Kierra Coles Reward Raised to $250,000 in Chicago Postal Worker Disappearance

Federal investigators seek new leads nearly eight years after Chicago disappearance

CHICAGO, Illinois — The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has increased to $250,000 the reward for information that could help solve the 2018 disappearance of Kierra Coles, a pregnant U.S. Postal Service employee who was last seen after leaving her South Chicago apartment on Oct. 2, 2018.

The new reward is 10 times the amount previously offered by the federal law-enforcement agency about a year after Coles vanished. Investigators are asking anyone with information that could aid the case to contact the Postal Inspection Service and reference case number 2693502.

Coles was 26 and about three months pregnant when she disappeared from the area near 82nd Street and Coles Avenue in the South Chicago neighborhood, according to a missing-person alert. She would now be 34.

Authorities have described Coles as a Black woman standing 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing about 125 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. Investigators said she has a heart tattoo on her right hand and a tattoo reading “Lucky Libra” on her back.

Family advocacy has kept Kierra Coles case in public view

In the years since the disappearance, Coles’ relatives and supporters have continued to press for answers and greater attention to her case. They have organized public appeals around her birthday and Mother’s Day, often joining families of other missing people to seek information and highlight cases that have remained unresolved.

Her loved ones have also called for the disappearance to receive the same level of urgency and public attention as the 2021 case of Gabby Petito, the white YouTuber whose disappearance drew nationwide coverage and a broad search that ultimately led to the discovery of her remains. The comparison has reflected a wider concern among advocates over disparities in media coverage and public resources devoted to missing-person cases involving women of color.

The increased Kierra Coles reward signals that federal investigators are still seeking information years after she was last seen. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which investigates crimes involving the mail and postal employees, said the money is available for information that aids the investigation.

Anyone with information about Coles’ disappearance is asked to call investigators at 877-876-2455 and cite case number 2693502. No resolution in the case has been announced, and the investigation remains ongoing.