Mom thinks missing woman in sex trade

EDMONTON -- The mother of an Alberta woman who disappeared from Las Vegas more than two years ago is hoping her experiences will help others, like the family of 29-year-old Shannon Collins.

Collins was reported missing last month, after disappearing nearly a year ago.

Her family believes she may have headed to Calgary to work in the sex trade for the Hells Angels.

Jessie Foster, Glendene Grant's daughter, went missing in March 2006. She was last seen in Las Vegas, where Grant believes she was working as a "high-priced call girl."

Despite few breaks and no arrests in the case, Grant has not given up hope and is urging others to keep a level head and keep searching.

"I have to kind of put my head into a different spot, because otherwise I'll just start crying and break down and I can't think. So I put on this other hat and we call that one "Mom P.I.,' " Grant said from her home in Kamloops, B.C. "It kind of puts me into a place where I can talk about a case on a different level.

"If I did everything as Jessie's mommy trying to find her, a lot wouldn't get done because I'd get too emotional," she added.

"I kind of step back a bit. I can never forget it's my daughter ... and I look at what's going to help Jessie more - me crying or me pounding out the e-mails?"

Grant said the first thing she suggests people do is set up a website and get the name out on websites dedicated to missing persons. Grant has set up a website as well as pages on Facebook and MySpace and regularly e-mails a list of people in an effort to share information and keep Foster on people's minds. For years, Grant has maintained her belief that her daughter got mixed up with a human-trafficking organization, and says it's possible the same thing may have happened to Collins.