Missing pregnant Chicago postal worker was due to give birth this week
CHICAGO (Fox 32 News) - New information has surfaced on a pregnant postal worker who went missing in Chicago more than six months ago.
Her name is Kierra Coles. She was seen on surveillance video October 2nd, 2018 -- which is the day she went missing. We have covered Kierra’s story since the day she was reported missing by her mother when her daughter didn't answer her phone calls, and this week, Kierra was due to give birth.
Instead, her disappearance has baffled police and frustrated her South Side community.
“When I woke up that morning and still hadn't gotten a call from her, I knew something was wrong,” said Kierra’s mother, Karen Philips.
Community members, coworkers, friends and her heartbroken mother are still holding out hope for Kierra’s return.
“I wasn't there to help her. I'm sure she was looking for me,” Karen said.
Kierra was three months pregnant when she went missing. Six months later, her due date has come and gone.
Hard questions have remained unanswered. Why is Kierra seen on video wearing her postal uniform, despite a sick call into work that day?
Why, with her car parked on the right side of the street, can she be seen on surveillance video making an abrupt change of course to the other side of the street.
And why was her car parked and locked nearby, with her cellphone still inside.
“Calling out sick and leaving for work that day in uniform is quite out of the ordinary. Was she the one who made that phone call? We think there's more to the story,” said Mack Julion of the National Association of Letter Carriers.
Chicago police say they have a good idea of what happened. They have a minimum, “two or three people of interest” -- but they wouldn't tell us who those people are.
They say it's a matter of finding evidence and they're continuing working with the US Postal Inspection Service on the case.
But for Kierra’s family and friends, as days pass without answers, frustration mounts.
The case has been a high priority for many in Kierra’s South Side community.
“We've got to find this baby. We cannot let up on a person missing without a clue,” said community activist Andrew Holmes said.
The search to find Kierra continues, leaving her mother with a single, burning question: what happened to her daughter?
An answer she waits for even in sleep.
“I just always say I don't know. I ask God to show me a sign in my dream or reality or something,” Karen said.