PINEVILLE, Ky. — Even on a hot August day, this case is about as cold as they come.
Thirty years ago this week, someone killed Jennifer Bailey while she jogged on a trail in Pineville, Kentucky.
As the decades run on, the trail and the case have run cold. Jennifer's mother, Janice, keeps pushing for any tip that could help find her daughter's killer.
"I am so hurt, so mad, I guess you could say, that nothing’s been done," she said. "Jennifer was the best child anyone could hope for."
Jennifer had parked her car near a popular running trail off 25E in Pineville the day she went missing. Detectives said passersby saw her arguing with a man next to a black pickup truck along the trailhead.
Ten days later, a couple searching for arrowheads found her body a mile and a half up the road. She had been thrown off a small bluff and the medical examiner said there were signs of strangulation.
"Seemed like she got thrown away, seemed like everybody else threw her away too," Bailey said.
The investigation into Jennifer's death outlasted its detectives. So far, either seven or eight have worked the file.
The latest is Kentucky State Police detective Aaron Frederick, who was born the year Jennifer went missing.
"When Jennifer passed away, the whole community suffered and still you can still feel the effects in Bell County of her case and her murder," he said.
Frederick hopes newly released information will bring forward new tips. Thursday, State Police said a number of Jennifer's belongings were still missing:
- Pastel-colored jogging shorts and a white tank top
- GE small black AM/FM portable cassette player (walkman-type) with headphones
- Black/ten Velcro belt
- Small yellow gold diamond chip earrings
- Timex watch with brown band styled to look like imitation alligator skin
"It's been 30 years. 30 years too long," KSP trooper Shane Jacobs said. "We know that someone knows what happened that day."
KSP urges anyone with any information to contact them. It could help solve the case and it could mend a mother's broken heart.
"A lot of people say as time goes by it gets better," Bailey said. "I wish somebody would tell me what they meant by that."