The Lost Daughter

Summary

48 Hours – "The Lost Daughter" (July 29, 2026)
Host: CBS News

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Episode Overview

This haunting episode of "48 Hours" revisits the decades-old disappearance of Tiffany Sessions, a University of Florida student who vanished in 1989 during an evening walk in Gainesville. Through deeply personal interviews with Tiffany's family, law enforcement, and those who investigated the case, the episode explores the relentless search for answers, the evolution of the investigation, and the eventual belief that serial killer Paul Rolls may be responsible—despite Tiffany’s body never being found. The story reflects on loss, systemic failures, technological and forensic advancements, and the enduring hope of Tiffany's loved ones.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Disappearance of Tiffany Sessions

• Tiffany’s Background

  • A finance junior at the University of Florida, ambitious and inspired by her father, real-estate executive Pat Sessions.
    • “She knew what she wanted to do. She knew where she was going to go.” – Hillary Sessions (03:53)
    • “She was determined to make something out of herself.” – Pat Sessions (03:57)

• Family Dynamics

  • Pat and Hillary divorced when Tiffany was eight months old; Hillary raised Tiffany as a single parent with the pair developing a very tight bond.
    • “I called her my masterpiece, because I only had one. I worked really hard on making sure she was as nice on the inside as she was on the outside.” – Hillary Sessions (04:45)

• The Day Tiffany Went Missing

  • Tiffany left her apartment for a walk with only her Rolex and Walkman. She told her roommate:

    • “I'm keeping my watch on. If somebody comes after me, they're going to have to fight me for the watch.” – Tiffany (recounted by Kathleen Freza, 06:38)

  • Her disappearance was suspicious, as she didn't take her keys, wallet, or driver's license.

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The Immediate Search and Community Involvement

• Pat Sessions’ Leadership

  • Used marketing skills to organize one of the largest missing person searches in Florida.

    • “My goal was very simple. It was to make sure everybody that I could knew what she looked like, to try and get as many people out there looking for her as I could.” – Pat Sessions (09:21)

  • Leveraged media, recruited celebrities like Dan Marino and John Walsh, and distributed pictures and information broadly (pizza boxes, billboards, etc.).

  • “You can push a button and you reach a million people on Facebook. In those days, TV was my Facebook.” – Pat Sessions (10:10)

• Massive Search Efforts

  • Over 700 volunteers participated. No physical evidence was found despite extensive efforts.
    • “Trying to find the Walkman, trying to find her watch, trying to find anything, and it turns up zero.” – Interviewer/Reporter and Pat Sessions (11:35–11:44)

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Investigative Challenges and False Leads

• Technological Limits in 1989

  • The investigation was hampered by primitive technology.
    • “We were using DOS systems... didn't have a fax machine.” – Jim Eckert (14:44)
    • “So I bought them one.” – Pat Sessions (14:54)

• Flood of Tips and Hoaxes

  • Hotline received up to 600 calls daily, overwhelming investigators.
  • Notable false confessions included inmate Michael Knickerbocker and a con artist’s extortion attempt, both disrupting progress.

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The Shadow of Other Crimes & Serial Killers

• Fear of Serial Connection
  • In 1990, five students were murdered by Danny Rolling, but he was ruled out as Tiffany’s abductor.

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Cold Case Breakthroughs

• Law Enforcement Persistence

  • Sheriff Sadie Darnell, driven by personal investment, formed a cold case unit years later.

    • “It was very jarring and very scary and very haunting... and then this many years later, still having it unsolved.” – Sheriff Sadie Darnell (19:03)

  • Detective Kevin Allen is tasked to focus on Paul Rolls, an overlooked ex-con.

• Paul Rolls’ Criminal History

  • Rolls was a convicted killer released early for prison overcrowding.
  • Lived and worked near Tiffany’s walking route; didn’t show up for work the day she disappeared.
  • Later linked through DNA to the 1992 murder of Beth Foster—a case paralleling Tiffany's.

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Breakthrough Discovery (Address Book)

• The Critical Clue

  • Detective Allen finds Roll’s address book listing “2-9-89” (date of Tiffany’s disappearance) with “number 2”—chronologically matching his second known victim.

    • “I almost fell down when I saw it.” – Detective Kevin Allen (33:07, 33:21)
    • “There’s a possibility, just a possibility, that this case could be solved.” – Sheriff Sadie Darnell (34:16)

  • Rolls also listed all other known victims in the address book, patterning his murders.

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The Search for Closure

• Excavation Near Dump Sites

  • Forensic teams, including Dr. Michael Warren, conduct extensive searches near known burial grounds associated with Rolls.

    • “I've memorized her dental pattern in her dental chart. ...To find her would just be a remarkable feeling.” – Dr. Michael Warren (36:17)

  • Despite cadaver dogs alerting and meticulous digging, no human remains are found.

