ARTICLE #27) FBI looks into disappearance

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

CALGARY -- 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.

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 is on hold as she waits desperately to hear any word from her missing daughter.

It was more than a year ago when Jessica, who had been working two jobs since graduating from high school, told her parents she was travelling to the U.S. with a girlfriend in search of adventure.

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 with a man she met at a reggae party who promised to pay for her trip.

Her parents now fear she was lured across borders into the sordid lifestyle.

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 purpose of having sex.

Their assistance can also be requested by police forces 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," she said.