Deceased/Not Found NC - Christopher 'Cole' Thomas, 22, Benson, 25 Nov 2016 *Arrests*

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I am from Benson and this whole case has a lot of us shaking our heads. The PD is not allowing CUE to get involved. It's very disheartening. I pray this family gets some closure soon.
 
Durham, NC, here. I just discovered this case.

It reminds me very much of a case in New Haven, CT. A construction worker who was in from out of town to work on the I-95 Q bridge in New Haven disappeared. The initial report was that there was a car crash on I-91, one man got out of the car and ran up an exit ramp where he called his mother and girlfriend from a pay phone, while the other man jumped out of the car, crossed several lanes of highway traffic and headed toward the headquarters of an insurance company. Long story short, it turns out that he had picked up this "friend" in a very shady section of town, and that this "friend" was a drug dealer who sold him crack. The missing guy smoked with him and then got super-paranoid and started talking crazy and driving toward Massachusetts. The dealer purposely made him crash the car and leapt out when they started getting near the MA border because he was so frightened. He called his sister and mom first because the fact that this all happened in the commission of a drug deal made him afraid to call the police. GF and mom either called the police themselves or convinced him to call. The missing man eventually turned up dead on the property after dying of exposure to the elements.

Not sure how to extend this analogy to Cole's case other than to say that it may have involved drugs, paranoia and someone involved may have been selling. Maybe Cole got spooked and forced the driver to pull over somehow, and then jumped out and ran off in a drug-induced paranoid panic. The occupants of the car may have been reluctant to come totally clean because of the drug deal, but not so totally heartless that they were going to just drive away without reporting Cole missing.
 
NCJ said:
I am from Benson and this whole case has a lot of us shaking our heads. The PD is not allowing CUE to get involved. It's very disheartening. I pray this family gets some closure soon.
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Welcome to Websleuths, NCJ! :welcome4:
 
Doh, just found this, maybe I missed it above...

http://wncn.com/2016/12/21/warrants...-in-benson-was-in-town-to-do-a-big-meth-deal/

"RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Search warrants obtained Wednesday reveal that a man who went missing in Benson in November was in town to 'do a big drug deal' with friends.

Cole Thomas has been missing for almost four weeks. Acquaintances who were traveling with the 22-year-old claim he stopped his vehicle at an intersection near downtown Benson on Nov. 25, ran from the vehicle and disappeared.

According to search warrants requested by the State Bureau of Investigation for the cell phones of Thomas’ associates, the man had been driving a vehicle with two other people inside in the vicinity of E. Morgan Street and N. Elm Street around 3 a.m. when he allegedly jumped out and ran.

Thomas’ father, Christopher Thomas, told authorities that, according to his son’s friend, Cole Thomas had traveled from Minnesota to North Carolina with the two friends who were later found inside the vehicle that was abandoned in Benson.

The friend told Christopher Thomas that he had been dropped off at an airport in Minnesota so that he could fly home to be with his son and that Cole Thomas then drove to North Carolina. The friend told Christopher Thomas that the three men were headed to North Carolina to “do a big drug deal.”

According to warrants, the man further explained to Christopher Thomas that once the three made it to their destination in North Carolina, 'the person they intended to do the drug deal with made them take off their clothes' to prove they weren’t wearing a wire. That caused Cole Thomas to 'flip out.' The warrant states that no further information was provided to explain what happened to Cole Thomas next."
 
Skigirl said:
Doh, just found this, maybe I missed it above...

http://wncn.com/2016/12/21/warrants...-in-benson-was-in-town-to-do-a-big-meth-deal/

"RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Search warrants obtained Wednesday reveal that a man who went missing in Benson in November was in town to 'do a big drug deal' with friends.

Cole Thomas has been missing for almost four weeks. Acquaintances who were traveling with the 22-year-old claim he stopped his vehicle at an intersection near downtown Benson on Nov. 25, ran from the vehicle and disappeared.