• Family Reflections and Impact

  • After years of searching, Pat and Hillary Sessions transition their pain into advocacy and support for others.

    • “...try to make some meaning out of something, try and do something positive out a terrible thing.” – Pat Sessions (41:38)
    • “On bad days, like sometimes her birthday, I come and sleep here in the room because I just feel very close to her at that time.” – Hillary Sessions (41:55)

  • The case remains officially unsolved, but Tiffany’s loved ones accept Paul Rolls as the likely perpetrator.

    • “I think we found who took Tiffany. I believe that.” – Pat Sessions (41:05)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It needs to end. Everybody needs closure on this.” – Pat Sessions (03:30)
• “She didn't have her wallet, her driver's license. Her car was there. And that was the scary part.” – Pat Sessions (07:38)
• “Some serial killers like to keep a diary. Some keep artifacts. Some like to write down what they've done. A feeling of accomplishment. Look what I did. I’ve got 2, 3, 4.” – Wayne Black (33:56)
• “That makes me sick. Tiffany would probably be alive today if they hadn’t let that guy out.” – Pat Sessions (38:44)
• “If she walked in the door tomorrow, I want to always be able to say that I did the best I could do. That's all anybody can do.” – Pat Sessions (42:42)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Family Background & Relationship – 03:00–04:45
• Tiffany’s Disappearance & Initial Search – 06:27–11:44
• Investigation Challenges & Hoaxes – 14:02–16:57
• Serial Killer Fear (Danny Rolling) – 17:13–18:04
• Sheriff Sadie Darnell’s Cold Case Effort – 19:03–20:13
• Detective Kevin Allen’s Investigation of Paul Rolls – 23:20–27:49
• DNA Break in Beth Foster Case – 28:37–29:14
• Evidence: Rolls' Address Book – 32:47–34:07
• Excavation & Search Near Dump Site – 35:05–39:13
• Aftermath, Family Advocacy, and Closure – 41:05–43:14

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Tone & Reflections

The episode is empathetic, somber, and tireless in its pursuit of detail, driven by the anguish of Tiffany’s family and the professionalism of those who sought answers. It’s both a procedural account of a complex cold case and a meditation on hope, grief, and resilience—never veering into sensationalism, always centered on compassion and advocacy.

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If you or anyone you know has information about Tiffany Sessions' disappearance, please contact Alachua County Crime Stoppers at 352-372-7867.

Transcript

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[Pat Sessions]

Buyer's remorse. Buy a new car. I'll be moving in. Let's get started.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Sorry, I think there's been a mistake. I bought it from Carvana. You what? Yeah, great price. I even have seven days to love it or return it.

[Pat Sessions]

So there's no.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

No, no buyer's remorse. More like buyers rejoice.

[Pat Sessions]

I guess I'll let myself out.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Congratulations.

[Pat Sessions]

I mean it.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Buyers rejoice. Buy your car today on Carvana. Limitations and exclusions may apply. See our seven day return policy at Carvana.com.

[Hillary Sessions]

Guys.

[Dr. Michael Warren]

Heavenly father, we got a simple prayer. It's really simple. Help us find Tiffany.

[Pat Sessions]

We know without your grace, without your

[Dr. Michael Warren]

blessing, it won't happen.

[Sheriff Sadie Darnell]

Amen.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

Amen.

[Sheriff Sadie Darnell]

Amen.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

Let's go do it.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

For 25 years, Pat and Hilary Sessions have been searching for their daughter Tiffany. And in January 2014, in this forest in Gainesville, Florida, just over a mile from where Tiffany, Tiffany disappeared, there was

[Hillary Sessions]

another girl in 1992 who was actually found here on the site.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They hope they may finally find her.

[Hillary Sessions]

I am extremely optimistic.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

What are you feeling going into this excavation? Are you nervous?

[Pat Sessions]

I'm a lot more nervous than I thought I would be. I've done other searches and this one I'm a lot more nervous about because it may not be true, but it sort of feels like a final hurrah. You know, I pushed and pushed so many people for so long that I don't know how Long. I'll do it.

[Kathleen Freza]

Sorry.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Do you think the emotion comes because maybe it's the end or maybe it's not.

[Pat Sessions]

Yeah.

[Advertiser]

I don't know.

[Pat Sessions]

It needs to end. Everybody needs closure on this.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

In 1989, Tiffany Sessions was a junior studying finance at the University of Florida in Gainesville. She had dreams of running a company one day.

[Hillary Sessions]

She knew what she wanted to do. She knew where she was going to go.

