IN IN - Kimberly Coleman, 22, South Bend, 1 November 1991

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Kimberly Coleman
Female
Black / African American

Date of Last Contact: November 1, 1991
Missing From: South Bend, Indiana

Missing Age: 22 Years
Current Age: 50 Years


Case Information

Demographics
Missing Age: 22 Years
Current Age: 50 Years

First Name: Kimberly
Middle Name: --
Last Name: Coleman
Nickname/Alias: --

Sex: Female
Height: 5' 6" (66 Inches)
Weight: 132 lbs
Race / Ethnicity: Black / African American


Circumstances
Date of Last Contact: November 1, 1991
NamUs Case Created: February 12, 2020

Last Known Location
Location: South Bend, Indiana 46613
County: St. Joseph County

Circumstances of Disappearance
22-year-old Kimberly Coleman was reported as a missing person to the South Bend Police Department on April 9, 1992 by her former foster mother. It is unknown where Coleman resided in South Bend at the time of her disappearance. Coleman grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and attended South Side High School in the 1980s.


Physical Description
Hair Color: Brown
Head Hair Description: --
Body Hair Description: --
Facial Hair Description: --
Left Eye Color: Brown
Right Eye Color: Brown
Eye Description: --
Distinctive Physical Features
No Information Entered

Clothing and Accessories
No Information Entered


Additional Case Info

Transportation
No Information Entered



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FYI crossposting.

Although her ethnicity doesn't match Lebanon Jane Doe, there are many others that does, like age, height, weight, estimated PMI (LJD was found May'92 and PMI was estimated at "months"), facial similarity to one of LJD's recon, just to mention a few. Location is about two and a half hours drive from South Bend. No information whether Kimberly had tattoos or not, but the 'Circumstances of Disappearance' info implies that she had been in foster care and that she hadn't been seen in a while. I wonder if the November 1st date is more of a default date rather than the actual date for her DLC?

I must admit I am intrigued, but unsure. I am however reminded of similar cases where the Doe has been decomposed to the point where significant errors have been made, or identifiers missed, during autopsy, like Elizabeth Lamotte, or Randi Stacey Boothe-Wilson (who also was mistaken for being white while a Jane Doe). What do you think? Have they been ruled out being each other on NamUs?

Lebanon Jane Doe WS thread:
IN - IN - Lebanon, WhtFem UP10749, 17-40, off I-65, 'Mom' & 'Love' tats, May'92

 

[Murkywaters]

Kimberly looks as if she might be mixed race. @Mrs. Badcrumble, I think you might be correct.

 

[Bit of hope]

This girl/woman is definitely not "pure" African American.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Kimberly was recently added to Charley's!

Kimberly Coleman – The Charley Project

Kimberly Coleman

• 

Coleman, circa 1986 (five years prior to her disappearance; more recent photos are unavailable)

• Missing Since11/01/1991
• Missing FromSouth Bend, Indiana
• ClassificationMissing
• SexFemale
• RaceBlack
• Date of Birth08/12/1969 (50)
• Age22 years old
• Height and Weight5'6, 132 pounds
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsAfrican-American female. Brown hair, brown eyes.

Details of Disappearance
Coleman was last seen in South Bend, Indiana on November 1, 1991. She has never been heard from again. Her former foster mother reported her missing on April 9, 1992. Coleman grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and attended South Side High School there. Few details are available in her case.
Investigating Agency

• South Bend Police Department 574-235-9201

Source Information

• NamUs
• Indiana Missing Persons Bulletin

Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004. Last updated March 26, 2020; casefile added.

 

[Blufour4]

This is my aunt she has four children who never got a chance to know her.

 

[Bit of hope]

This is my aunt she has four children who never got a chance to know her.

Welcome Blufour4. So sorry for you and your family.

