{true crime tuesday}

a picture of Rory
early 1949/late 1948 - May 27th, 1973

UNSOLVED

Rory Gene Kesinger is an American criminal whose been missing since 1973.

Not much is known about Rory's childhood or personal life, but it is known that she had a drug problem and dealt drugs. She used several aliases, including Jennifer Marie Lynn, Linda Lynn Koch, Penny Susan Johnson and her last name spelled as Kessinger.

She was arrested in 1973, along with several members of an organized crime group she belonged to. A few weeks after being booked at the Plymouth County Correctional facility, on May 27th, 1973, she broke out, with the aid of a guard, by tying bedsheets together, climbing down, and speeding off in a getaway car. Rory would never be seen again.

Police seem to believe that Rory was killed by members of her organized crime group for their own protection, and they believed another member confirmed this rumor as true, but it's never really been proven.

Towards the end of the 1980s, a possible link to Provincetown's 1974 Lady of The Dunes surfaced and DNA information was collected over the years and a 2002 DNA test with Rory's mother eliminated her as a possible identity. The Lady of The Dunes was identified in 2022 as Ruth Marie Terry.

Several other Jane Does have been ruled out as being Rory, including:

Beth Doe (1976)(since identified)
New Haven County Jane Doe (1975)(since identified)
Virginia Beach Jane Doe (1976)
Winchester Jane Doe (1991)
Newport News Jane Doe (2014)(possibly identified)

To this day, Rory's exact fate is unknown. She could have been well disposed of, she could be a Jane Doe, or she could still be alive out there, living under an alias. If you have information pertaining to her being deceased, please contact the police. If you have information pertaining to her being alive, maybe just let her be at this point.