- Las Vegas authorities are looking into unsolved cases for a connection to the Gilgo Beach suspect.
- Rex Heuermann, 59, was charged last month in the murders of three women in Long Island.
- The mother of one Las Vegas victim, Jessie Foster, told Insider she sees several similarities to the Gilgo Beach killings.
In the 17 years since Glendene Grant last saw her daughter, she's had so many false leads and dashed hopes that she can't bring herself to fully believe that her daughter's disappearance may someday be solved. But when she learned that authorities have begun investigating the Gilgo Beach murder suspect for his potential involvement, she couldn't help but notice that some of the details added up.
"This isn't the first time this has happened," Grant told Insider in an interview. "I've kind of learned over the last 17 years — I always get really hopeful. And then I try to say to myself, 'Don't get too hopeful.' You know, the higher you go, the farther you fall."
Grant told Insider she learned from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department that her daughter is one of several unsolved cases Las Vegas authorities are investigating for connections to 59-year-old Rex Heuermann, who is accused of killing multiple sex workers on Long Island.
Grant's daughter, Jessie Foster, was 21 years old when she went missing in Las Vegas in the spring of 2006. Grant said her daughter fell into a human trafficking scheme and was forced to prostitute herself before vanishing. Her body still hasn't been found.
Grant isn't the only one speaking up — the family of Jodi Brewer, who disappeared in Las Vegas in 2003 has also spoken to local media in recent days about new developments in the cold case, saying authorities are investigating a link to the Gilgo Beach suspect.
A spokesperson for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department confirmed to Insider that detectives are investigating Heuermann's involvement in multiple cold cases.
"We are aware of Rex Heuermann's connection to Las Vegas. We are currently reviewing our unsolved cases to see if he has any involvement," the spokesperson said.
Like the Gilgo Beach victims, Foster and Brewer were both young sex workers. And like the Gilgo Beach victims, whose bodies were discovered wrapped in burlap, Brewer's torso was found wrapped in a sheet and plastic in the desert near an interstate.
Heuermann, a New York architect, was arrested last month and charged with killing three women who went missing in 2009 and 2010 and whose bodies were later found buried near Gilgo Beach: Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Lynn Costello. Authorities said Heuermann is also considered the prime suspect in the killing of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, though he has not been charged in her death.
Heuermann has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and denied harming any of the women.
Las Vegas authorities say they're aware of Rex Heuermann's connection to the city
Grant said she's kept up with the news coverage about the investigation into Heuermann in Long Island, and said she noticed several striking details — namely, that Heuermann owned multiple Las Vegas timeshare properties, and he purchased them not long before Foster went missing. Heuermann bought one property in 2004, and another in 2005.
"It's the timing, and the area, and the similarities to other victims of his," Grant said. "The only difference with all of the women from Gilgo Beach and the other women from Las Vegas is Jessie's body has never been found."
Grant said Foster last communicated with her family on March 28, 2006, and was never heard from again. Foster was known for calling at least one relative every single day that she spent in Las Vegas, and told her sister on March 28th that she would speak to her the very next day.
"And then nothing. And 17-and-a-half years later it's still nothing," Grant said, adding that police didn't initially believe Foster was missing. "Jessie's not leaving a family that she's so close to and going somewhere with God only knows who and starting a life somewhere and leaving us out of it. That could not happen."
The Suffolk County Police Department and Suffolk County District Attorney's Office — which have been investigating and prosecuting Heuermann in Long Island — did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on the Las Vegas investigations.
Heuermann's attorney also did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Grant said she remembers her daughter as a beautiful and loving young woman with a hilarious personality — Foster could belch the alphabet, and once won a spitting contest.
"She was very popular, very funny, and very kind and very loving," Grant said. "It ripped a hole in our family when she went missing. And the hole has never been filled — but it's been padded, I guess you could say."