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.