The views and opinions expressed in Cold and
Missing are exclusively those of the hosts. All
parties mentioned are considered innocent until
proven guilty in a court of law. Cold and Missing
also contains adult themes and languages. Listener
discretion is advised. I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin
-Sulkowski. And I'm your co -host, Eli Sulkowski.
And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover
cold cases and missing person cases. Hello, everyone,
and welcome back to Cold and Missing. I'm your
host, Ali. And I'm your co -host, Eli. Welcome
back, everyone. And Eli is back for what is actually
an anniversary episode. So when this episode
drops, it will be officially our three -year
anniversary of doing this podcast. That's right.
Three full years of episodes that we have that
you can go back and listen to. But for today,
we are on episode 139. And we are on a cold case
this week. All right, let's get into it. So just
as a quick content warning at the top, this case
does involve a young person. Today, we are talking
about the cold case of Rhonda Sue Coleman, and
this takes place May 17, 1990, in Hazlehurst,
Georgia. But first, a little bit about Rhonda.
Rhonda is just 18 years old in 1990. She was
just weeks, really days, away from graduation.
Rhonda was described as a warm, friendly, and
deeply loved by her friends and family. She was
born January 18, 1972. Rhonda was the only child
of Milton and Gail Coleman. She was really close
with her parents, often choosing to spend time
with them over her friends. Her and her parents
loved to go to the beach together, where Rhonda
loved to water ski. I think Rhonda's obituary
is actually... a really great description of
her and was written by those who love her. So
I would like to read it for a moment. Ms. Coleman
was a native and lifelong resident of Jeff Davis
County. She was a senior at Jeff Davis High School
and a member of the Future Farmers of America
and the Epilogue Y Club. She was employed as
a cashier at Piggly Wiggly and was a member of
the Tabernacle Baptist Church of Hazlehurst.
She was a tomboy at heart who loved motorcycles,
climbing trees, and playing in the mud. She made
one attempt at entering a beauty pageant at age
nine, but decided that pageant life wasn't for
her, as it interfered with her playtime schedule.
And now, a timeline of events. Thursday, May
17th, 1990. Rhonda didn't usually go out on school
nights, but this Thursday was an exception. Her
classmates were gathering to decorate banners
for their upcoming graduation. It was a tradition
at her high school for the seniors to decorate
banners for the ceremony. That evening, before
she left, Rhonda sat down with her father, Milton,
and the two talked about her college plans. Milton
would later recall, quote, Rhonda's curfew was
10 .30 p .m., and she had never given her parents
a reason to worry. She was never late, or if
she knew she was going to be a few minutes late,
she would always call her parents and let them
know. She left home either around 7 or 8 p .m.
Both times have been reported over the years.
Rhonda left in her 1989 Chevrolet Cavalier and
met a classmate she had been on a few dates with.
They left her car parked at a convenience store
and then the two of them rode together to the
party, which was hosted at the house of her friend,
Mickey. The decorating party went as planned
and around 10 p .m., Rhonda said goodbye to her
friends and left so she'd have time to stop and
pick up her car and make it home in time for
curfew. She and the classmate that she had driven
to the party with had left together again. We
do know that Rhonda makes it to her car. She
was last seen at the Sewanee Swift convenience
store. However, 10 .30 rolls around and Rhonda
had not returned home. Almost immediately, her
parents begin to worry. This was not like her
to be late, and if she was going to be late,
she would have called. It doesn't take her dad
long to decide to go out and look for her. Years
later, her mother will recall getting a terrible
feeling that something awful had happened. Around
11 p .m., one of Rhonda's friends, Layla, who
had missed the decorating party because of work,
was driving home when she spotted Rhonda's car
just 20 feet off of Bell Telephone Road. Layla
pulled off of the road to see if Rhonda needed
help, but Rhonda wasn't with her car. The engine
was still running. The headlights were on. The
driver's door was wide open. Her purse was on
the floorboard of the passenger seat and the
parking brake was engaged. Footprints led from
her car to the tire tracks of another vehicle.
Investigators would later say, The physical evidence
indicates Rhonda stopped and got out to speak
with someone, possibly someone she knew. A vehicle
had pulled in and stopped behind her, but there
was no signs of a struggle. Layla got back in
her car and went to her boyfriend's house to
call police. Layla and her boyfriend returned
to the car to wait for police. By the time the
first officer rolls up to the scene, Rhonda's
father also finds her car. Nothing was missing
from Rhonda's car. Her purse was still in the
floorboard, and nothing of value had been taken.
