Young woman killed while walking dog

Land O'Lakes, Florida - Rebecca Lawrence still finds it hard to believe her baby sister is gone. Somehow, she says, it just doesn't seem real.

"The last thing I said to her was I love you.  That was it.  If I had known that would have been the last time, I would have talked to her things would have been so different," Rebecca says.

For more than a year now, both Rebecca and Jessica's mother, Gail, have been heartbroken after losing what they call the light of their lives.

"There was just something so special about her," Gail says.  "She would come in the house and say yell out, 'Mom'.  I miss that the most."

Jessica was walking her dog late one night in Land O'Lakes on October 25, 2008 when she was killed by a hit and run driver. Sadly, she was left to die near the intersection of Monte Verde and County Line road.

Her family has never been the same.

Gail is devastated and sobs as she talks about her daughter, "She had so many dreams and hopes and now, they'll never come true."

After countless leads and months of investigation, Florida Highway Patrol has closed its case.  They were extremely thorough, according to spokesperson Sgt. Larry Kraus.

Sgt. Kraus says, "It's very frustrating for a law enforcement agency not to be able to give closure to the family.  or to bring someone to justice for what they've done. They hit a lady while walking across the street. It's horrible."

FHP investigators checked every lead they had and more, including searching neighborhoods looking for cars with front end damage.  They even searched Facebook and MySpace pages hoping to find any information they could.

Even though the case is officially closed, it's far from over.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now taking over the investigation for one simple reason.

"FDLE, hopefully they provide us with a fresher vision.  Sometimes when you're so close to a case and you're looking, you know, a new pair of eyes looking or another agency can help you out," Sgt. Kraus said.

Investigators say they check back in every 30 days with the family to keep them involved in the investigation.  They realize this will not bring Jessica back, but it gives the family some hope, that each day detectives could be one stop closer to catching Jessica's killer.

To learn more about Jessica's case or to find out what work detectives are doing, click here to visit Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay.