When a teenage Kera Freeland posted the escort ad on Craigslist, she was excited to make some money and take control of life. Freeland, who had recently worked as an escort in Toronto, was last seen in mid-January. Her body was found last week in a Caledon ditch.
Her death remains suspicious; OPP are awaiting the toxicology results from an autopsy. In Calgary, the news has rippled through the shelter community. McDonald was saddened but not surprised. Many street kids wear donated clothes. Freeland wore stylish tartans and always had well-done hair.
She also had a reputation for speaking her mind, McDonald said. Some instances she got the crap beat out of her. Melissa Marie Creyke remembers the day she met Freeland. She was having a bad day, waiting for a friend on the steps of a Calgary shelter.
Freeland sat down beside her and started a conversation that turned into a five-year friendship. Although Freeland was known for getting into fights, McDonald said she was never aggressive with shelter staff. In a world where many were without hope, Freeland was bright and energetic. Friends say the year-old was trying to do that. She used the shelter for housing and food, but would leave it for months at a time.
He last saw Freeland on Jan. She wanted to see Niagara Falls, but never made it. In mid-December, she received news that she might have cervical cancer. She procrastinated and put it off. She was told her condition would turn into full-blown cancer.