 

[Luckyzmom]

@Blufour4 welcome to WS ! Thanks for joining us here. Do you have any info you'd like to share about Kimberly or her disappearance ?
Seems there isn't much in media that could help her be located. Was she married at the time ? Living with her kids and a single Mom ?
Thanks very much in advance

 

[Blufour4]

Kimberly looks as if she might be mixed race. @Mrs. Badcrumble, I think

@Blufour4 welcome to WS ! Thanks for joining us here. Do you have any info you'd like to share about Kimberly or her disappearance ?
Seems there isn't much in media that could help her be located. Was she married at the time ? Living with her kids and a single Mom ?
Thanks very much in advance

We really appreciate all the help! Her daughter just uploaded her own DNA to GedMatch. I will have her comment on this thread with the information she has.

 

[Blufour4]

Kimberly looks as if she might be mixed race. @Mrs. Badcrumble, I think you might be correct.

Here is another picture of Kimberly I just got from her second oldest daughter.

 

[Luckyzmom]

@carbuff @dotr @GuyfromCanada @Kell1 @Jethro4WS @evilwise anyone familiar with this case ? We have a family member that has joined us that would like to help I believe this is going to take all eyes we can muster
Not much available about disappearance. TIA MOO

 

[Bit of hope]

@Blufour4 Sorry upfront for all the questions.

• Is Coleman her married name or the name of her adoptive parents, other?
• Was there a father (or fathers)/(ex)husbands around?
• Kimberly is listed as African-American. Could she be of mixed race? What is your view on that?
• In the file they say former foster mother. Why former? Is this bad wording or is there more to that. Was she raised by this woman, but no official adoption?
• Did she live in South Bend or was she there for another reason? Is she missing from her house. What were the living arrangements?
• Did you or other family members ever see the content of the missing person's report? If yes, is there useful additional info in it/things that raised your eyebrows
• What is the family's theory on what (could have) happened to her and what are the reasons for thinking that.

Again sorry....hope you don't feel offended or discouraged.

 

[carbuff]

Thanks for tagging me--no, not familiar with her case except in the vague way I've looked at most of the cases on WS.

@Blufour4, is there any particular aspect of her case you'd like us to try to find more information about?

Some possibly useful information:

Investigating Agencies
CASE OWNER
South Bend Police Department
(574) 235-9201
Bruno Martinsky, Detective
--
Agency Case NumberSBPD 92-8205
Her Namus # is #MP65279.

She's not on Doenetwork

 

[Blufour4]

@Blufour4 Sorry upfront for all the questions.

• Is Coleman her married name or the name of her adoptive parents, other?
• Was there a father (or fathers)/(ex)husbands around?
• Kimberly is listed as African-American. Could she be of mixed race? What is your view on that?
• In the file they say former foster mother. Why former? Is this bad wording or is there more to that. Was she raised by this woman, but no official adoption?
• Did she live in South Bend or was she there for another reason? Is she missing from her house. What were the living arrangements?
• Did you or other family members ever see the content of the missing person's report? If yes, is there useful additional info in it/things that raised your eyebrows
• What is the family's theory on what (could have) happened to her and what are the reasons for thinking that.

Again sorry....hope you don't feel offended or discouraged.

Let me get all that information from her daughter and I will post as soon as possible. Your help is so appreciated !

 

[Blufour4]

Kimberly Coleman was born to an African American mother and Caucasian father although his identity is unknown. She was place in foster care at a young age due to abuse. There is a devastating child protective service file on her from her youth. Her last know foster mother is known as Dorthy Ward. Kimberly has four children but was never married and last known to have live in south Bend Indiana with only her children. At the tome of her disappearance she has distance herself from her children’s fathers. The family she was associated with never reported her missing. It is assumed she may have passed due to a drug overdose or have developed mental illness from trauma. Her daughter has seen the missing persons report but it doesn’t contain any useful information. Although she was interviewed, Dorthy Ward the foster mother is NOT considered a credible source. She vaguely recalls last seeing her around the end of the year 1991 but didn’t report her missing until April of 1992.

