Missing woman case turns to landfill
Authorities are searching a landfill in Folkston, Ga., to resolve a case involving two missing women, at least 18 aliases and a 14-year-old link to Butler, according to the FBI.
Kimberly Lee Kessler, 50, was arrested in May in Nassau County, Fla., on grand theft auto charges. She was linked to the May disappearance of one of her co-workers, 34-year-old Joleen Cummings.
Kessler was linked to Cummings' stolen vehicle using surveillance footage from a Home Depot, where the vehicle was found abandoned.
The investigation unveiled Kessler's bizarre history, including several aliases and locations of residences — including a missing persons report filed six years ago in Butler County.
In 2012, Kessler's mother, Connie Kessler of Connoquenessing Township, reported that her daughter went missing in 2004 from Butler County.
Authorities are searching a landfill after finding security camera footage allegedly showing Kessler dumping a white bag into a dumpster near the salon where Kessler and Cummings both worked, according to an FBI spokeswoman. The garbage company was able to direct investigators to a general area of the Chessler Island Landfill near Folkston. The landfill is near the Georgia-Florida border.
Over the weekend, a search of a football field-sized area of the landfill began, according to the spokeswoman. Charles Spencer, the FBI Special Agent in Charge of the investigation, gave an update on the search in a news conference Monday.
“I do think we are in the right vicinity of where we need to be, based on some of the surrounding trash we are finding that relates to the area of interest and the date of interest,” Spencer said in the news conference.
The area being searched has narrowed but is still considerable. Between the FBI and the Nassau County Sheriff's Department, 35 workers are actively searching the area in 12-hour shifts. Including supporting staff, about 50 personnel are involved.Kimberly Kessler is not cooperating with the investigation, the FBI reports.The search is scheduled to last through Friday but could be extended.The landfill has not yielded any notable findings yet. Investigators have an idea what they're looking for, but aren't announcing what it is.The intake process at the landfill involves compressing and burying garbage, so the bag in question is likely shredded and flattened.Investigators have been working in temperatures as high as 90 degrees, according to Weather Underground local weather history data for Folkston.
