Thursday, April 27, 2006
Daughter lost in Las Vegas: Private eye hired after woman, 21, disappears in U.S.
Calgary Sun by Sarah Kennedy
His daughter's disappearance into the dark underworld of Las Vegas has a Calgary dad fearing the worst.
With little help from Las Vegas police, Jessica Foster's parents have hired a Sin City private eye to hunt down the 21-year-old, who disappeared a month ago.
And the family is getting some Hollywood help with news personality Geraldo Rivera set to do a piece on the disappearance.
Dwight Foster said his daughter -- once a straight-A student -- traveled to Vegas in search of adventure a year ago but got lured into the murky world of the city's sex trade.
"She moved out to Las Vegas with a girlfriend we didn't really know but she kept in touch with us daily, giving us updates on where she was and what she was seeing," said Dwight.
Dwight said he started to question his daughter's lifestyle when he learned she was living with a boyfriend named Peter in an expensive house but didn't seem to be working.
One month ago, all communication with Jessica stopped, leaving her panicked family wondering if she's still alive.
When contact stopped, mother Glendene Grant and Dwight, who are divorced, called the Las Vegas police department.
Dwight said the officers checked Peter's house.
When there was no evidence of foul play, cops told the family there was not much else to investigate.
The family took matters into their own hands and hired Mike Kirkland, a private investigator in Vegas who uncovered a darker side to the story.
Kirkland learned Jessica had been working as a prostitute -- a stark contrast from the young woman who had never been in trouble and graduated from John Diefenbaker high school four years ago with top grades.
The PI also found she had been badly beaten and hospitalized recently, as well as being charged with prostitution, said Dwight.
He said he fears his daughter is in danger.
"My deep-down thoughts are that she's not calling us because she can't. ... I feel it now that something bad has happened to her."
A field producer for Geraldo Rivera's syndicated news program Geraldo At Large interviewed the family this week.
Anyone with information can call Kirkland at 702-897-6820.
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LOOKING AT JESSICA'S TRAVELS
Timeline of Jessica Foster's disappearance
* February 2005 -- Left Calgary and moved in with her mother in Kamloops while working at a golf course and restaurant
* April 2005 -- Traveled to U.S.
* May 2005 -- Moved to Las Vegas
* Dec. 2005 -- Returned to Calgary to visit family
* March 24, 2006 -- Spoke to Mom twice that day
* March 27, 2006 -- Left a phone message for her stepmother
* March 28, 2006 -- Spoke to her sister on the phone; last time family heard from her
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