Jessica Edith Louise Foster (born May 27, 1984), is a Canadian woman who disappeared in the Las Vegas Valley in Nevada, United States, in 2006. Her parents are Glendene Grant and Dwight Foster. Jessie Foster had spent some time living in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, Alberta. In 2005, Foster and a friend of hers visited Florida together, and then stopped by Las Vegas on the way back in May where Foster decided to stay. Before disappearing the following year, Foster became involved in

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

, was arrested once for solicitation, and was the victim of

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

on several occasions.

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 Luminol (C8H7N3O2) is a chemical that exhibits chemiluminescence, with a blue glow, when mixed with an appropriate oxidizing agent. Luminol is a white-to-pale-yellow crystalline solid that is soluble in most polar organic solvents, but insolub ...

onto surfaces at crime scenes to detect invisible blood stains; but found nothing at his property, nor has he been interrogated on her disappearance.

Benjamin Perrin Benjamin Perrin is a professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Human trafficking opponent Perrin is involved with human trafficking research and activism ...

of Vancouver, British Columbia, received a George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature nomination for having written ''

Invisible Chains ''Invisible Chains: Canada's Underground World of Human Trafficking'' is a 2010 book about human trafficking by Benjamin Perrin. Perrin wrote the book after researching human trafficking for ten years. In ''Invisible Chains'', Perrin recounts a va ...

'', a book that prominently deals with human trafficking, and includes the disappearance of Jessie Foster. The documentary ''Trafficked No More'', features her story and led to some tips to her whereabouts. On July 26, 2015, the '' Calgary Sun'' reported police are investigating if

Neal Falls Neal Martin Falls (September 24, 1969 – July 18, 2015) was an American suspected serial killer who was shot and killed in self-defense by Heather Saul, a woman in Charleston, West Virginia. Falls had been stopped by police in over twenty states ...

, a man killed on July 18, 2015, in

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

, West Virginia, may be responsible for the four Las Vegas killings, including Foster.

Aftermath

Her mother, Glendene Grant (born 1957) founded Mothers Against Trafficking in Humans following her daughter's disappearance. She hosted an internet radio show on BlogTalkRadio through Dreamcatchers for Abused Children, and has hosted such guests as Member of Parliament

Joy Smith Joy Ann Smith (born February 20, 1947) is a Canadian politician. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba between 1999 and 2003, and was in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2015. Education and business career Smith was born ...

and Bobby Brown of '' Dog the Bounty Hunter'' fame. She lives in

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...

, British Columbia, Canada. She had a common-law marriage with Dwight Foster, but they later separated. The last time that Grant saw her daughter was Christmas 2005. Grant Foster believes that their daughter became an unwilling victim of

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...

, and that she thereby became a sexual slave. Grant therefore created almost a dozen websites advertising the disappearance of her daughter. In an effort to find her daughter, Grant has gotten in touch with the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

, bounty hunters,

prostitutes Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

, police officers, psychics, and private investigators. 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Jessie 1984 births Canada–United States relations 2000s missing person cases 2006 in Nevada 20th-century Canadian people 20th-century Canadian women 21st-century Canadian people 21st-century Canadian women Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian female prostitutes Crimes against sex workers in the United States Human trafficking in the United States Missing person cases in Nevada Events in Las Vegas Prostitution in Nevada Living people History of women in Nevada Violence against women in Nevada

Investigation

Aftermath

See also

References