[Pat Sessions]

She was determined to make something out of herself.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Tiffany had a good role model. Pat Sessions was a well known marketing executive for a giant real estate company in South Florida. He oversaw the creation of Weston, one of the biggest building projects in the United States.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

She kind of wanted to be like, dad, follow in your footsteps.

[Pat Sessions]

I've been told that by, by her friends.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Pat and Hillary divorced when Tiffany was just eight months old. Hillary was in the US Air Force, and as she traveled around the country, she brought Tiffany with her.

[Hillary Sessions]

I was the mom, I was the dad, I was the disciplinarian, the provider. There wasn't anything that we didn't do together and we worked as a team.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

You called her your masterpiece.

[Hillary Sessions]

I did because I only had one. I worked really hard on making sure that she was as nice on the inside as she was on the outside.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Growing up, Tiffany didn't see a lot of her father. But in her teens, they reconnected. Pat was in his late 30s, a bachelor living in an oceanfront home in Miami's affluent Coconut Grove.

[Jason Sessions]

The summers were the times that we spent together and holidays.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Tiffany also got to know her half brother Jason.

[Jason Sessions]

My father is always a very active, fun guy. So when we came together for those different times, we were always doing neat experiences, going on the boat, you know, the beach, different activities like that. So yeah, that's where we really got to know each other.

[Pat Sessions]

Both of them were single kids, so they didn't have anybody else. They bonded together very quickly.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But for Pat, missing out on so much of his daughter's childhood had taken its toll.

[Pat Sessions]

It was a lot of catch up, you know, and overcoming a lot of bad history between her mother and I.

[Kathleen Freza]

Tiffany was very close to both her parents.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Kathleen Freza Tiffany's college roommate

[Kathleen Freza]

she loved her mom and they had a very special relationship. She spoke with her frequently, almost daily, I would say, on the phone with her dad because she was able to renew that relationship with him. That was really very touching for her.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And when Pat bought his daughter a Rolex watch, Kathleen says Tiffany never took it off, she just loved it.

[Kathleen Freza]

Partly because it was a Rolex, partly because it was from her dad, so it held a really special emotional tie for her.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

In fact, Kathleen has never. One of the last conversations she had with Tiffany just before she went out for that final walk.

[Kathleen Freza]

Before she walked out, Tiffany said, I'm going to take off my jewelry. She said, I'm keeping my watch on. If somebody comes after me, they're going to have to fight me for the watch.

[Pat Sessions]

Tiffany never returned to her apartment while

[Narrator/Interviewer]

on an evening walk.

[Kathleen Freza]

When Tiffany did not come back, I still had hope at that time. I just really am still pretty hopeful and continue to believe that she will return safely.

[Hillary Sessions]

There were people in the apartment, outside the apartment, milling around, trying to figure out what we needed to do.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The day after Tiffany went missing, Pat and Hillary arrived in Gainesville.

[Pat Sessions]

I got here, and I didn't even rent a car. I did a cab because I assumed all this was going to be over relatively quickly and Tiffany would give me a ride back to the airport.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But Pat knew the situation was serious when he learned that Tiffany had left the apartment with only her watch and her Walkman.

[Pat Sessions]

She didn't have her wallet, her driver's license. Her car was there. And that was the scary part. You know, all that stuff was there. And we were all starting to get nervous as the day went on.

[Jim Eckert]

I think there was a sense of urgency here.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Jim Eckert was one of the lead investigators on the case.

[Jim Eckert]

This young woman didn't have any, I guess, baggage, as it were. It wasn't like we had a boyfriend or some stranger relationship. She was a good student. She was pretty much always on the mark. So for her not to have shown up was pretty unusual.

[Pat Sessions]

She's a smart kid, she's resourceful, and if she's in trouble, she's gonna be doing everything she can to get out of it.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Pat sprang into action. He put his marketing skills to work and organized one of the largest missing person searches in Florida history.

[Pat Sessions]

I need your help. I need the work to get out on Tiffany.

[Wayne Black]

From day one, he was so driven. He ran it like a business. He really did. We're attempting to find Tiffany, and we're just investigating every lead.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Pat brought in Wayne Black, a private investigator who specialized in recovering missing children.

[Wayne Black]

Pat had, within, I think, 24 hours, Tiffany's picture on the inside of every pizza box being delivered in Alachua County.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

If you see anything or talk to

[Pat Sessions]

anyone or hear anything, please give us a call.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Volunteers blanketed the state with flyers, put Tiffany's face on billboards, and answered a 1-800- hotline. Jason Sessions Just 17 also helped to get the word out.

[Jason Sessions]

She left the house without keys, without

[Pat Sessions]

jewelry, without makeup, and that's not Tiffany.

[Jason Sessions]

It was amazing to me how small South Florida became and understanding who Tiffany Sessions was and what we were doing and what we were going through.