Her friend Layla said, quote, It looked like
somebody she knew or thought she knew motioned
for her to stop. I believe she got out of her
car expecting to get right back in. Immediately,
police start searching for Rhonda and treat this
like a kidnapping. Police will later learn that
a raccoon hunter in the area will report seeing
a dark -colored shortbed pickup truck driving
past him as he was exiting the woods. He heard
a woman's voice crying out for help from the
car. At the time, the hunter thought it was just
high schoolers messing around, but when he heard
about Rhonda going missing just two miles from
where he was, he reports it to police. Police
do believe that the woman crying from the car
was Rhonda. The next day, Friday, May 18, 1990,
the small community of Hazlehurst was shaken
by Rhonda's disappearance. Friends described
Rhonda as cautious. She knew not to stop for
strangers, and she had driven that road countless
times before. Her classmates plastered the town
with flyers and joined the search for her, many
skipping school to do so. Students rode ATVs
or brought tough trucks through the area. Her
best friend, Tricia Thompson, said, quote, It's
not a dangerous road, but it's dark. She knew
not to stop. She wouldn't have stopped for anything.
Rhonda's school supports the students skipping
class to look for her. The principal says, Her
classmates are especially shaken. The small senior
class of 140 students had already lost another
senior just a few months before that. The young
man had died in a car accident. The search for
Rhonda continues all through Friday and then
all day the next day Saturday. However, on Sunday,
May 20, 1990, so Rhonda has been missing since
Thursday. There have been no signs of her found
outside of her vehicle. Police believe that she
was abducted by someone who was able to flag
her down and get her to pull over onto the side
of the road. That afternoon, a man was walking
through the woods in nearby Montgomery County.
It's said that he was appraising Tinder, but
some reports say he was walking his dog. He was
about 16 miles from where Rhonda's car had been
found when he makes a horrifying discovery. She's
laying face down on a logging road. She was still
fully clothed in jeans, a pink shirt, and tennis
shoes. Pine straw had been raked around her,
and her back had been partially burned in what
police believe was an attempt to destroy evidence.
Authorities are later able to determine that
the burning was done after her death. Outside
of the fire, there was no obvious signs of trauma
to her body, so police are not able to immediately
determine a cause of death. Ultimately, her autopsy,
which will take place over the next few days,
will reveal that she was not sexually assaulted.
For a cause of death, police have withheld this
information. On the GBI website today, it says
that her cause of death was an undetermined homicide.
However, her parents have said years later that
they unofficially have heard that the cause of
death was strangulation. So ultimately, we have
never had a confirmation of Rhonda's cause of
death. Police believe that Rhonda was murdered
elsewhere and dumped in this area. It didn't
seem like anybody had really tried to hide her
body beyond trying to burn it. She wasn't placed
in any of the nearby brushy areas. She was out
in the open. It's reported that her body was
found either right on or very close to the logging
road. Police do believe that her body had been
there since Thursday night, likely placed there
not long after she was abducted from her vehicle.
With the discovery of Rhonda's body, the Georgia
Bureau of Investigation, or the GBI, get involved
in the case. The next day on Monday, May 21st,
Rhonda's friends and classmates are devastated
by the murder of Rhonda. Counselors are brought
in to talk to students and to be made available
to anyone who needs to process what they're going
through. A $2 ,000 reward is offered for information
leading to the arrest nearly immediately. Police
do say that they were able to rule out the boy
that she had caught a ride with to and from the
party. So the person that she had left her car
at the convenience store with to go to the party.
The next day, Tuesday, May 22nd. The community
is on edge and police believe that they are justified
in that fear. The sheriff at the time says, quote,
a pretty sweet little girl like that who'd never
done anything to anybody and some maniac. I don't
know what in the hell else you'd call them, to
do a thing like that to her? Sure, these kids
ought to be scared. We've questioned a lot of
people, but no one has been arrested. Police
say that at this point they have interviewed
all of her friends, everyone that was at the
decorating party that night. Police still have
no leads in the case. They do say that they had
a prime suspect, but he was eliminated after
he passed the polygraph. On Wednesday, May 23rd,
Just six days after she went missing, Rhonda
is laid to rest. Her service was standing room
only, with many people standing in the vestibule
of the church. Her funeral started with a reading
from Rhonda's English journal. Rhonda had been
dealing with the death of her classmate, and
she wrote, quote, Sometimes I just don't understand
God. While Rhonda's funeral service is going
on, police are in the parking lot in the nearby
blocks searching for a short bed pickup truck.
