February 20, 2008
Mother won’t stop searching for her daughter
This article is the first of two articles about a former Lillooet resident’s search for her daughter.
Grant’s pain has been aggravated by bureaucratic red tape involved with obtaining a DNA sample which may finally lead to some answers.
The former Lillooet resident now lives in Kamloops with her husband, two daughters and a granddaughter.
Her ex-husband Dwight has been trying to help Grant and her husband find their missing daughter and now there might be a break in the case.
A body was discovered in Texas which authorities believe could be Foster’s remains. The family is waiting for a DNA test which, once it is performed, will settle the question. The challenge is waiting for the test to be done.
Although Grant sent her DNA for analysis, it hasn’t yet been sent from North Las Vegas to Texas because they have not yet received Jessie’s father Dwight’s DNA.
Apparently there is only one police officer in Calgary who can swab his cheek, and he is on vacation.
Also, the Las Vegas police officer who has Grant’s DNA hasn’t yet sent the sample to Texas.
“Here in Kamloops, the test came in and before noon that day, it was done and on the way back, however, (the detective) from the North Las Vegas police had us send them to him, so he can send them to Texas, but as we can see he could not even handle that simple task,” the frustrated mother told the News in an e-mail message.
“They say there’s a 90 percent chance that it’s Jessie, but that also means there’s a ten percent chance it isn’t. Right now I feel there’s a 50-50 chance it isn’t her.”
Grant, who has five years’ experience working for a private investigator says that they’ve recreated the face of the girl found, and that experts can tell a lot from the skull, such as eyebrow arches, which reveal the sex of the deceased.
She thought the remains looked similar to her daughter, but she feels in her heart that Jessie is still alive somewhere, perhaps trapped, locked up or caught in a sex-traffic ring.
“If it does turn out to be Jessie, we move into the next stage of this search – finding the person who did this and bringing them to justice.
If it isn’t her, our investigation has just begun, but if someone murdered her, I won’t stop until I find the person who did it.”
The body of the young woman found on a stretch of highway on Oct 29, 2006 is estimated to be between the ages of 17 and 22. Her body had been severely burned.
The DNA test was requested by the North Las Vegas Police Dept. after Grant alerted them to the unsolved Texan case which aired on America’s Most Wanted Jan 12. Grant has appeared on several TV shows, such as Geraldo at Large, the Maury Show and Montel Williams.
Her story has been reported across Canada in several major newspapers ad in the Los Vegas City Life over the time her daughter was first discovered missing.
She has hired a private investigator and keeps in touch with law enforcement agencies here and in the States.
Website: www.jessiefoster.ca
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