On December 18, 2011, 23-year-old Phoenix Coldon left her family home in Spanish Lake, Missouri and disappeared. Her parents have raised criticism about the conduct of local law enforcement, and spent their money and time following leads.[1]
Phoenix Coldon | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1988 Missouri, United States |
| Disappeared | December 18, 2011 (age 23) Spanish Lake, Missouri |
| Status | Missing for 12 years, 11 months and 4 days |
| Parent(s) | Goldia Coldon (mother), Lawrence Coldon (father) |
Biography
editPhoenix Coldon is the daughter of Goldia and Lawrence Coldon. Coldon was born in California as Phoenix Reeves and raised there until the family moved for her father's job to Missouri, where she was adopted by Lawrence Coldon. Phoenix was mostly home-schooled and played a variety of musical instruments and was the local junior fencing champion.[2]
Disappearance
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Coldon disappeared on December 18, 2011, after leaving her family home in a black 1998 Chevy Blazer at about 3 PM local time.[3] Her father told reporters that she was supposedly headed to a convenience store around the street or possibly a friend's house. Hours after she disappeared, her vehicle was discovered at 5:27 PM and impounded at 6:23 PM, abandoned (initially reported to still be running, which was later proven inaccurate), 25 minutes from her home, on St. Clair Avenue in East St. Louis. The vehicle was entered into the police database as abandoned; the vehicle was not initially discovered as abandoned when investigated by Missouri police as it was impounded in Illinois.[4][1] The family was reportedly not notified of the car being discovered until a family friend searching independently discovered it in a tow lot.[3] Upon an independent search by her family afterwards, the vehicle was discovered to still contain her glasses, purse, shoes, ID and a cell phone bill that had been sent to collections.[5]
After her disappearance, all activity on her bank accounts, cell phone and social media accounts ceased. DNA evidence gathered from her SUV indicated that no one had been in the vehicle other than Coldon and her parents.
Search efforts
editHer parents have independently searched for Coldon after raising allegations of a lack of effort from local police. Through the years, they have talked to local drug dealers and sex workers for information and hired a private investigator.[2] Privately funding the search caused the family home to go into foreclosure and for the family's life savings to be drained.[1]
A two-night special television documentary on her disappearance debuted on Oxygen on November 3 and 4, 2018, in which investigative reporter Shawndrea Thomas and retired deputy Police Chief Joe Delia discussed theories on her disappearance.[3]
In 2016, her case was profiled on the podcast The Vanished.[6]
In 2023, her case was profiled on the podcast Crime Junkie.[7]
See also
edit- Disappearance of Stacey English, a similar case in Atlanta, Georgia.
- List of people who disappeared
- Other people still missing, for whom discovery of their abandoned car preceded being reported as a missing person
- Disappearance of Maura Murray – 2004 disappearance of American woman
- Disappearance of Brianna Maitland – Unsolved 2004 disappearance of 17-year-old from Vermont
- Disappearance of Patricia Meehan – Unsolved 1989 disappearance of American 37 year-old woman from Montana
References
edit- ^ a b c Lohr, David (2012-04-18). "Phoenix Coldon: Cruel Hoax Costs Family Of Missing Woman Their Life Savings, Home". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
- ^ a b Walker, Marlon A. "Parents continue search for missing St. Louis County woman". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
- ^ a b c Sederstrom, Jill (2018-10-25). "3 Theories Explaining Phoenix Coldon's Disappearance". Oxygen Official Site. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
- ^ "impounded in Illinois". www.oxygen.com.
- ^ "Mo. Woman Vanished 7 Years Ago — and SUV Was Found Running with Purse, Shoes and Glasses Inside". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
- ^ "EPISODE 26: PHOENIX COLDON". The Vanished Podcast. 29 May 2016. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
- ^ "MISSING: Phoenix Coldon".