Pregnant Chicago postal worker missing; foul play suspected

CHICAGO (AP) - More than two weeks after a 27-year-old pregnant postal worker vanished after calling in sick for work, Chicago police say they suspect foul play in her disappearance.

"Based on the length of time of Kierra Coles disappearance and the fact that she has fallen off the grid, police suspect possible foul play," the Chicago Police Department said in an email Friday to The Associated Press. "We continue to get leads and are following up diligently on those leads."

Coles was last seen Oct. 2. According to WLS TV, surveillance video from Chatham on the city's South Side where Coles lives, walking past her car in her U.S. Postal Service uniform, even though she had called in sick that day.

Coles' mother, Karen Phillips, called police to report her missing two days later. She said she became concerned that her daughter hadn't called her and that her calls to her daughter's number went straight to voicemail.

Police went to Coles' home to conduct a well-being check and didn't find her, but saw that her car was parked out front.

"She wouldn't go this long without talking to me," Coles told WLS TV. She said when the two did talk on Oct. 2, her daughter told her how happy and emotional she was to hear her baby's heart beating. "We talk every day. She wouldn't have me worrying like this."

The U.S. Postal Service has offered a $25,000 reward for information on Coles' whereabouts and is assisting in the investigation into her disappearance.

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This story has been corrected to show Coles is 27, not 26.