Missing Since: 2006-03-28 Location: North Las Vegas, Nevada
Foster was last contacted by a family member by telephone while at her residence in the vicinity of the 1000 block of Cornerstone Place in North Las Vegas, Nevada on March 28, 2006. They never heard from her again. Her live-in boyfriend, Peter B. Todd, stated she left him on April 3. He stated she left to a go to a dentist appointment and when he returned to the apartment after being out for awhile, she wasn’t there and all her belongings were missing, with the exception of her makeup and hair dryer. Foster’s loved ones stated it would be uncharacteristic of her to leave those items behind. After Foster’s disappearance, her family learned she had been sex trafficked from Canada, to Atlantic City, New Jersey, to Las Vegas by Donald Vaz, a man she had met in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She thought of him as a friend, in April 2005, he invited her on a trip to New Jersey. From there, they traveled to Nevada. It was supposed to be just a short trip, and Jessie had two jobs waiting for her back in Canada, but she wound up staying in Nevada. Her family didn’t realize that she had gotten involved in sex work. She kept putting off her return home, and said she’d met a man, Peter Todd, and was moving in with him. Then she said they’d gotten engaged. A photo of Todd is posted with this case summary. Foster was arrested for sex work-related offenses in Nevada in June and in September 2005; Todd was her pimp. He had also beaten her, breaking her jaw and sending her to the hospital, the same month as her first arrest. One of the employees at the escort agency Foster worked for noticed she regularly had bruises on her, and believed she was being abused. Foster did come and visit her family in Canada for the Christmas holidays in 2005, but on Christmas morning, right after everyone had opened their presents, she went to the airport and caught an afternoon flight back to Las Vegas. This is the last time her family saw her, but she continued to keep in touch with them by phone. A few months later, just before she went missing, she told her sister she wanted to leave Todd. He maintains his innocence in her disappearance. Foster is originally from Canada and grew up in Kamloops, British Columbia before moving to Calgary to live with her father and finish her last two years of high school. After high school, she stayed in Calgary and worked, and planned to eventually attend university. Her family still lives in Canada. She kept in daily contact with her relatives in Canada and planned to attend her sister’s wedding reception in April, but they have not heard from her since her disappearance. She has also not used her credit cards, bank account or cellular phone since March 28. She also left behind $20,000 in the bank, money she’d gotten from a car accident settlement and planned to spend on her education. Her loved ones fear for her safety. Both American and Canadian police are investigating her case. Investigating Agency North Las Vegas Police Department 702-633-1773 Kamloops, British Columbia Police Department 250-828-3293 Source Information NamUs Missing Person: Jessica Edith Louise Foster Jessie Foster: Missing Person Alert Las Vegas CityLife The Huffington Post LostNMissing Unfound Podcast Updated 5 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated April 25, 2019; distinguishing characteristics and details of disappearance updated.