( CNN ) -- Tiffany Sessions is presumed dead , and she 's been missing for more years than she lived , but her family and Florida authorities continue to hold out hope that they 'll find the killer . On Thursday , Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell announced that authorities believe the `` long journey '' may be nearing its end , as it 's `` highly , highly probable '' that Paul Eugene Rowles , a convicted sexual predator who died in prison last year , is the prime suspect in the quarter-century-old case . In February 1989 , the blond-haired , brown-eyed Sessions , a junior at the University of Florida , donned red sweatpants and a white Aspen sweatshirt , put on her Walkman and went for her routine hourlong jog down Gainesville 's main street toward a dirt trail that cut through the woods . Normally , her roommate would accompany her , but on that day , she had to study and Sessions jogged alone . The 20-year-old economics major never came back , and aside from witnesses who saw a woman resembling Sessions walking before dusk , Sessions left no trace -- no clothing , no Walkman , not even her gold Rolex watch . Rowles lived in the area at the time , and Darnell described him as a man with a `` horrible history of violent crimes against women -- murder , rape , kidnapping . '' While there wo n't likely be a DNA connection , authorities feel circumstantial evidence is overwhelming , she said . Rowles was serving a life sentence for first-degree murder when he died last year . Speaking before the backdrop of a wooded area in Gainesville where murder victim Elizabeth Foster 's body was found in 1992 , Darnell told reporters a dig was conducted a week and a half ago because the area was a known `` dump site '' for Rowles ' victims . In 2012 , DNA tied Rowles to Foster 's disappearance . Police unsuccessfully tried to interview Rowles before he died , but after his death , they gathered items from his cell , including a journal entry on a calendar that read `` 2/9/89 '' -- the date Sessions disappeared -- with `` No . 2 '' scrawled on both sides of the notation . Police believe it 's an indication that Sessions was Rowles ' second victim . `` It may not be a smoking gun , but it 's close , '' said the missing woman 's father , Patrick Sessions . According to police and the family , other factors connect Rowles to Sessions ' disappearance . He delivered scaffolding to a construction project along Sessions ' jogging path and did n't work the night of her disappearance , for example . Arrest in 40-year-old murder case . `` He was in this community . He murdered in this community , '' Darnell said . Darnell asked the media to distribute photos of Rowles at different points in his life , study the timeline of his life and crimes and `` go back in time 25 years . '' She also encouraged anyone with information about Rowles -- no matter how trivial it may seem -- to call 352-384-3323 . Authorities are offering $ 1,000 for any information leading to an arrest . `` We want to have this last piece of conclusive connection so the family can at least have some peace , '' the sheriff said . `` There 's no risk . He 's dead . Thank goodness he 's dead . '' The missing woman 's mother , Hilary Sessions , appeared at the press conference with the sheriff , at times smiling and optimistic , at other times teary . She thanked numerous people for their help over the years and conceded that police were `` searching for a very small needle in a very big haystack . '' Still , she clearly had hope . `` She 's my masterpiece , '' Hilary Sessions said . `` It would be nice to be able to put her to rest after all these years . '' Patrick Sessions -- who , like some of the law enforcement officers on the scene , wore a baseball cap saying , `` The search for Tiffany Sessions '' -- encouraged anyone with the even `` the vaguest information that we can use '' to come forward and let authorities assess whether the information is useful . `` This is for real . This is our chance to close this case , '' he said . Taken : The coldest case ever solved . Senior couple charged in decades old cold cases . Oklahoma deputies pull bodies from lake , may date to '60s , 1970 disappearances . Police : Evidence in killing of former beauty queen points to ex-priest . CNN 's AnneClaire Stapleton contributed to this report .
Sheriff says it 's ` ` highly , highly probable '' that deceased teenager Tiffany Rowles is prime suspect . Tiffany Sessions , 20 , disappeared in 1989 after going for a jog in Gainesville , Florida . Rowles had a calendar card saying ` ` No . 2 '' beside Sessions ' date of birth . Police advised anyone with knowledge of Sessions ' life to call 352 - 384 - 3323 .