This is based off of the hunter's tip who saw
the truck and heard the woman screaming. Police
believe that her killer would likely be at the
funeral since they believe that Rhonda knew her
killer. By June 1st, so it's been just over two
weeks since Rhonda was murdered, and police say
that they have no idea what the motive in this
case would be. She wasn't robbed and she wasn't
assaulted. Police have no leads. The next day,
June 2nd, the day that Rhonda should have graduated
high school, instead her parents are given her
diploma at a very solemn graduation ceremony.
Over the years, Rhonda's parents work very hard
to keep her story in the media and on the top
of police's priorities. The case is mentioned
again and again over the years, especially around
the anniversary. However, no new information
is really revealed for years. Police say time
and time again that they remain committed to
solving Rhonda's case and that it's a top priority
for them. But still, no new leads, no suspects,
no arrests. In June of 1996, so it would have
been six years since Rhonda was murdered, Police
do say that they have a suspect in the case,
but they do not have enough evidence to bring
him to trial. They never name the suspect or
give any clues or hints as to who he might have
been in Rhonda's life. The community of Hazlehurst
stays committed to Rhonda's case, too. Over the
years, people continue to donate to her reward
fund. Year after year, month after month, people
continue to donate. By June of 1998, so eight
years since the murder, the reward fund had grown
to over $36 ,000 and people were still donating
in 1998. The sheriff then, Jimmy Boatwright,
says, quote, The community is very interested
in this case. We won't stop until we make an
arrest. Even when I go to other places and say
where I'm from, people say, that's the place
where the girl was abducted. Whatever happened
in that case? It's around this time in 1998 that
police make a plea to the public for information.
They ask that people not assume that they know
something. They would rather get the same tips
several times than not get a piece of information
at all. Police say, quote, This case is a complicated
jigsaw puzzle with a couple of crucial pieces
missing. We're hoping the person or persons responsible
have told somebody about it and that the guilt
or greed will help those with knowledge to overcome
whatever loyalty they feel to the killer. Police
say that they still don't have a motive in this
case. Quote, if we knew the motive, we'd have
somebody in jail. Years pass. Decades pass, but
in June of 2021, so it's been 31 years since
Rhonda's murder. And over the years, her parents
had gotten frustrated and hired a private investigator
to look into Rhonda's case as well. Her parents
say that the private investigator made some eye
-opening revelations, but the family declines
to share the information with the media. wanting
to protect the integrity of the investigation
at the police's request. A podcast called Fox
Hunter, which, full disclosure, I have not had
the chance to listen to at all, so I can't vouch
for any of it, but they cover Rhonda's case in
a multi -episode podcast season. The listeners
of that podcast are able to raise... $100 ,000
for the reward fund, and it generates a lot of
new interest and energy into Rhonda's case. In
2024, Rhonda's parents had helped draft the Baker
-Coleman Act, which allows families to ask for
police to reinvestigate cases after so much time
has passed. With the passing of this act, it
also helps establish a cold case unit within
the GBI. With this effort, It results in an arrest
for Baker, the other cold case that the bill
was named after, but Rhonda's case still remains
cold. As of 2024 and 2025 when we record this,
no suspects have ever been named in the case
and no motive has ever been revealed. So with
that, if you know anything about the murder of
Rhonda Sue Coleman in May of 1990, please contact
the GBI Region 4 Douglas office at 912 -389 -4103.
So that is the cold case of Rhonda Sue Coleman.
I always love hearing about the backstories of
the people that you bring to us at Cold and Missing,
and I loved hearing about Rhonda. I loved that
she was a tomboy and seemed to marched to the
beat of her own drum and I don't know she hearing
about her reminded me of you actually um I could
imagine her pretty instantly and um this is a
this is a heartbreaking case and it seems solvable
to me yeah from hearing everyone talk about Rhonda
and how much they loved her and how they knew
Rhonda it definitely seems like she's somebody
that Like, I personally would have got along
great with. Like, we would have been pals if
we were in high school at the same time. Like,
definitely sounds like an incredible person.
