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Mysterious Disappearance Of Pregnant Postal Worker Lingers, With Few Clues For Family And Investigators
Kierra Coles seemed "so happy" in the days before she disappeared, leaving her family searching for answers and investigators suspecting foul play.
It's been nearly two months since a pregnant postal worker disappeared in Chicago, but investigators and the woman's family are still looking for clues into her mysterious disappearance.
Kierra Coles, who was about three months pregnant at the time she went missing, was last seen on Oct. 2 near her Chicago-area neighborhood.
Her mother, Karen Phillips, notified authorities two days later after she was unable to reach her and realized that calls to the 26-year-old were going straight to her voicemail, according to News One.
Since her disappearance there have been few clues as to her whereabouts. The Chicago Police Department has been tight-lipped about the case, other than to say they believe her disappearance is suspicious.
"Based on the length of time of Kierra Coles' disappearance and the fact that she has fallen off the grid, police suspect possible foul play," they said in a statement given to Oxygen.com.
Investigators said they continue to get leads and are "following up diligently" on those.
Regina Kennedy, a friend of the family told the Chicago Tribune in October that Coles had been last seen when she went to an appointment with her aunt and friend.
Her family said the post office told them Coles called out of work the following day on Oct. 3, although it's not clear whether she made the call herself. Several media outlets have showed surveillance footage from that day appearing to show a woman many believed was Coles dressed in her postal uniform seemingly leaving for work. However, Julie Kenney, a public information representative at the United States Postal Inspection Service, which is investigating the case alongside the Chicago Police Department, told Oxygen.com the postal service doesn't believe the woman was Coles.
"There's other postal employees that live on that block, so the postal inspection service does not believe that is Kierra Coles on that video," she said.
Kenney couldn't confirm or deny whether Coles had called out of work that day, because the inspection service can't comment on personnel matters, but did say Coles "was not on duty" at the time of her disappearance.
Coles' mom told the Chicago Tribune she became concerned about her daughter after she uncharacteristically hadn't heard from her in a couple of days.
"I talk to her every day," Phillips told the paper in October. "I knew something was wrong. It's just not like her."
According to Phillips, Coles' car was still outside her apartment, with her daughter's purse and cell phone inside.
In addition, Phillips told WGCI 107.5 Radio her daughter has bad asthma and didn't have her inhaler with her when she disappeared.
Phillips told the radio station in the days leading up to her disappearance, Coles had been "so happy" and called her mother just before she disappeared to tell her that she'd just heard her baby's heartbeat.
"Everything was coming along for her," she said.
Her family and investigators are urging anyone with information into her disappearance to contact authorities.
Coles is described as 5'4" and 125 pounds with brown eyes and black hair. She has a heart tattoo on her right hand and a "Lucky Libra" tattoo on her back.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has announced a reward up to $25,000 for any information leading to her whereabouts.
"We really hope somebody comes forward with some information. We really want to find her," Kenney said. "We won't stop until she's found."
[Photo: U.S. Postal Inspection Service]