[Pat Sessions]

All right, I really appreciate you calling, and probably somebody will be calling you back from the FBI or somebody just to kind of. My goal was very simple. It was to make sure that everybody that I could knew what she looked like, to try and get as many people out there looking for her as I could.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

I'm curious whether that helped you with the emotional side of things to be able to look at this from a business marketing point of view.

[Pat Sessions]

Yes, because I felt useful, because I felt in control. For every 50 people that pass out a flyer, one story that you all can run does 100 times that.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Pat set up press conferences and recruited his famous friends, like football legend Dan Marino.

[Pat Sessions]

What I'm going to try to do

[Detective Kevin Allen]

to help this team is to try to call on all my friends throughout the NFL today.

[Pat Sessions]

You can push a button and you reach a million people on Facebook.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

You can try to get some nationwide

[Pat Sessions]

coverage for Tiffany to try to help her. In those days, TV was my Facebook.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Politician Jeb Bush also helped out, and so did America's Most Wanted host John Walsh, whose son Adam was abducted and killed in 1981.

[Pat Sessions]

I know the nightmare firsthand of having

[Narrator/Interviewer]

a missing child and what he's going through. We can only assume that she is alive and that she is somewhere. And we just hope that there will

[Pat Sessions]

be some type of word and that

[Narrator/Interviewer]

you will spread the word.

[Wayne Black]

People are committed because of Pat, because he just asked them, come help me. And, you know, he's irresistible in that regard.

[Pat Sessions]

There is a massive investigation going on. What they want from us is information, leads, physical clues.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Just one week after Tiffany disappeared, over 700 people showed up to search the area around Tiffany's walking route, hoping to find any clues as to what happened to her.

[Pat Sessions]

There's something out there somewhere. We just haven't turned it up yet. It was freezing cold that day. It was terrible day. It was drizzling. It was cold. When you find any evidence, just stay away from it.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

Let me know.

[Pat Sessions]

I'll come take a look at it.

[Jason Sessions]

We had busloads of troops that came in to help us with the search. We had Dolphins players, all of our friends and family from South Florida who were up here.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Start down there about that fence.

[Pat Sessions]

We went real hard at the area where she walked trying to find the Walkman. Trying to find her watch, trying to

[Interviewer/Reporter]

find anything and it turns up zero.

[Pat Sessions]

Absolute zero. Not a thing.

[Hillary Sessions]

That was the longest drive home because I was so euphoric that whoa, we're going to find something. I think the hardest part was what do I do now?

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[Narrator/Interviewer]

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[Pat Sessions]

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[Narrator/Interviewer]

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[Interviewer/Reporter]

In your trying to solve the case. I would imagine you went up and down and up and down this road a lot.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Former detective Jim Eckert still remembers every step of the walking route he thinks Tiffany Sessions took the night she disappeared.

[Jim Eckert]

This was all thick woods so it

[Interviewer/Reporter]

would have been fairly easy to snatch.

[Jim Eckert]

It was what you'd call a private place. This was a huge construction site with a lot of people coming and going.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

He always wondered if Tiffany's abductor could have worked here at Hunter's Run.

[Jim Eckert]

We talked to certainly as many as

[Narrator/Interviewer]

we could and nothing.

[Jim Eckert]

Nothing.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The hotline was receiving as many as 600 calls per day. But in 1989, technology was so primitive, detectives were quickly overwhelmed.

[Jim Eckert]

We were using DOS systems and sticking big disks in computers, and most cops didn't even know how to do that. You know, we didn't have a fax machine.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

They didn't have a fax machine.

[Pat Sessions]

So I bought them one.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

How many leads came in?

[Pat Sessions]

Too many. I've always worried that there was so much that it got lost in the shuffle.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Something fell through the cracks.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Weeks turned to months.

[Pat Sessions]

First month or two, still had a lot of hope. Every day that goes by, the odds drop astronomically. I knew that things were not looking good.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And then detectives received a promising lead. An anonymous inmate wrote that Michael Knickerbocker, a convicted serial rapist and murderer serving five life sentences, confessed to killing Tiffany Sessions.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

You went and talked to him?

[Hillary Sessions]

Sure.

[Jim Eckert]

He was a spooky guy. You got bad vibes off of him, you know, like, well, did you do this? No, but here's how I would have done it.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Michael Knickerbocker never confessed to detectives that he killed Tiffany. But he did confess that he was the one who wrote the letter as a mean joke.

[Pat Sessions]

These guys do that. I mean, I can show you 50 letters that I get from guys in jail. I realized early on that I was dealing with a whole subculture of people that were just subhuman.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

When the Knickerbocker lead fell apart, Pat offered a cash reward, hoping someone would come forward with information about his daughter.

[Wayne Black]

When you put out a reward, it happens in every case. You get every nut job.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But one lead seemed credible.