And yeah, I agree that this case is extraordinarily
tragic. The timing of it is so horrible in a
young person's life. And I do think this is solvable.
I think there is a lot there. Yeah, just jumping
right into the timeline. You know, we know she
was attending a party that evening and was with
friends. But from the timeline that you shared
with us, to me, it seems like the crime was maybe
committed in the 10 p .m. to 10 .30 p .m. window.
And again, with what you shared, it seems narrowed
down to me, and I just wanted to... Get your
thoughts on that. Yeah. So the timeline, particularly
around when she disappears, when she's abducted,
it's a little different depending on the source.
So some people report that it's around 10 that
she's last seen. Some people say it's around
1030 that she's last seen. But that likely would
have made her late for her curfew if that's what
she was aiming to do. For the timeline, you know,
I said around 10 she left the party, which is
about what we know. But we're not quite sure,
at least I'm not quite sure, exactly the last
timing or the last time that Rhonda was seen.
But definitely between 10 and 11, it seems very
firm in that. The next notable event in the timeline,
at least for me as I was taking in the information,
is when... Her friend spots her car, and that's
around 11, correct? Yeah, that does seem to be.
Again, depending on sources, it puts it between
10 .30 and 11, so right in there, though. Now,
I know her dad makes his way to where her car
is shortly after, and police are called. My question
for you is, was the crime scene being compromised
with the arrival of all of these people? Or were
they being encouraged to not walk around, not
check the car? I'm curious as to what that looked
like. It's a great question. So as far as the
scene where the car was found, it's pretty unclear
what measures were put into place that evening
to protect it. as a crime scene um we know pretty
immediately police do treat it seriously as a
kidnapping so i'd like to think that there was
some care around the car and trying to preserve
evidence but i do think that her friend you know
at one point went into the car when she first
finds it um i read a report that she actually
turned the engine off on the car so um Her friend
might have been in the car. I'm sure her dad
looked over the car to see if anything was missing,
if he noticed anything about it. But I don't
have firm details on that. And that makes sense
to me that, you know, friends and family would
immediately interact with their loved one's car,
assuming. You know that something had happened,
but not the worst. I don't think your mind would
immediately jump to that. Even if it did, you're
not saying it out loud. I think you're looking
for clues, so that makes sense to me. This is
kind of jumping backwards in the timeline, but
the fox hunter said that he spotted and or heard
the car around 1030. Yeah, so I think he was
actually a raccoon hunter. Fox Hunter is the
podcast name that covers it, yeah. But by all
reports that I can tell, I couldn't find the
exact time, but it does seem like he came out
of the woods maybe a little after 10 .30, and
that's around the time that he saw the car. It
seemed like he was leaving after hunting for
the evening and going to his car when he saw
that truck speed past him and heard the woman
crying from the car. After this point in the
timeline, it seems like her story really takes
a turn at the community's helm. The turnout of
this community is so incredible, and we've heard
it with other stories as well, but the commitment
to their loved one is really beautiful here.
The way that they showed up for their community
member for Rhonda was very beautiful. Oh, yeah.
Like all the students were skipping school to
help search for her, to pass out flyers. The
town was papered in her picture less than 24
hours after she went missing. So everyone was
very committed to Rhonda and to bringing her
home. Moving into the discovery of Rhonda's body,
I, of course, what a horrifying and deeply sad
discovery. But the questions that come with that
are, was she moved? Especially the state that
her body was in. I want to know what you think
about that. But of course, I also agree with
law enforcement that even though she was discovered
there, it seems placed. Maybe even, to me, specifically
placed so she would be found. Yeah, I agree with
police that it's it seems like she was murdered
elsewhere and then her body was dumped there.
Yeah, it does seem like it was almost placed
with the intent of being found. All the police
at the time said that it was like in an open
area, like there was no hiding or attempt to
hide the body at all. And there were reports
that this area was like while it was out of the
way, you know, was on a logging road. It was
kind of known as like a lover's lane area. So
it seemed likely that somebody was going to be
in that area soon. So, yeah, I think that maybe
there was, you know, intent for her to be found.