According to search warrants requested by the State Bureau of Investigation for the cell phones of Thomas’ associates, the man had been driving a vehicle with two other people inside in the vicinity of E. Morgan Street and N. Elm Street around 3 a.m. when he allegedly jumped out and ran.

Thomas’ father, Christopher Thomas, told authorities that, according to his son’s friend, Cole Thomas had traveled from Minnesota to North Carolina with the two friends who were later found inside the vehicle that was abandoned in Benson.

The friend told Christopher Thomas that he had been dropped off at an airport in Minnesota so that he could fly home to be with his son and that Cole Thomas then drove to North Carolina. The friend told Christopher Thomas that the three men were headed to North Carolina to “do a big drug deal.”

According to warrants, the man further explained to Christopher Thomas that once the three made it to their destination in North Carolina, 'the person they intended to do the drug deal with made them take off their clothes' to prove they weren’t wearing a wire. That caused Cole Thomas to 'flip out.' The warrant states that no further information was provided to explain what happened to Cole Thomas next."
Click to expand...
NEW to Me!!!

Also from what I have read on msm that photo of Cole at a store was a little before reaching Benson? Anyone else read that?

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LisaWL7TR said:
NEW to Me!!!

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Well, it's VERY similar to the case in CT (one of my first here on WS, back in around 2009). I swear, I did not find that first. Just something about jumping out of cars for seemingly no reason whatsoever... friends report the person as missing with a story that makes no sense.
 
Skigirl said:
Well, it's VERY similar to the case in CT (one of my first here on WS, back in around 2009). I swear, I did not find that first. Just something about jumping out of cars for seemingly no reason whatsoever... friends report the person as missing with a story that makes no sense.
Click to expand...
...and nothing has been said about these friends/acquaintances! Did they help search, continue to their destination or are they back up North working???


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On the "Find Cole Thomas" facebook page, it looks like the admin of the page is saying the video of Cole that was taken in a convenient store was from a store in Mount Olive, NC. They are 40 miles away from each other and Mount Olive isn't really off of I-40 or I-95. It is Wayne County. The BPD isn't responding to requests from his family or Benson residents begging and pleading for help. Since the last footage of Cole was taken in Mount Olive, I wonder if BPD thinks he never made it to Benson, and if that's the case, just say it and stop being so secretive!

LisaWL7TR said:
NEW to Me!!!

Also from what I have read on msm that photo of Cole at a store was a little before reaching Benson? Anyone else read that?

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
 
I wonder if the police know who the boys were getting drugs from- if they had taken any of the drugs, maybe the batch they got was tainted or something and Cole had a bad reaction to them.

The Facebook post from NCJ above shows comments about the nitwits changing their stories. They're might be hiding something to avoid (more) legal troubles of their own. Seems a bit selfish, though, considering their friend is missing.


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NCJ said:
On the "Find Cole Thomas" facebook page, it looks like the admin of the page is saying the video of Cole that was taken in a convenient store was from a store in Mount Olive, NC. They are 40 miles away from each other and Mount Olive isn't really off of I-40 or I-95. It is Wayne County. The BPD isn't responding to requests from his family or Benson residents begging and pleading for help. Since the last footage of Cole was taken in Mount Olive, I wonder if BPD thinks he never made it to Benson, and if that's the case, just say it and stop being so secretive!
Click to expand...

I also read that there was some confusion about who was in the video because his father looks a lot like him. Plus, the clothes were different from what was described by the friends. Is it possible that the Mt. Olive video was his father? Not sure why HE would be in Mt. Olive, either.
 
NCJ said:
On the "Find Cole Thomas" facebook page, it looks like the admin of the page is saying the video of Cole that was taken in a convenient store was from a store in Mount Olive, NC. They are 40 miles away from each other and Mount Olive isn't really off of I-40 or I-95. It is Wayne County. The BPD isn't responding to requests from his family or Benson residents begging and pleading for help. Since the last footage of Cole was taken in Mount Olive, I wonder if BPD thinks he never made it to Benson, and if that's the case, just say it and stop being so secretive!
Click to expand...
Mount Olive before Benson?
I swear when we were stationed at Seymour Johnson we were Wayne County? Or maybe living somewhere else and we lived in Wayne County?

