College student Tiffany Sessions has been missing since February 9, 1989. Feb 6,2014 ~ Suspected serial killer named in case of missing UF student. Paul Rowles, a convicted murderer and sex offender, is the lead suspect in Sessions' disappearance.

College student went for a run, never came back
 
Tiffany Sessions went out for a run February 9, 1989, and disappeared
She was jogging in Gainesville, Florida, where she attended college
Police never found a trace of her; woods have been paved over

By Rupa Mikkilineni
Nancy Grace Producer
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.

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.

Searchers were out as recently as late December, seeking clues with newer technologies.

"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.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/24/grace.coldcase.sessions/index.html?iref=newssearch

By Amy Pavuk, Orlando Sentinel
7:44 p.m. EST, February 6, 2014

GAINESVILLE — As a child, Paul Rowles fantasized about raping women.

As an adult, he murdered them.

Linda Fida. Elizabeth Foster. And maybe Tiffany Sessions.

Fida was found in her bathtub. Foster's body was found in a shallow grave in the woods. Sessions has never been located.

Nearly 25 years after the University of Florida student vanished during a walk near her Gainesville apartment, Sessions' family and detectives have once again asked the public for help in solving her case.

But unlike the previous pleas, investigators on Thursday named their prime suspect: Paul Rowles, a suspected serial killer who died in prison last year.

"I know [the case] can be closed," said Hilary Sessions, Tiffany's mother. "It's been a 25-year struggle, and it would be nice to be able to put her to rest."

Rowles may have thought he took his secrets to the grave, but a journal he left behind yields an important clue in Tiffany Sessions' case, investigators said.

Rowles wrote some of his victims' names in the book. Sessions isn't mentioned, but the date of her death is.

On the bottom of a 2002 calendar, Rowles wrote: "#2 2/9/89 #2."

Detectives and Sessions' family think Rowles' noted Tiffany was his second victim, and her disappearance was on Feb. 9, 1989.

"It may not be a smoking gun, but it's close," said Pat Sessions, Tiffany's father.

Tiffany Sessions was a 20-year-old finance major when she disappeared during her routine walk.

Sessions' picture was plastered on countless fliers and billboards across the state. The case garnered national attention as quarterback Dan Marino — a friend of Pat Sessions' — made public pleas for help in finding the college student.

Hundreds of people helped search for Tiffany, but eventually the case grew cold.

Rowles didn't emerge as a serious suspect in Tiffany's case until his DNA was linked to another Gainesville cold case.

By the time the connection was made in 2012, Rowles was suffering from cancer while in prison for kidnapping and raping a Clearwater girl.

Violent past

According to information released by Alachua County detectives Thursday, Rowles led a disturbed life.

When he was 8 he choked a cat to death. He developed sexual fantasies of raping women by the time he was 12.

He stalked women, peeped into windows and on occasion broke into apartments and stole women's underwear.

In 1972, he planned to rape Linda Fida, a beauty-pageant contestant who lived in his Miami apartment building. After sneaking into her apartment, he strangled and stabbed the young woman, and then submerged her in water to make sure she was dead.

Rowles, who was attending college at the time, confessed and was sentenced to life in prison. However, he was paroled after nine years and released in 1985.

In 1988, Rowles moved to Gainesville, where he delivered pizzas and scaffolding equipment. He had a brush with the law in 1991 when he was stopped by deputies for prowling.

On March 15, 1992, another Gainesville college student, 21-year-old Elizabeth Foster, vanished. Her body was found about 10 days later in the woods.

Clues emerge

Foster's case went unsolved for decades, until DNA evidence reviewed in 2012 linked Rowles to Foster.

By that time, Rowles was back in prison, serving a 19-year sentence for a kidnapping a teenage girl in Clearwater and raping her in Jacksonville. She escaped.

Alachua County Sheriff's Office Detective Kevin Allen said investigators never really made the connection between Rowles and Sessions until the DNA match came back to Foster.

Allen tried talking to Rowles last year, but the prisoner was dying.

Allen said he gave nurses Sessions' picture and asked them to show Rowles if he woke up — hoping the 64-year-old would confess. Rowles died soon after.

His belongings, including the journal, were sent to the only friend he had: a preacher who officiated his marriage in 1970.

Investigators asked the preacher whether they could look at Rowles' items.

When Allen saw the calendar and Rowles' "2/9/89" notation, the detective couldn't believe what he was reading.

"I almost fell down," Allen said.

Though the journal is a clue, it doesn't solve the case.

Sessions' body hasn't been found. Neither has her Rolex wristwatch or Walkman radio.

Investigators spent the past week digging in the woods where Foster's body was found, hoping to find clues. So far, nothing of interest has been spotted.

"Pieces of this puzzle are still being put together," Hilary Sessions said. "We're looking for a very small needle in a very large haystack."

Investigators and Sessions' family ask that anyone who knew Rowles or has information about Sessions' case report the tips to the Sheriff's Office.

"This is our chance to close this case," Pat Sessions said.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/os-tiffany-sessions-murder-uf-suspect-20140206,0,4394579,full.story

http://tiffanysessions.com/