Phoenix Coldon was born in California as Phoenix Reeves and later adopted by Goldia and Lawrence Coldon, who relocated the family to Missouri for the father's job. She was formally adopted by Lawrence Coldon, was mostly home-schooled, played several musical instruments, and was recognized as a local junior fencing champion.
On December 18, 2011, at approximately 3 p.m. local time, 23-year-old Coldon left her family's home in Spanish Lake, Missouri, driving a black 1998 Chevy Blazer. Her father later told reporters she was believed to be headed either to a nearby convenience store or possibly to a friend's house. She has not been seen since.
Her vehicle was located a few hours later, at 5:27 p.m., abandoned on St. Clair Avenue in East St. Louis, Illinois — across the Missouri-Illinois state border and about 25 minutes from her home. It was initially reported that the vehicle had been found still running, but this detail was later determined to be inaccurate. The SUV was impounded at 6:23 p.m. and logged into a police database as abandoned; however, because the impound occurred in Illinois, Missouri investigators did not identify it during their search. According to reporting, the Coldon family was not notified that the vehicle had been found until a family friend, searching independently, located it in a tow lot. When the family examined the vehicle themselves, they found Coldon's glasses, purse, shoes, identification, and a cell phone bill that had been sent to collections still inside.
Following her disappearance, all activity ceased on her bank accounts, cell phone, and social media accounts. DNA evidence collected from the SUV indicated that no one other than Coldon and her parents had been inside the vehicle.
Coldon's parents have conducted an extensive independent search in the years since, raising public criticism of what they describe as inadequate effort by local law enforcement. Their efforts have included speaking with local drug dealers and sex workers for possible information and hiring a private investigator. The financial toll of privately funding this search reportedly caused the family's home to go into foreclosure and depleted their life savings.
The case has received sustained media attention. A two-night television documentary on Coldon's disappearance aired on Oxygen on November 3 and 4, 2018, featuring discussion of theories about her disappearance from investigative reporter Shawndrea Thomas and retired deputy police chief Joe Delia. The case was also profiled on the podcast The Vanished in 2016 and on Crime Junkie in 2023. As of the most recent available reporting, Phoenix Coldon's whereabouts remain unknown and her case is unresolved.
Phoenix Coldon, 23, vanished on December 18, 2011 after driving away from her family's home in Spanish Lake, Missouri; her abandoned SUV was found hours later across the state line in East St. Louis, Illinois, with her belongings inside. She has never been located.
