Perplexing Missing Person Cases

Do you have information that could help the families of the individuals below find their missing loved ones or get the closure they so desperately need?

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons (NamUS) database reports more than 2,300 people are reported missing every day in the U.S. That equals some 600,000 individuals each year. About 90,000 of those individuals are never found. About 4,400 bodies remain unidentified each year and less than 1% of them ever get identified.

Diamond Bynum and King Walker

On July 25, 2015, 21-year-old Diamond Bynum and her 2-year-old nephew, King Walker, disappeared from a family member’s home while others slept. Neither Diamond nor King have been seen or heard from in the nearly nine years since the pair seemingly vanished into thin air.

Diamond and King disappeared when they woke up from a nap before other family members. Diamond had been visiting family at the Gary, Indiana, apartment.

Family members immediately noticed the front door open and knew something was wrong. Moments later, the family members realized King and Diamond were missing.

According to Bynum’s family members, she suffered from intellectual disabilities that would have rendered her incapable of caring for King herself. Despite this fact and the length of time since anyone has seen or heard from Diamond od King, family members remain optimistic that they are out there somewhere or hope at least for closure in the case.

Bynum did not drive, so the family knew she left walking and that she could not have made it far on foot. Police searched the area but turned up nothing. A K9 trailed their scent to a local convenience store, although the scent dropped off from there.

No traces of Diamond nor King have been found since that hot July day when they disappeared.

Phoenix Coldon

When a tow company in Spanish Lake, IL, came upon a vehicle abandoned in the middle of the road, they towed it to their shop. They could not locate the owner and didn’t make any calls to try to find them, but figured the person would show up looking for the 1998 Chevy Blazer.

A few weeks later, the family of Phoenix Coldon phoned the tow company inquiring about the vehicle. The shop owners confirmed they had the car since December 18, 2011, when they towed it from the roadway.

When the family retrieved the vehicle, her eyeglasses, cell phone, purse, and shoes were still inside.

All activity on her debit cards and bank account ceased after Phoenix disappeared.

Phoenix left her family’s home on December 18, 2011, headed to a convenience store and possibly to her friend’s house. She never returned home.

A missing person police filed by the family with the local police department was largely ignored. The family spent most of their life savings in a desperate search for the missing 23-year-old. Sadly, more than 13 years have passed without a word from Phoenix.

The Coldon family learned the tow company picked up the car from St. Clair Avenue in East St. Louis, approximately 25 minutes from her family’s home.

Leah Roberts

In March 2000, Leah Roberts, 27, left her home in Durham, North Carolina on a “spiritual journey.” The prior year, Leah lost both her parents and suffered serious injuries in a car accident. She needed change and needed it fast.

She left one month’s rent money behind with a note reading, “I’m not suicidal. I’m the opposite.”

She hasn’t been seen since leaving her home, although her debit card was used until March 13 and her newly-wrecked Jeep was located on the side of the road in Washington state on March 18, 2000.