Jessica Edith Louise Foster (born May 27, 1984),[2][3] is a
Canadian woman who disappeared in the
Las Vegas Valley in
Nevada, United States, in 2006.[4] Her parents are Glendene Grant and Dwight Foster.[5] Jessie Foster had spent some time living in
Calgary,
Alberta.[6] In 2005, Foster and a friend of hers visited
Florida together, and then stopped by Las Vegas on the way back in May[7] where Foster decided to stay.[8] Before disappearing the following year, Foster became involved in
prostitution, was arrested once for solicitation, and was the victim of
battery on several occasions.[9]
Investigation
Foster was one of four sex workers who disappeared in Las Vegas between 2003 and 2006. The bodies of the other three have been found. The Las Vegas Police Department launched an investigation of a person in question, bringing in a forensic scientist to spray
luminol onto surfaces at crime scenes to detect invisible blood stains; but found nothing at his property, nor has he been interrogated on her disappearance.[10]Benjamin Perrin of
Vancouver,
British Columbia, received a
George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature nomination for having written Invisible Chains, a book that prominently deals with human trafficking, and includes the disappearance of Jessie Foster.[11] The documentary Trafficked No More, features her story and led to some tips to her whereabouts.[12]
On July 26, 2015, the Calgary Sun reported police are investigating
Neal Falls, a man killed on July 18, 2015, in
Charleston,
West Virginia, may be responsible for the four Las Vegas killings, including Foster.[13]
Aftermath
Her mother, Glendene Grant (born 1957) founded Mothers Against Trafficking in Humans following her daughter's disappearance.[14] She hosted an
internet radio show on
BlogTalkRadio through Dreamcatchers for Abused Children, and has hosted such guests as
Member of ParliamentJoy Smith and Bobby Brown of Dog the Bounty Hunter fame.[15] She lives in
Kamloops,
British Columbia, Canada.[16] She had a
common-law marriage with Dwight Foster, but they later separated.[5] The last time that Grant saw her daughter was
Christmas 2005.[17] Grant Foster believes that their daughter became an unwilling victim of
human trafficking,[18] and that she thereby became a
sexual slave.[19] Grant therefore created almost a dozen websites advertising the disappearance of her daughter.[20] In an effort to find her daughter, Grant has gotten in touch with the
Federal Bureau of Investigation,
bounty hunters,
prostitutes,
police officers,
psychics, and
private investigators.[21] On the 15th Anniversary of the disappearance of Jessie Foster, Jessie's mother, Glendene Grant sat down with AU4H Radio - Real Talk hosts Donna Kshir, Lee Roberts and Laurie Ann Smith to discuss in depth Jessie's disappearance and why she believes her daughter was sold into sex trafficking. Grant told the Real Talk hosts that the investigation into Jessie's disappearance could have been handled much differently and 'she feels like the lead detective in Jessie's case.' Grant believes if proper measures had been taken by the northern Las Vegas Police Department following Jessie's disappearance there may have had a different outcome and her daughter maybe home by now.
^Brian Nordli (February 21, 2014). "THE CASE OF JESSIE FOSTER: After eight years, hope remains alive — even if a missing daughter isn't". Las Vegas Sun.
^Abigail Goldman (October 26, 2006). "Families fret about girls lost in Sin City". The Union Democrat. p. 11A.
^Quentin Parker; Paula Munier; Susan Reynold (2011). The Sordid Secrets of Las Vegas: Over 500 Seedy, Sleazy, and Scandalous Mysteries of Sin City.
F+W Media. p. 129.
ISBN978-1440510168.