Naman Shrestha
In early October 2018, a pregnant woman named Kierra Coles vanished into thin air from Chicago’s South Side neighborhood, raising concerns about her whereabouts and well-being amongst her family and friends. With the help of the authorities, Kierra’s loved ones hoped to locate her unharmed and reunite with her. The entire case is covered in a detailed manner in the episode titled ‘Chicago Shadows from the South Side’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘Hunt for the Missing.’
Kierra Coles Suddenly Disappeared From Her Neighborhood
Born in September 1992, Kierra Coles was raised by a loving and supportive set of parents, Karen Philips and Joseph Coles, alongside her four siblings, including a sister, Kianna Coles. Growing up, she developed a liking for many things in life, including posing for pictures, makeup, dancing, and spending quality time with her friends and family. After completing her education, she reportedly took on seasonal jobs while pursuing a position at the US Postal Service. After three years of perseverance, she was hired at her dream job permanently. By October 2018, 26-year-old Kierra had gotten pregnant, allegedly with her then-boyfriend, Josh Simmons. Looking forward to becoming a doting mother, Kierra suddenly vanished on October 2, 2018.
Since she could not be contacted by her mother, with whom she used to talk daily, her mother reported her missing on October 4. Upon searching for her, the authorities learned that the three-month pregnant woman was last seen alive around her home in the Chatham neighborhood at 81st Street and Vernon Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, on October 2. They also forced entry into her apartment, but she was nowhere to be found. However, her car was parked in front of her house, and inside it was her phone and a packed lunch. During the investigation, the police also spoke with her colleagues at the post office, who said she had called in sick on the day she went missing and informed them of her absence.
In order to retrace her steps before her disappearance, the police referred to security footage, which showed her in her postal uniform leaving for work. In another surveillance footage, Kierra was spotted carrying groceries into her apartment building on the 8100 block of South Vernon. A few hours later, she got into a car with a man considered a person of interest and drove to a 24-hour Walgreens at 8600 South Cottage Grove, where she got out and withdrew a significant amount of money from the ATM. Within the following hour, Kierra’s car was seen parked back in her neighborhood, and the person of interest exited the vehicle from the passenger side. The man then went inside her apartment building alone and left with some items, before entering another car parked in the same neighborhood and driving away.
Kierra Coles Has Yet to Be Found, and the Perpetrator Remains at Large
According to Kierra’s mother, Karen Philips, the person of interest in the video footage was allegedly Josh Simmons, Kierra’s boyfriend and presumed father of her unborn child. Karen was with Josh at Kierra’s apartment while the police were searching it. As per her account, Josh told her that he hadn’t seen her but had been in touch with her. More suspicions were raised against him when he provided the detectives with contradictory and inconsistent accounts during his interview with the police.
Not long after the interview, Josh reportedly moved out of the state with the mother of his other children. In July 2022, Karen was interviewed by NBC Chicago, and she addressed him, stating, “I want to say, ‘I know you know something. You know what happened. You don’t know the pain that I feel not knowing what’s going on with my child. I wish you would come forward and tell us what really happened to her.'” Despite the best efforts of the authorities, no suspects have been named or arrested in the case as Kierra Coles remains missing. The family has kept a $68,000 reward for anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
Read More: Angela Green: What Happened to Her? Was She Found?
