Gainesville, FL – February 5, 2009 – When missing person Tiffany Sessions disappeared from Gainesville without a trace on February 9, 1989, there was no Amber Alert, no Web sites displaying pictures of missing kids – and no social media to spread the word across the country with a few keystrokes.

Tiffany Sessions is still missing, her case is still open, and real estate developer-turned missing children advocate, Patrick Sessions, is leveraging social media tools to help police find missing children and especially the daughter he last saw when she was 19-years-old.  Refusing to give up on his daughter, Sessions is launching the “Official Tiffany Sessions” Web site blog on February 9, 2009, the 20th anniversary of his daughter’s disappearance.

A $25,000 reward is being offered by the Sessions family for information leading to the remains of Tiffany Sessions and the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for her abduction.

The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office will be conducting a press conference on Monday, February 9, 2009 at 10:00 AM in the Patrol Squad Room of the Sheriff’s Office, located at 2621 SE Hawthorne Road to mark the 20-year anniversary of the case.

“There was no Facebook when Tiffany was in college. No cell phones to trace her whereabouts. No MySpace pages to investigate,” Sessions says. “I am launching this Web site blog in hopes that someone out there knows where Tiffany is or can offer new leads that will help us find her.  We believe social media can play a vital role in finding missing children everywhere, including Tiffany.”

Tiffany was last seen leaving her apartment at Casablanca East Condominiums in Gainesville at 6 PM on February 9, 1989.  She told her roommate she was going to take a walk along Williston Road.  She was carrying a black Sony Walkman, but had left her keys, wallet, and identification at home.  Over the years there have been many conflicting stories, theories, and testimonials about what happened after Tiffany left her apartment – but no concrete evidence was ever discovered.  At the time of her disappearance, Tiffany had blonde hair, brown eyes and stood 5’3 tall, weighing 125 pounds. Tiffany was last seen wearing red sweatpants and a white, long-sleeved sweatshirt with the word “ASPEN” stitched across the front in green letters.

The Alachua County Sheriff Office’s Cold Case Unit has done an intense amount of work in the last two years on the Tiffany Sessions Case #: 01569-89.

“This is still a viable case with several new leads being developed and explored by members of the Unit. This 20-year anniversary of Tiffany’s disappearance is a time to remember and recommit ourselves to resolving as many unsolved missing persons and murder cases as possible,” said Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell, who was originally part of the case in 1989 as the Gainesville Police Department’s public spokesperson. “It is my hope that our efforts in this case, in addition to solving a crime, will bring a measure of comfort to the Sessions family. We hope our dedication to this case will honor the tragedy they continue to endure and some day give them answers to the haunting questions about their loved one’s place or demise.  Tiffany remains forever young and forever a constant reminder to our community of the love and support of a family during her life and in her absence. We remain steadfast partners with her family in solving this case.”

To learn more about the missing persons case of Tiffany Sessions, including the details surrounding her unexplained disappearance and links to contact legal authorities with pertinent information, visit the “submit tips” page of this site.  In addition to serving as a vital resource for Tiffany’s case, the Web site will also act as a resource for other parents and friends coping with the disappearance of a loved one by providing phone numbers and links to missing persons organizations.

“I’m hoping that you all will think about this and if you were in the Gainesville area or have any information about what happened to Tiffany, or if any of your friend’s do, to please go to the links on the site and let the appropriate people know,” Sessions said.  “I really need your help and I really appreciate if you could pass this on.  We can use social media to help solve this case and bring hope to many parents with missing children.”

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Anniversary of Missing Persons Investigation:

The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit, partnered with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, has been re-releasing information on the anniversary dates of unsolved homicides or suspected foul play/missing persons.

On 02/09/89, 20 year-old, W/F Tiffany Sessions (DOB 10/29/68) disappeared from the University of Florida. At approximately 6 p.m., Sessions told her roommate she was going for a walk and never returned. An extensive search provided no clues as to what happened to Sessions.

This year marks the 20 year anniversary of this case and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office will be conducting a press conference on Monday, February 9th at 10:00 a.m. in the Patrol Squad Room of the Sheriff’s Office, located at 2621 SE Hawthorne Road. Tiffany’s disappearance is a time to remember and recommit ourselves to resolving as many unsolved missing persons and murder cases as possible. A tree will be planted on the grounds at the Sheriff’s Office as a living memorial to Tiffany and all other unsolved missing persons cases in Alachua County. Sheriff Darnell will be recapping the case and family members from Tiffany’s family will be in attendance.

Deputies are asking anyone with information about this incident or any other missing persons orhomicide case to call Detective Bob Dean at the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office at (352) 367-4161. Callers can also remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest by calling Crime Stoppers at 372-STOP (7867). For those that prefer the internet, anonymous tips may be left on the web site at http://www.alachuasheriff.org.

ALACHUA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
SADIE DARNELL, SHERIFF
P.O.BOX 1210 GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA 32602
OFFICE (352) 367-4050 • FAX (352) 374-1816

An intense amount of work has been done in the last two years on the Tiffany Session’s case by the Alachua County Sheriff Office’s Cold Case Unit.

“It is still a viable case with several new leads being developed and explored by members of the Unit. This twenty year anniversary of Tiffany’s disappearance is a time to remember and recommit ourselves to resolving as many unsolved missing persons and murder cases as possible.

It is my hope that our efforts in this case, in addition to solving a crime, will bring a measure of comfort to the Session’s family. We hope our dedication to this case will honor the tragedy they continue to endure and some day give them answers to the haunting questions about their loved one’s  place or demise. Tiffany remains forever young and forever a constant reminder to our community of the love and support of a family during her life and in her absence.

We remain steadfast partners with her family in solving this case.”

Sheriff Sadie Darnell