Today marks five years since 26-year-old Kierra Coles disappeared. At this point, the Chicago Police Department is depending on tips from the public on her whereabouts but Coles’ mother isn’t giving up looking for her daughter.
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Karen Philips told ABC she spoke to her daughter on October 2, 2018 not knowing it would be their last conversation. Coles was working with the U.S. Postal Service and was shopping for baby products awaiting the arrival of her baby in the following six months. However, in the next two days, she’d gone silent not answering phone calls. By Oct. 4, her family had filed a missing person’s report.
The Chicago PD’s initial search brought them to a dead end after forcing their way into her apartment only to find she wasn’t there. Flyers were made with her description: a 5’4 Black female weighing 125 pounds with brown eyes last seen around 82nd and Coles Streets.
It wasn’t until June 2022 that the police released surveillance footage showing her whereabouts leading up to her disappearance. Coles was seen carrying grocery bags into her apartment building on the 8100 block of South Vernon. That evening, she got back in her car but with a man. She drove to a 24-hour Walgreens at 8600 S. Cottage Grove where she was seen taking out hundreds of dollars from the store’s ATM.
CPD Lt. William Svilar said she was later seen driving to another area to drop off the mystery man who Philips identified as Josh Simmons, Coles’ boyfriend and father of her unborn baby. However, the next day, he was seen driving Coles’ car near her home, going inside her apartment and leaving with something in hand. He then got in his own car and drove away. However, Coles’ car was found with her purse and cell phone still inside. The video doesn’t show when or if she ever exited the vehicle.
Police didn’t name Simmons but said the man in the footage was labeled a person of interest in the investigation. Svilar said he gave conflicting stories on what happened when he last saw Coles and Philips said he lied saying he never saw her. No arrests have been made and it’s unclear what else the cops have done besides scan surveillance footage to resolve the case.
On Sept. 24, Coles would have turned 31 years old. Philips celebrated her birthday despite her absence, singing “Happy Birthday” and cutting cake, per USA TODAY. She said she hasn’t heard from her daughter’s boyfriend since the initial report of her disappearance. Though, she’s expressed publicly that she believes he has more to do with the vanishing than he’s let on. In March, she held a press conference calling for the FBI to intervene in the search.
Cole’s relatives and friends are offering over $45,000 in reward for any information to find their loved one. The CPD says the case is open but cold. The Cook County Sheriff’s Special Victims Unit has a Missing Persons Investigations Team to aid in missing persons cases that have been unresolved for an extended period of time. The agency told The Root they aren’t currently part of Coles’ case but were “more than willing to assist” if the CPD pulled on them for help.
The Root reached out to the CPD for comment on asking the county sheriff’s office and FBI for assistance. Here is what they said:
“This is still an open investigation. We are seeking any and all information in an attempt to locate her and we won’t stop until we do. Anybody with information is asked to contact the Chicago Police Department or submit an anonymous tip at CPDTip.com.”
Call the CPD with any information at 833-408-0069 or 312-746-7330. Submit an anonymous tip to CPDTIP.com.
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