MISSING: Christopher “Cole” Thomas

**Ashley Flowers** (0:00)
Hi, Crime Junkies, I'm your host, Ashley Flowers.

**Brit Prawat** (0:02)
And I'm Brit.

**Ashley Flowers** (0:03)
And you guys, sometimes the hardest cases to crack aren't always the ones with nothing to go on. They're often the ones where everybody seems to know something, but they're too scared to talk. Because today's story isn't about someone disappearing into the dark alone. It's about a young man who vanished in front of quote unquote friends from work. Their first version? He panicked, pulled the car over, hopped out and booked it. But the only people who say they saw what happened next are the same ones who can't keep their stories straight. And when the truth keeps bending like that, it's not confusion, it's not bad memory.
Usually, it's a bold faced lie.
This is the story of Christopher Cole Thomas.
It's just after 3 a.m. on Black Friday in 2016
But in the small town of Benson, North Carolina, no one's lining up to snag a deal on the latest iPhone or the biggest TV. It's quiet, most people are asleep, and the streets are practically empty, which is giving time for a couple of officers to finish up some paperwork in the police department parking lot. It's in that quiet moment when two men walk up. Their names are Julian Valles Jr. and Jeremy Carpenter. Now, they're not panicked or screaming or anything like that, they just need a little bit of help. They're passing through after visiting Julian's family for Thanksgiving. They were on their way back to Minnesota where they both work. But now, they don't have keys to their car. The story of how that happened is weird. They say that they were traveling with a third buddy, Christopher Thomas, who goes by Cole, and he's the one who was driving. But out of nowhere, he started acting paranoid, and before they knew it, he pulled over, took the keys, jumped out, and then ran until he dropped out of sight. They don't know why or where he went. Cole couldn't have even known where he was because he's not from around there, he's from Florida. The only half explanation that Julian offers up is that he had heard rumors that Cole might have quote mental problems, but he wasn't even really sure. They said they tried looking for him themselves, but they can't find him and now they're just stuck.
Now, the story is a bit odd, sure, but not enough to like set off alarm bells for these officers. Because even though it's an ungodly hour, these guys don't appear to be under the influence or anything like that. So the officers do what they can. The guys point them in the direction of North Johnson Street, where they say Cole ran off. They check the few places that might still be open for gas or coffee, but there's just no sign of him. No one who saw or heard anything either. So within hours, that's pretty much it. Because as far as police are concerned, this sounds like a grown man who just chose to leave. That is not a crime.

**Brit Prawat** (3:41)
Yeah, but he didn't know anyone else in the area, did he?

**Ashley Flowers** (3:45)
No, and honestly, Cole didn't even really know these guys all that well. They had just met while working a contract construction gig up in Minnesota. It sounds like Cole basically didn't have plans to go home to Florida for Thanksgiving, so he kind of just tagged along with them for something to do.

**Brit Prawat** (3:58)
And was it just for the long weekend?

**Ashley Flowers** (4:00)
Yeah, they all had to be back at work on Monday, which I think is part of the reason that Julian and Jeremy are stressed about getting stranded without the keys. Now, they eventually call up a locksmith, but strangely, when he gets there, he ends up finding the keys right underneath the car. So, the guys head back. They just leave Cole? Yeah. I mean, like, he ran off on his own. They have to get back for work. I mean, they filed a missing persons report with the officers that they talked to, so they go home. Geez, what friends. I know. And the thing is, though, like, you don't know the half of it. Because, Brett, even though they told police what they say happened, neither of them actually bothered trying to reach Cole's family down in Florida. Like, you report him missing, but you don't call anyone.
So his parents are completely unaware that their son is missing until Sunday, when they get an out-of-the-blue call from police in North Carolina.
To say they were shocked is a gross understatement, because they didn't even know Cole was going to North Carolina. Not that he has to, like, tell them he's 22, but it's kind of weird that he didn't even mention it, because he had exchanged texts with his dad on Thanksgiving, just like a simple, hey, love ya, enjoy the turkey. But there was zero mention of this cross-country road trip.