Friday, September 19, 2008

ARTICLE #89) Mom of missing daughter wants to speak with deported woman



Friday, December 21, 2007
Mom of missing daughter wants to speak with deported woman
The (Vancouver) Province by Lena Sin

A distressed Kamloops mom wants to hear from 22-year-old Yvonne Hubrechtsen -- one of the few people her daughter knew in Las Vegas before disappearing 21 months ago.

Jessie Foster, a former Boston Pizza waitress in Kamloops, arrived in Las Vegas in May 2005.

At the time, Hubrechtsen was one of the few friends her daughter talked about, according to mother Glendene Grant.

Jessie even gave her mother Hubrechtsen's phone number in case of emergencies.

But when Jessie vanished without a trace in Las Vegas in March 2006, Grant said she tried several times to reach Hubrechtsen to no avail.

So it was surprising for Grant to hear that Hubrechtsen was in Vancouver this week, until authorities picked her up and deported her back to the U.S. on Wednesday.

Grant believes her 23-year-old daughter has fallen into the hands of human-traffickers and forced into sex slavery. She says any information that Hubrechtsen may have about Jessie's life in Las Vegas could be helpful. "I'd like to get some information about what she knows about Jessie," says Grant.

Hubrechtsen tried to enter B.C. on Dec. 12, but was refused entry. The next day, she entered at a different border crossing, according to Christopher Papp of the Canada Border Services Agency.

Vancouver police spokesman Const. Tim Fanning says Hubrechtsen was pulled over in a black Hummer at Cambie and Robson on Sunday night. Police discovered she was wanted on a CBSA warrant and took her into custody.

Hubrechtsen claimed she was in Vancouver to see family. But CBSA officials wanted her deported for failing to disclose her criminal background when gaining entry to B.C.

The Immigration and Refugee Board has now ordered Hubrechtsen inadmissable for the next two years for misrepresenting herself.

Hubrechtsen's criminal record includes three convictions of soliciting or engaging in prostitution in Las Vegas in 2004. She was also charged with two counts of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, but the charges were dropped.

Grant says she doesn't know how Jessie befriended Hubrechtsen.

However, the mother says Hubrechtsen introduced Jessie to Peter Todd, who became Jessie's boyfriend in Las Vegas and is believed to be the last person to have seen her.

Jessie's case is being investigated by the North Las Vegas Police. It is also of interest to the Las Vegas-based Anti-Trafficking League Against Slavery.

Terri Miller of ATLAS told The Province in June she suspects Foster was sold as a sex slave because the case has "many human-trafficking indicators."

lsin@png.canwest.com

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