CHICAGO — Almost two years since the pregnant mail carrier, Kiera Coles, went missing, her family and friends celebrated her 28th birthday Thursday, as they pleaded for the public to continue searching for her.
“Every day is a struggle for me,” said her father, Joseph Coles, who cut a cake on behalf of his missing daughter and grandchild Thursday evening. “If she hears me, I’m out 24 hours a day, walking the streets, knocking on doors still looking for her.”
Kiera Coles was three months pregnant with her first child when she went missing on Oct. 2, 2018, near her apartment in the Chatham neighborhood. Her father said authorities are “not doing enough” to find her and begged neighbors to “speak up,” offering a nearly $50,000 reward to anyone who leads to her whereabouts.
Although there were initial reports that Chicago police had suspended the investigation in July, saying they’d exhausted their leads, in an emailed statement to The Chicago Tribune, police clarified that they are working jointly with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the FBI to continue the search.
Chicago police added that the case remains a high-risk missing person investigation with potential foul play suspected.
“At this point, anybody with knowledge of her last whereabouts is asked to contact police as we are seeking any information in an attempt to locate her and we won’t stop until we do,” the statement said.
A doubtful Joseph Coles said he has received little to no information from police and added that he often goes to the 5th District police station, to learn about updates regarding the search of his daughter.
On Thursday night, he was surrounded by leaders of different organizations that have been supporting him and his family in the search for Kiera Coles since the start. They all sang happy birthday to Kiera Coles at a small rendezvous in front of Alulu Brewery and Pub.
Many wore black T-shirts with photos of Kiera Cole on them.
Mack Julion, president of the local chapter of the National Association of Letter Carriers, attended the celebration to offer his support for the family.
“We have not forgotten, not given up on our sister,” Julion said.
Kiera Coles had worked as a mail carrier for about three years before she went missing. Her mother, Karen Philips, reported her missing on Oct. 4, 2018, after she had not heard from her for two days, and calls to her cellphone went straight to voicemail.
“I talk to her every day,” Phillips told Tribune a few days after Kiera Coles disappeared in 2018. “I knew something was wrong. It’s just not like her.”
Vera Giles-Norris, a member of Kats Out Foundation, echoed Joseph Coles’ plea on Thursday, days before the second anniversary since Kiera Coles went missing. She said that many times cases of missing people are ignored rather than solved.
“We’re still hoping that and still praying that Kiera Cole is somewhere and she’s ready to come back home,” said Giles-Norris, whose organization helps to bring awareness to cases of missing people.
For the second year in a row, George “Ben” Ivey, founder of the group Stop the Violence, helped put Kiera Coles’ birthday celebration together to raise awareness of her case.
Kiera Coles is 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs about 125 pounds. She is Black, with brown eyes, black hair and a medium brown complexion. She also has a tattoo of a heart on her right hand and a tattoo that says “Lucky Libra” on her back.
———
©2020 Chicago Tribune
Visit the Chicago Tribune at www.chicagotribune.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.