[Pat Sessions]

You get your hopes up. You think, maybe this is it.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

It was from a man who said he knew where Tiffany was and that she was sick and in need of medical attention.

[Pat Sessions]

He says, don't hang up.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The caller sent Pat on a wild car chase all over Miami.

[Pat Sessions]

He says, you hang up, I'm gonna kill her.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But the caller turned out to be a professional con artist. He was caught by the FBI and sent away to prison for a little over six years.

[Pat Sessions]

I was emotionally up to here. I really thought this guy might really know something.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And as the Reward climbed to $250,000, Pat endured two more extortion attempts. And then one year after Tiffany went missing, when Pat thought the news couldn't get much worse, the two women found

[Pat Sessions]

murdered Sunday afternoon were U.

[Advertiser]

Of F students.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Within four days, five students were murdered in Gainesville. Detectives had a serial killer on their hands.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Did you think Tiffany could Have been connected to that?

[Pat Sessions]

Of course, the first day you wondered. Yes. I thought that maybe it was the same person.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Weeks later, an ex con named Danny rolling was arrested. He later confessed to the five Gainesville student murders, but he never confessed to killing Tiffany. Detectives dropped Rolling as a possible suspect when they learned he was in Shreveport, Louisiana, the evening Tiffany disappeared.

[Wayne Black]

The biggest challenge always in a case like this, is to keep everyone motivated.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

When the leads dried up, private investigator Wayne black tried to keep the momentum of the investigation going.

[Wayne Black]

The case got cold. So you have to remind them it's still the kidnapping. It's obviously a homicide, and let's work it.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And Pat and his team kept working it for 25 years.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Was there ever a time that you wanted to give up?

[Pat Sessions]

Yeah, I don't gotta lie about that. I mean, there was times early on when I was just overwhelmed and didn't, you know, and the frustration of not knowing what to do. And the good news was, even when I'd start to slow down, everybody else pushed me.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And no one pushed Pat more than this woman. In 2006, Sadie Darnell became the first woman elected sheriff in Alachua county. She was just a young cop in 1989 when Tiffany disappeared. And that memory stayed with her.

[Sheriff Sadie Darnell]

It was very jarring and very scary and very haunting to think that that could happen in our midst and then this many years later, still having it

[Narrator/Interviewer]

unsolved throughout the years, Even though she was never actually assigned to the case, Sadie would mail and fax Pat Words of Encouragement.

[Sheriff Sadie Darnell]

September 15, 1995. Patrick, I know this must be difficult for you to maintain a constant struggle for Tiffany's case.

[Pat Sessions]

I've always believed it can and will be solved. I have loyalty to you. The overall goal is for you to have Tiffany back. And in sometime in the future, Peace.

[Sheriff Sadie Darnell]

Call me anytime to vent, strategize, coordinate,

[Pat Sessions]

kick butt, etcetera, etcetera. Always Sadie.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

So when Sadie became sheriff, one of her main goals was to set up a cold case unit and find out what happened to Tiffany Sessions. In January 2013, Sheriff Darnell hired detective Kevin Allen to do just that.

[Sheriff Sadie Darnell]

He's one of the best I've ever seen. In fact, I kept asking, where has he been all my career? This is the kind of guy that gets the cold case stuff. That's the kind of person that you need on this.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

She told me, very matter of factly, I want this case solved during my tenure here.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And sheriff Darnell told detective Allen that she wanted him to focus on one man, A convict by the name of Paul Rolls.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

I'd been in that case for a couple weeks. I'd never read the name, never heard the name. She said, get down and talk to him. Talk to him right away. Time is of the essence

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[Detective Kevin Allen]

I have an 18 year old daughter. My daughter is the light of my life.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

It's that personal?

[Pat Sessions]

Yes.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

When Kevin Allen joined the Alachua County Cold Case unit early in 2013, he knew working on the Tiffany Sessions case would be difficult for him.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

Just being a parent and just the thought of something happening to your child. I have a picture of Tiffany Sessions I keep at my desk. I go to bed thinking about the case and I wake up thinking about the that case.

[Sheriff Sadie Darnell]

We look at all the cold cases. We can't forget the past and we can't just let it go.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Sheriff Sadie Darnell made the Tiffany Sessions case a priority.

[Sheriff Sadie Darnell]

You need to lift up every rock, peel back every layer.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She started by giving Detective Allen that lead to look into convicted murderer Paul Rolls.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

What I found was that Paul Rolls was a psychopath, a serial killer. He had sadistic tendencies, sadistic fantasies.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And Detective Allen would soon learn that Paul Rolls had a long and violent past that lasted over 20 years. In 1972, he killed his first victim, former beauty queen Linda Fida. At the time roles was a new newly married 23 year old architecture student.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

Linda Fido was a neighbor of his they lived in an apartment complex in North Miami. Paul was a stalker. I mean, he would plan and watch his prey. He saw her through the peephole in his door to his apartment, and that's how he watched her.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

When Linda Fido went to do her laundry, Paul Rolls snuck into her apartment, and when she returned, he tried to rape her. She fought back, and he strangled her.

