ARTICLE #26) FBI looks into disappearance

Friday, August 11, 2006
FBI looks into disappearance
Calgary Sun by Sarah Kennedy

The FBI is now involved in the case of a young Calgary woman who mysteriously vanished in Sin City.

Jessica Foster, 21, disappeared in March after travelling to Las Vegas, allegedly in search of adventure.

FBI agent Robert Guerra said federal investigators have spoken with Jessica's mother Glendene Grant and are in the process of writing a report.

Although there is no guarantee they will be investigating the case, an agent will determine whether it falls within FBI jurisdiction, he said.

Having the FBI even consider the case brings relief to Grant, who says her life has been placed on painful hold as she waits desperately to hear any word from her missing daughter.

It was more than a year ago when Jessica told her parents she was travelling to the U.S. with a girlfriend.

Following a year of regular communication with Jessica by phone and e-mail, Glendene and her ex-husband Dwight Foster say all communication abruptly stopped in March.

With Vegas police providing little assistance, Jessica's parents hired a private investigator who found out the young woman, once a straight-A student, had been working as a prostitute and was, at one point, beaten so badly she was hospitalized.

Pieces of the puzzle have slowly filtered through to Grant and Dwight, including the fact Jessica didn't travel to the U.S. with a girlfriend, but rather, a man she met at a reggae party who promised to pay for her trip.

FBI spokesman David Staretz said they usually get involved in cases where it's believed a person was carried from one state to another against their will for the purposes of having sex.

Their assistance can also be requested when a case has international ramifications, he said.

Despite the family's private eye warning the chances are grim of Jessica still being alive, Glendene's holding out hope.

"I don't think she's dead, I think she's being held somewhere against her will."