Thank you all so much for your time and attention to this case. Love is Love

 

[Murkywaters]

Kimberly Coleman was born to an African American mother and Caucasian father although his identity is unknown. She was place in foster care at a young age due to abuse. There is a devastating child protective service file on her from her youth. Her last know foster mother is known as Dorthy Ward. Kimberly has four children but was never married and last known to have live in south Bend Indiana with only her children. At the tome of her disappearance she has distance herself from her children’s fathers. The family she was associated with never reported her missing. It is assumed she may have passed due to a drug overdose or have developed mental illness from trauma. Her daughter has seen the missing persons report but it doesn’t contain any useful information. Although she was interviewed, Dorthy Ward the foster mother is NOT considered a credible source. She vaguely recalls last seeing her around the end of the year 1991 but didn’t report her missing until April of 1992.

Thank you all so much for your time and attention to this case. Love is Love

Thank you for the additional information on Kimberly's case. It's sad to hear to she had such a hard life, do you know whether DNA is available for Kimberly to compare against any Jane Doe's and Unidentified remains. I would think that if she did pass from an overdose her body should have been found. Does Kimberly have any connections to anywhere else in the U.S?

 

[Bit of hope]

Kimberly Coleman was born to an African American mother and Caucasian father although his identity is unknown. She was place in foster care at a young age due to abuse. There is a devastating child protective service file on her from her youth. Her last know foster mother is known as Dorthy Ward. Kimberly has four children but was never married and last known to have live in south Bend Indiana with only her children. At the tome of her disappearance she has distance herself from her children’s fathers. The family she was associated with never reported her missing. It is assumed she may have passed due to a drug overdose or have developed mental illness from trauma. Her daughter has seen the missing persons report but it doesn’t contain any useful information. Although she was interviewed, Dorthy Ward the foster mother is NOT considered a credible source. She vaguely recalls last seeing her around the end of the year 1991 but didn’t report her missing until April of 1992.

Thank you all so much for your time and attention to this case. Love is Love

Thank you for sharing this very sensitive information. Can you tell more about what you and/or the family already did to find her or what sources you looked into? Is there any particular thing you want help with in the search? It must have been hard for her to live with a damaged childhood and at the same time take care of 4 children on her own. Not to mention how hard it was and still is for her children, living without a mother and all the consequences it must have had when she turned up missing. How was she able to pay the bills? Did she work, got child support from the father(s) (guess not, considering your story above), other? Since there is a time gap between her possible missing date and the official missing date, on record, what happened with her children in the mean time? Do her children actually recall things from back then or were they to small to consciously remember?

 

[madamx]

Does anyone know if Kimberly would of traveled to New York?

 

[carbuff]

I would think it's possible. People travel in the US. (Maybe other places too but I can't speak for them.) They travel a lot on very little excuse, and there are many ways to get from here to there.

For example, many years ago Mr. Carbuff took the bus from the NYC area to Michigan to visit his sister for a random weekend. I knew some people who hitched rides from Maine to Florida just to go to Disney World. A guy I used to date bought a motorcycle and rode it from Montana to rural Arkansas to surprise his great-grandmother for her 90th birthday, then sold for enough to pay for a plane ticket home. When he was younger, my brother moved several times for short-term job opportunities. He was living out of his car during that time. I've known people who packed up and left for distant cities (Chicago, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, the Ozarks) hoping to start over.

So I don't see any reason why Kimberly couldn't have gone to New York, maybe looking for employment.

 

[Bit of hope]

This was posted on the FB site of the South Bend Police Department on September 4, 2020.

Log into Facebook

SBPD MISSING PERSON COLD CASE: In April of 1992, South Bend resident Kimberly Coleman, 22, was reported missing by her foster parent. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance; she has not been seen or heard from since. Her last known address was in the LaSalle Park area of South Bend. Prior to living in South Bend, Kimberly resided in Fort Wayne and it is believed she still visited Fort Wayne regularly while living in South Bend.
At the time of her disappearance, Kimberly was described as 5’6”, 132 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. She would be 50-years-old today.
If you have any information, please contact Detective Bruno Martinsky at 574-235-9204 or Michiana Crime Stoppers at 574-288-STOP.

 

[carbuff]

Thanks for that, BoH!

This map shows South Bend to Fort Wayne. Google Maps

My guess based on the SBPD information is that she might match one of the many UIDs who have been found along those suggested routes.