[Detective Marshall Frank]

This was a nude young girl in the bathtub.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Detective Marshall Frank, now retired, rushed to the crime scene.

[Detective Marshall Frank]

One of the things that we found that was different on this crime scene than other crime scenes was a couple of band aids.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Detectives were able to get toe prints off those band aids. Then a day after the murder, when they knocked on neighbor Paul Rolls door, they immediately noticed band aids on his toes.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

So they went and took a toe print from him. Competitor against the print that they had at the scene. They had their guy.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

After his arrest, Detective Frank was shocked when Rolls quickly confessed.

[Detective Marshall Frank]

There was no voices raised. There was no hate or anger. Just kind of like matter of factly going over something that just happened.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Detective Frank says Rolls told him he had sexual urges that he couldn't control.

[Detective Marshall Frank]

I just asked him, how long have you had these kinds of feelings? He said, for a while now, my thought process was, this man has a severe problem.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Detective Frank believes Paul Rolls was the most dangerous type of killer.

[Detective Marshall Frank]

When you met him at that time, you met a nice guy anybody would trust, have him over for dinner, he'd never know. You never know.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Rolls was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Linda fida. But in 1985, rolls life sentence was abruptly cut short. When he was suddenly released and out

[Detective Marshall Frank]

on parole, I thought, oh, my God, that's not good.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

That was the deal back then. Through prison, overcrowding, and lots of crime in the state of Florida, the average sentence for life in prison was 15 years.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Rolls only had to serve 13 years of his life sentence.

[Detective Marshall Frank]

This is the kind of guy who should not be released from prison. I mean, he committed a heinous crime without any guilt at all.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

In 1988, Rolls settled in Gainesville, where he worked as a pizza delivery man. He also had another job, putting up scaffolding on that apartment complex, Hunter's Run, located right on Tiffany's walking route.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

He always stayed under the radar. When I interviewed his boss at Pizza Hut, he said it was as if Paul didn't want to be seen. He just maintained an extremely low profile, as many serial killers do.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

In 1989, just one year after Paul Rolls moved to Gainesville, Tiffany Sessions Disappeared.

[Hillary Sessions]

How could somebody just totally disappear off the face of this earth with no evidence?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And it turns out Rolls did not show up for his pizza delivery job on the day Tiffany vanished. And then in 1992, just three years after Tiffany went missing, Beth Foster, that other college student, was found murdered just one mile from where Tiffany went walking.

[Hillary Sessions]

Every time something happened up here in Gainesville, I was concerned.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Tiffany's mom, Hillary immediately thought that the two cases could be related.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

You thought back then, back in 92, that this could be a serial killer?

[Hillary Sessions]

Absolutely.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

The same guy who murdered Alyssa Foster could have taken Tiffany.

[Sheriff Sadie Darnell]

Yep.

[Hillary Sessions]

And I've said that all this time, but nobody wanted to listen to me.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Private investigator Wayne Black says at the time, police couldn't link Roles to either crime.

[Wayne Black]

Remember, we didn't have the forensics that we have today. We were really in the dark ages.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And even though roles, by then 43, was an ex con living in the area, police never questioned him. And just two months after Beth Foster's murder, he quietly left town.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

Paul Rolls had lived in Gainesville for about four years, and I think the heat was on basically at that point. So he got out of town.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And in 1994, rolls struck again, this time in Jacksonville when he raped and and attempted to kill a 15 year old girl. She was able to escape and identified Rolls as her attacker. Rolls was convicted, and this time he was sent to prison for good.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

He was confronted soon after the crime and gave a full confession.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

To that crime?

[Detective Kevin Allen]

Yes.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

To the young girl, yes. But what about to the other crimes? Elizabeth Foster, Tiffany Sessions?

[Detective Kevin Allen]

He wasn't interviewed about either of those cases. Cases in a timely fashion. The dots had not been connected.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Over the next few years, as DNA

[Interviewer/Reporter]

technology advanced, detectives submitted Rolls DNA to the FBI database to see if he

[Narrator/Interviewer]

could have possibly killed others.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

And although it took 18 years, finally in 2012, there was a match to Elizabeth Foster. How big of a development was that linking Elizabeth Foster's death to Paul Rolls?

[Sheriff Sadie Darnell]

It was huge. Years go on, decades go on, and nothing's happening, no new information. So it was energizing. It was wonderful.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Sheriff Darnell knew that if Paul Rolls, who was now 64, had killed Beth Foster, he could also have killed Tiffany Sessions.

