Vancouver police yesterday unveiled a billboard in the Downtown Eastside bearing the face of a woman whose body was found floating in the Fraser River this summer.
Lisa Arlene Francis, who was also known as Lisa Kireche, was a 41-year-old survival-sex worker who was last seen July 10. Two weeks later her body was found floating in the Fraser by a man who was walking along the shore.
The billboard was erected on Cordova Street between Hawks and Heatley avenues.
“Lisa worked in this area,” said Const. Lindsey Houghton, a spokesman for Vancouver police. “She lived down here. She spent a lot of time down here … Not everyone down here has access to traditional forms of media.”
Police hope the sign, along with a $10,000 reward, will jar memories and generate clues.
It is the second time that Vancouver police have used a billboard to try to generate clues. In February 2006, police erected a billboard near city hall to find clues in the murder of Tracey Guthrie. Police eventually arrested Steve Vezina, who later pleaded guilty to her murder.
Houghton did not know how much this billboard cost, but said it would remain up for at least a month.
