Runaway or Taken?: The Mystery of Phoenix Coldon Linda Davidson

By Linda Davidson

Runaway or Taken? The Mystery of Phoenix Coldon
On a cold December afternoon in 2011, 23-year-old Phoenix Lucille Coldon walked out of her family's driveway in Spanish Lake, Missouri-and vanished. Hours later, her black Chevy Blazer was found abandoned across the river in East St. Louis, Illinois. The engine was still running. The keys were in the ignition. Her glasses, purse, and ID were inside. But Phoenix was gone.

Runaway or Taken? The Mystery of Phoenix Coldon is a deeply researched and emotionally charged true account of one of the most haunting disappearances in recent American memory. Author Linda Davidson traces Phoenix's final known movements, the confusing investigation that followed, and the painful decade-long search for truth led by her parents, Lawrence and Goldia Coldon.

Through firsthand reporting, verified records, and careful reconstruction, Davidson separates fact from rumor-unraveling competing theories of abduction, voluntary disappearance, and systemic investigative failure. More than a mystery, this book becomes a meditation on race, gender, and visibility-asking why some missing persons cases dominate headlines while others fade into silence.

Told with compassion and journalistic precision, Runaway or Taken? honors Phoenix not as a symbol, but as a daughter, musician, and young woman with dreams abruptly interrupted.

Inside you'll find:

A documented timeline of Phoenix's final hours and the first critical 72 hours of the investigation

Exclusive insights into the Coldon family's ongoing search and advocacy

Examination of media bias and systemic inequities in missing persons coverage

Reflections on hope, faith, and the endurance of unanswered love

For readers of Unsolved, American Predator, and Missing: The Unexplained Cases That Haunt Us, this book is both an investigation and an elegy-a reminder that behind every headline is a family still waiting for the door to open.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FZ2XTZB6
• ISBN13: 9798272573117
• Release Date: November 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.31 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"