13 Investigates

Actions

Missing and presumed murdered: Las Vegas cold case examined for possible tie to accused serial killer

Rex Heuermann's arrest offers new hope to the mother of Jessie Foster, who went missing from Las Vegas in 2006
Posted: 5:53 PM, Aug 14, 2023
Updated: 2023-08-22 19:09:34-04
Jessie Foster
Gilgo Beach suspect Las Vegas connection
Gilgo Beach killings Las Vegas connection
Police identify 7th victim in Gilgo Beach murder investigation
Gilgo Beach suspect Las Vegas connection

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Glendene Grant has only memories of her second oldest child.

"What I miss the most about Jessie is the sense of humor. She loved to dance, joke around, play pranks," Grant said. "I didn't get to see a 30, 40-year-old Jessie. I don't know what kind of woman she would have been."

Grant has been looking for her daughter, Jessie Foster, since March of 2006.

Through tears that time can't stop, she said, "You're seeing 17 years of coping mechanisms."

The 21-year-old Canadian woman disappeared after her mom says she was sexually trafficked throughout New York and New Jersey, then ultimately lured to Las Vegas, where she was last seen alive following several prostitution arrests.

"We know that Jessie had been beaten, that Jessie was being forced into it," said Grant.

Now, 17 years later, the bombshell arrest of suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has brought her daughter's cold case back into focus as police agencies in three states hunt for more possible victims.

"I just hope they get all the evidence they need and put him where he belongs," Grant said.

WATCH: Suspected Gilgo Beach killer's Las Vegas connection prompts new look at unsolved cases

Suspected Gilgo Beach killer's Las Vegas connection prompts new look at unsolved cases

Foster is one of five escorts in the Las Vegas area between the ages of 18 and 25 who all shared the same fate: discovered either dead or missing between 2003 and 2006 under similarly suspicious circumstances. Four of them were dumped off remote roadways. Several were wrapped in cloth, which is why detectives have long suspected they could have been killed by the same person.

The question now: Could that person be Rex Heuermann?

Police are staying tight-lipped as they actively comb through evidence, but here's what we know right now:

Property records place Heuermann in the Las Vegas area through the ownership of two timeshares dating back to 2004.

We also received several of the Las Vegas victims' autopsy reports through a Freedom of Information Act request and compared them to the records we obtained for the Gilgo Beach victims.

They show Victoria Camara's death was the result of strangulation — just like the Gilgo four.

WATCH: Family of slain teen speaks out as NY serial killer probe expands to Las Vegas

Family of slain teen speaks out as NY serial killer probe expands to Las Vegas

Lindsay Marie Harris went missing from Henderson in 2005.

Her severed legs were discovered in similar circumstances to Fire Island Jane Doe 7, identified just over a week ago as Karen Vergata.

Police identify 7th victim in Gilgo Beach murder investigation

What's more, Harris's dismembered body was found in Springfield, Illinois — a location mentioned on page 17 of Heuermann's bail application — which states the alleged serial killer set up a Tinder account using the email Springfieldman!!!

As for Foster's mother, she sees striking similarities between Harris, her daughter and the other escorts slain on Long Island.

"I think she looks quite a lot like Megan Waterman," Grant said. "The beautiful blonde hair."

Gilgo Beach killings Las Vegas connection
Rex Heuermann, 59, is accused of the murders of three women: Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello and Megan Waterman.

Whether or not Heuermann turns out to be her daughter's killer, Grant is grateful to have her daughter's cold case back in the spotlight.

"I'm grateful to every single one of you," she said.

13 Investigates has also recently connected with the family of a fourth Las Vegas victim: a young escort who was murdered and dismembered in 2003.

The cold case of Jodi Marie Brewer is also being re-opened for DNA testing to check for possible ties to Rex Heuermann.

Brewer's family is speaking on television for the first time, and we will share their story in the coming weeks.