YULEE, Fla. – The News4Jax I-TEAM has been digging into the past of Jennifer Sybert, the woman suspected in the disappearance of a Nassau County mother of three.
Sybert, whose real name is Kimberly Kessler, is a co-worker of the missing woman, Joleen Cummings. Deputies said Cummings, 34, is now presumed dead after going missing for over a week.
Cummings was last seen May 12 leaving work at Tangles Hair Salon on State Road 200 in Yulee. Her vehicle turned up at a nearby store days later, but she remains missing.
Sybert, 43, is currently being held at the Nassau County jail on an auto theft charge, but additional charges are possible. She also faces a federal charge of possession of a counterfeit passport.
Authorities believe Sybert is involved because she was seen ditching Cummings' sport-utility vehicle hours after Cummings' last sighting. They said she left town after Cummings' disappearance.
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Sarah Kessler, Sybert's sister who is 15 years younger, told the I-TEAM on Wednesday that her family has not heard from Sybert in 14 years. Her parents reported her missing in July 2004 while they were living in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
"I don’t know what’s going on. I feel like I don’t even know her. She’s basically a stranger to me," the sister said.
She went on to add that her family was "still in shock" and needed "air to breathe" because the whole situation has been difficult.
At some point, Sybert assumed the identity of a 13-year-old girl who was killed in a car crash overseas and later buried in Pennsylvania, said Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper.
Leeper said Sybert, who's only been working at the salon for about a month, has been using a bogus Social Security number.
The I-TEAM found records of Sybert living in nine cities and four states including Florida. They are:
- St. Augustine, Florida
- St. Augustine Beach, Florida
- St. Petersburg, Florida
- Tallahassee, Florida
- Mission, Kansas
- Overland Park, Kansas
- Shawnee Mission, Kansas
- Rochester, Minnesota
- Nashville, Tennessee
Sybert also had a license with the state of Florida to be a cosmetologist registered to an address in Tampa. The I-TEAM has requested records on Sybert from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice and Pennsylvania State Police.
The FBI is building a case against Sybert and is sending resources to help Nassau County detectives.