[Sheriff Sadie Darnell]

She was a young white female. They lived in the same quadrant of our county. Paul Rolls didn't show up for work the day that she went missing. You gotta look at him. You gotta look at him.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Detective Allen couldn't wait to confront Rolls, hoping he would cave and confess to Tiffany's abduction. But when the detective went to question him. In December of 2013, Rolls was in a coma and dying of lung cancer.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Did you hope that maybe he'd wake up?

[Detective Kevin Allen]

Oh, sure. And with a last twinge of conscience, you know, could, would, should say, I did it and this is where she is. But that didn't happen.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Paul Rolls died almost two weeks later. But Sheriff Darnell was not giving up.

[Sheriff Sadie Darnell]

I sent an email to Kevin Allen saying, crap, crap, crap. Get down there and get his personal belongings as soon as possible.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

Something in her gut told her to get a hold of Paul Rolls personal

[Narrator/Interviewer]

property, and what Paul Rolls left behind changed the entire investigation.

[Sheriff Sadie Darnell]

I got chills when Kevin showed it to me. Foreign

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[Narrator/Interviewer]

When Detective Allen went to retrieve serial killer Paul Rolles personal belongings from jail, it was 24 years after Tiffany Sessions disappeared.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

It was just one box.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

He didn't think he would find much

[Detective Kevin Allen]

and it's just a lot of letters and loose writings and stuff.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But then he came across Rolle's address

[Detective Kevin Allen]

book, said I should copy this. This might be relevant. And there in the dead center of the book is a date 2989.

[Hillary Sessions]

I went, oh, my God. Because that's the day Tiffany disappeared.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Then he saw what Roles wrote next to the date.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

Then number two. I knew Linda Fida was his first victim. And chronologically, Tiffany Sessions would have been his second victim. I almost fell down when I saw it.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

What was going through your head?

[Detective Kevin Allen]

We have a possible link to the Tiffany Sessions disappearance from Paul Rolls personal property.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

That's a huge break.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

Lucky, really lucky.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And that's not all that was in the address book. Rolls had also written down the names of all of his other victims. Linda Fida, Elizabeth foster, and the 15 year old girl Rolls raped and attempted to kill in Jacksonville. A minor whose name we won't disclose.

[Wayne Black]

Some serial killers like to keep a diary. Some keep artifacts. Some like to write down what they've done. A feeling of accomplishment. Look what I did. I've got 2, 3, 4.

[Sheriff Sadie Darnell]

I said, can I see it?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

This could be the smoking gun piece of evidence Sheriff Darnell has been looking for all these years.

[Sheriff Sadie Darnell]

I was literally shaking, holding that deceit. And to see the depth of what that meant after all these many years. There's a possibility, just a possibility, that this case could be solved.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Once he discovered the address book, Detective Allen ordered up cadaver dogs to search the site where Roles buried Elizabeth Foster.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

They all alert about 20ft from where Beth Foster was buried.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

So what did that say to you?

[Detective Kevin Allen]

There's human remains here and it could be Tiffany, it could be Tiffany Sessions. He obviously was in a comfort zone there. He left Beth Foster there for a reason. So he may have left multiple bodies there.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

So on January 13, 2014, just one month away from the 25th anniversary of Tiffany's disappearance, Pat Sessions and Detective Allen have gathered a team of people to help at the excavation.

[Pat Sessions]

25 years ago. We started, I hope we're going to finish. I want to be there for the end of this if it is.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Some members of the team have been searching for Tiffany since she went missing.

[Dr. Michael Warren]

I've probably been on over 20 searches for Tiffany.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Dr. Michael Warren is a world renowned forensic anthropologist, an expert in identifying human bones.

[Dr. Michael Warren]

I've had Tiffany Sessions master file on my desk for 21 years.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

He's been actively involved in the search for Tiffany since 1991.

[Dr. Michael Warren]

She's just been one of the cases that I would really like to resolve.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And he knows it is not going to be an easy task.

[Dr. Michael Warren]

It's very hard to go out and do an organized search over such a large area. So we've got to be pretty aggressive.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And if they find any bones. Dr. Warren will know if they are Tiffany's.

[Dr. Michael Warren]

I've memorized her dental pattern in her dental chart. I don't know if it's her or not. To find her would just be a remarkable feeling.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Their patients plan to dig for five days.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

I feel good about the operation. I feel good about the people on the ground. So we're all thumbs up, trying to stay positive.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

After clearing the trees, they now begin the tedious job of sifting through every bit of dirt, looking for pieces of human bone. And in the afternoon, they do find a bone. But it's not human. It's a deer bone. Pat is disappointed, but he knows they have a lot more ground to dig.

