In this episode of Crime Watch Daily Updates: Christopher Thomas, who went by Cole, was about to graduate from the University of Florida when he dropped out and moved to Minnesota to become an electrician. On November 24, 2016, Cole and two of his co-workers, Julian Valles and Jeremy Carpenter, road-tripped from Pine Island, Minnesota, to Durham, North Carolina.
At one point in the drive, Cole got out of the car in Benson, North Carolina, and disappeared. He was last seen alive in the early morning hours of November 25, 2016.
Cole’s family in Florida found out he was missing, so they traveled to North Carolina. One of the two men traveling with Cole allegedly told police Cole had a panic attack and just walked away and disappeared. The men, however, kept offering up different stories.
Julian, one of Cole’s co-workers, reportedly sold drugs, and took the trip down to North Carolina in order to buy more. The alleged drug deal supposedly freaked Cole out, and Cole and Jeremy got out of the car to calm down. Surveillance video shows the two men walking through Benson at around 1 a.m.
Jeremy reportedly told Cole’s father they ended up at a church, and Cole left to use the bathroom, but was never seen again.
State and local officials began investigating the missing person case. In 2017, Julian Valles, Jeremy Carpenter, Anthony James Jr., and Rudolfo DeLeon were arrested and charged with felony concealment of a death concerning Cole’s disappearance. Prosecutors also charged Julian, Jeremy, and Anthony with obstruction of justice.
In September 2019, the Johnston County District Attorney’s Office dropped the charges against the four men, but said the investigation remains ongoing.
Cole is reportedly presumed dead, though his body has still never been found.
Let’s take a look back at the case of a young man who seemed to vanish into thin air on Thanksgiving.
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