After She Drove Away From Her Parent’s Home One Afternoon In 2011, Her Car Was Found Abandoned With Her Belongings Still Inside, And She Has Remained Missing Ever Since
Phoenix Coldon was born Phoneix Reeves and raised in California before she ultimately moved to Missouri and was adopted by her father, Lawrence Coldon.
As a child, she was frequently home-schooled and participated in recreational activities. She played multiple musical instruments and was even a local junior fencing champion.
Then, once she turned 18, she was able to get her parents to co-sign a lease, and she moved into an apartment with a friend. That friend ultimately turned out to be Phoenix’s boyfriend, whom her parents didn’t know about.
By 2011, Phoenix was a 23-year-old junior attending the University of Missouri – despite not enrolling in any fall classes.
And shortly before the holidays, on December 18, 2011, she mysteriously disappeared.
According to Phoenix’s mother, Goldia Coldon, that day began like “a normal Sunday for her family.” Phoenix visited her parent’s home in Spanish Lake, and together, they went to church and completed some shopping.
Later, around 3:00 p.m., Phoenix’s father watched as she got into her car – a 1998 black Chevrolet Blazer – and drove away.
At the time, her family reportedly believed she might have just gone to the store. But after Phoenix never returned home, they contacted authorities and reported her missing the following morning.
Her car was subsequently found abandoned on St. Clair Avenue in East St. Louis, approximately 25 minutes away from her home, around 5:30 p.m. The vehicle’s driver-side door had been left open, and the vehicle was impounded.
Facebook – pictured above is Phoenix
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Authorities in Illinois entered the car as “abandoned” to the police database, so it was not immediately discovered by police in Missouri.
The Coldon family was reportedly not told about the abandoned car being found, either.
“I just wish those police had done what they were supposed to do by running those plates and seeing that the vehicle was registered to me. All they had to do is call and say, ‘Do you know where your vehicle is?'” Goldia said.
Rather, they only discovered it after a family friend drove by a tow lot on January 2, 2012. According to Goldia, authorities also claimed that no personal belongings were found inside the vehicle, so police did not create an inventory sheet.
“That was not true. When we checked the vehicle at the impound, there were lots of things in it, including her glasses, her purse with her driver’s license, and her shoes,” she explained.
However, DNA analysis reportedly showed that no other people had been inside the vehicle aside from Phoenix and her parents. Following her disappearance, her bank accounts, social media accounts, and cell phone also showed no activity.
As the search for Phoenix continued, her family hired a private investigator named Steve Foster, who ultimately discovered that she had two birth certificates. One birth certificate was in her mother’s maiden name, while the other was in her adoptive name.
It was also learned that, prior to her disappearance, Phoenix recorded a video. In the recording, she reportedly discussed wanting to “start over” before reciting the Serenity prayer.
Some theorized that Phoenix may have run away, and investigators eventually found someone by the name of Phoenix Reeves living in Anchorage, Alaska. However, it was not her.
Phoenix’s secret boyfriend was also cleared of any involvement in her disappearance.
In 2018, a special on her case entitled “The Disappearance of Phoenix Coldon” was aired by Oxygen True Crime. According to supposedly new information uncovered, Phoenix may have had a second cell phone and been communicating with other men in the months before she went missing.
Now that Phoneix’s case has remained unsolved for over 12 years, it’s been speculated that she could have run away, been abducted by traffickers, or been met with foul play.
Still, the exact circumstances surrounding her disappearance remain unclear, and according to her family, leaving would be out of character for Phoenix – who they described as an intelligent and responsible woman.
At the time she vanished, she was five foot six, weighed 125 pounds, and had black hair and brown eyes. Phoenix was last seen wearing gray sweatpants, a black hoodie, and black sneakers.
If you have any information regarding her case, you are urged to contact the St. Louis County Police Department at (314) 231-1212.
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