[Pat Sessions]

We've waited this long, worked this hard to get here. It's amazing the commitment from everybody.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And if they don't find Tiffany here, Jason will never stop looking for his sister.

[Pat Sessions]

I don't have any doubt if I drop dead tomorrow, you know, that he'll just keep on going. And I hope he doesn't have to. Maybe we'll get lucky.

[Jason Sessions]

Yeah, I'll continue looking forever. As long as there's a lead to follow, we're going to continue looking.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

With just three days left to dig, Tiffany's mother Hillary is adamant the search will be over.

[Hillary Sessions]

This is definitely the one. You know why the pieces are fitting? Everything is fitting in place.

[Sheriff Sadie Darnell]

This is it.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Is it hard to imagine that Tiffany might be in that spot?

[Pat Sessions]

I don't know what's worse. Having absolutely no idea what happened to her or having someone as bad as Paul Rolls having done it.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Believing serial killer Paul Rolls murdered his daughter makes it even harder for Pat Sessions to understand how after receiving a l life sentence in 1976, he was ever released from prison.

[Pat Sessions]

That makes me sick. Tiffany would probably be alive today if they hadn't let that guy out.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

On day three of the excavation.

[Pat Sessions]

We're really moving some dirt. There isn't a chance we're missing anything.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Pat starts to wonder if Rolls may have buried Tiffany.

[Pat Sessions]

So someplace else am I losing optimism that we're going to find Tiffany? This go around. It's hard not to.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Later that day, Pat's fears come true when excavators finish digging in the areas where the cadaver dogs alerted and find nothing.

[Dr. Michael Warren]

Certainly dogs are very good at finding the recently dead who are giving off these, these human specific scents.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Forensic anthropologist Dr. Michael Wilson Warren says cadaver dogs sometimes can be unreliable when trying to solve cold cases.

[Dr. Michael Warren]

Skeletons are a different thing. They just don't have any odor, you know, associated with them.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And with no focus on where to dig, by the end of the week, the excavation comes to an end.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

We have not found Tiffany Sessions.

[Pat Sessions]

Was it disappointing? Yeah, really disappointing. But we're never going to find out if we don't keep trying.

[Sheriff Sadie Darnell]

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for being here. This has been a long journey.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And then, just three weeks after the dig, Sheriff Darnell goes public about Paul Rolls.

[Sheriff Sadie Darnell]

He was in this community. He murdered in this community. He had made comments about this site being a dump site.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Darnell hopes that someone will know something that leads them to Tiffany's remains.

[Sheriff Sadie Darnell]

If you had any involvement with him, if you know of anyone who had involvement with him, bring it forward.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

For Pat and Hillary, there's a sense of finality to this moment. They think they have their man, even if they don't have their little girl. And above all, they're grateful.

[Hillary Sessions]

I want to thank the people who have come over the last 25 years.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They're especially thankful to Detective Kevin Allen.

[Hillary Sessions]

This is the guy that's made everybody work.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

He's the one who gave Pat and Hillary the answers they've been longing for.

[Pat Sessions]

I think he solved the case. I think we found who took Tiffany. I believe that.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

I think anyone who has children is touched by the case of Tiffany Sessions, especially myself. I know the sheriff, too.

[Sheriff Sadie Darnell]

Thank you so much. Oh, yeah.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

You take care.

[Detective Kevin Allen]

It was an emotional day for all of us.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Tiffany's case is still officially open. But over the years, Pat and Hillary have tried to bring closure to other parents of missing children. Hillary has worked with advocates on child protection legislation, and Pat works directly with families.

[Pat Sessions]

You know, you try to find something as corny as it sounds, try to make some meaning out of something, try and do something positive out a terrible thing. And I think that's the best thing I could do. You know, if somebody calls me, I'm there.

[Hillary Sessions]

My cute little missy. I'm very comfortable here in her room. On bad days, like sometimes her birthday, I come and sleep here in the room because I just feel very close to her at that time.

[Pat Sessions]

I honestly do think that if Tiffany were here, she'd say, get over it. I don't think she'd want me to be spending my entire life having already spent 25 years of this trying to do something that isn't gonna bring her back.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

So if you imagine that she would tell you, knock it off, dad.

[Dr. Michael Warren]

Move on.

[Interviewer/Reporter]

Why do you keep doing it?

[Pat Sessions]

For my own benefit. To try and. To do what I think I should have done. I. I don't want to ever. If she walked in the door tomorrow, you know, I want to be always be able to say that I did the best I could do. That's all anybody can do.

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If you know anything about Tiffany's disappearance, please contact Alachua County Crime Stoppers tip line at 352-372-7867.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Look around. What do you see?

[Detective Kevin Allen]

Cars.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Lots of them.

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