Yeah, it certainly seems like it to me that they
were. Kind of betting on the fact that someone
would come around that area. And that's what
it seems like to me. Moving into, you know, who
possibly committed this crime. I'm very interested
in when you spoke about law enforcement having
a prime suspect and he was let go or they were
let go after a polygraph test. You know, we know.
About polygraph tests and how they hold up in
court and what they mean now and what they can
mean. I am I'm very curious as to who that person
was and I wanted to know your opinion on that
because a polygraph sometimes doesn't mean anything.
I agree. I thought the same thing. I'd wondered
if police had gone back to this person knowing
what we know today about polygraph tests and
how they're not always reliable. Yeah, I. I have
to think with, you know, the police's commitment
to this case over the years, like it has been
actively worked and, you know, it got a lot more
energy over the last few years with podcasts
covering it. So I have to think that police would
go back to that quote unquote prime suspect and.
truly eliminate them if it was anything else.
Or maybe they had more at the time beyond the
polygraph. They also had an alibi or whatever
else they needed to rule that person out. But
yeah, I'm definitely curious about who that person
is and what's been done as of 2025 to rule him
out beyond the polygraph. I do think that it
is incredible of the family that they hired their
own PI, even though It's really sad that people
have to do that often in these cases. I still
think it's incredible of the family to do that
on their loved one's behalf and to have answers
and maybe some justice. And it sounds like to
me that some stuff was uncovered that they know
about. And I know law enforcement did encourage
them to keep their hand close to their chest,
and they have done that. But it seems like they
know something. I hope that whatever they know
has brought them even a fraction of peace or
justice so that their lives are a little bit
easier after having gone through what they've
gone through. But I'm hopeful that more information
will come out. The accuracy or anything like
that, I don't listen to podcasts about cases
we're covering because I want to try to just
stick to the facts and the reporting. That being
said, I do know that that podcast generated a
lot of interest in this case. And I think they
even were able to interview and uncover connections
that maybe before weren't known to police, perhaps.
So I hope with this, you know. energy in Rhonda's
case and the new information and the commitment
that the community has made to Rhonda that we'll
find closure. And, you know, on her parents,
they are incredible humans and, you know, they
speak so beautifully about Rhonda and... you
know, carrying the weight of her death all these
years. But it really sounds like for her parents
that seeing some justice in this case, having
somebody answer for what was done to their daughter
would mean a lot to them. And, you know, there's
never really moving on from this, but it would
give them, you know, that piece of the puzzle
is done, like that door can be closed. for justice
at least. So I really hope that happens for this
family because all of our families are incredibly
deserving, but I really want it for Rhonda's
family in this case. Again, if you know anything
about the murder of Rhonda Sue Coleman in May
of 1990, please call the GBI Region 4 Douglas
office at 912 -389 -4103. And we will have pictures
of Rhonda on our Instagram at coldandmissing.
We're also going to have a picture that police
have provided over the years of her car the night
it was found. So you'll be able to see the state
that it was found in with the door open and everything.
So that will be on our Instagram at coldandmissing.
And if you're not following us, I do encourage
you to follow us. We've had a lot of new followers,
so welcome everyone who's found us recently.
But if we ever need to take a week off, if something
comes up, if life happens, we'll always post
it there. And we're also posting active missing
person cases in our stories, just trying to spread
the word. So follow us there. Great resource
for keeping up with the pod and the true crime
community. Also, if you could take a minute today
to rate and review us in your podcast player,
it helps so much for others to find this podcast,
to listen to the podcast, and to get these stories
out there. Five stars goes a long way in the
algorithm machine. So please, five stars if you
can today. That would be... gorgeous thank you
so much to all those who've done it we got some
really gorgeous reviews this past week so thank
you to everyone who's taken the time to do that
truly i appreciate it so much and it makes my
day like you would not even believe i'm over
the moon when we get a new review And if you
or your loved one is hard of hearing, we will
have transcripts of this episode, official transcripts
that have correct spelling and all that on our
website at Cold and Missing. So if you're looking
for that resource, it's there along with all
of our other episodes from the last three years
because we've been a podcast for three full years.
So all the episodes can be found there. But that
is all I have for you this week. Thank you so
much for listening to Cold and Missing. I'm your
host, Ali. And I'm your co -host, Eli. Have
a good week and stay safe, y 'all. Stay safe,
y 'all.