Imho...the friends traveling with Cole hold the keys to unlock the mystery. I am sure they have interviewed the person working at the store with the video footage asking about Cole's behaviour.
Possible this incident of Cole stopping and leaving the vehicle did happen but not in Benson?

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missgulfsouth said:
Checked in for any updates ... this case is now down the line on page 5.

Just looked at his IG ... SMH.
Click to expand...
Hmmm...I posted but didn't really look? Going back now to look.

ETA last post was 6 weeks ago. He is 22. Nothing really sticks out imho.
My guys are 24 and 26 and are military brats. Cole seems more traveled and more adventure seeking then my guys.
All moo.


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The 22-year-old from Live Oak, Fla., has been missing since Nov. 25, when two acquaintances said he pulled off Interstate 95 while driving home from a job in Minnesota hopped out of the car near North Elm and East Morgan streets in Benson and vanished.

According to search warrants released last month, the two men with Cole Thomas told investigators they were in North Carolina to buy methamphetamine. After the deal, they said, he became paranoid and began driving erratically before stopping the car and running off.

Cole Thomas had studied sports medicine at the University of Florida but then decided to try his hand at being an electrician, his father said. He had been on an apprentice job in Minnesota for three weeks when he disappeared.

A $10,000 reward has been offered for information about Cole Thomas' whereabouts.

http://www.wral.com/florida-man-searches-for-missing-son-in-benson/16394429/
 
Things are making a bit more sense now. Although it's more likely he was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time this occurred. It wouldn't be the first time someone ran off while high on meth either from paranoia or hallucinations.

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BloodHoundSleuther said:
Please forgive me if these have been posted.

http://wncn.com/2017/01/03/more-tha...fficials-take-part-in-search-for-cole-thomas/

[snip]
Click to expand...
Unless I'm mistaken, this is the first mention that the two "friends" were found inside the car.

"Thomas’ father, Christopher Thomas, told authorities that, according to his son’s friend, Cole Thomas had traveled from Minnesota to North Carolina with the two friends who were later found inside the vehicle that was abandoned in Benson."

And since the "friends" were not arrested for meth (were they?), It's possible the drugs were with Cole. Cole hasn't committed a crime at this point as far as I can see, but he may be very afraid. Hopefully he can regroup and get in touch with authorities, who could advise him what to do. All my own rambling thoughts, of course.
 
BlkMtnGirl said:
Unless I'm mistaken, this is the first mention that the two "friends" were found inside the car.

"Thomas’ father, Christopher Thomas, told authorities that, according to his son’s friend, Cole Thomas had traveled from Minnesota to North Carolina with the two friends who were later found inside the vehicle that was abandoned in Benson."

And since the "friends" were not arrested for meth (were they?), It's possible the drugs were with Cole. Cole hasn't committed a crime at this point as far as I can see, but he may be very afraid. Hopefully he can regroup and get in touch with authorities, who could advise him what to do. All my own rambling thoughts, of course.
Click to expand...

Very good catch on your part BlkMtnGirl! We discussed back on page 4 of this thread that at the time, we were lead to believe the two friends reported Cole missing. Speculation at the time was that the two friends chased Cole and police discovered the car unoccupied in Benson. If its accurate that the two friends were in the car when police discovered it, that sheds light on how all of this went down. I'm still left to wonder if they actually made it to Durham and something bad happened. If so,maybe they back tracked to Benson and made this story up knowing Cole was seen on camera at the convienence store.
 
He must be:
1. In hiding, or
2. Whacked out on a bender (could be in combo with №1), or
3. Killed and hidden by someone involved with the drug deal
Or???
MOO
 
I don't want it to be 3, but that's what everything is telling me. No meth or Cole. It wouldv'e been easier to get rid of both together if something went awry with the deal. They weren't really friends. His dad said "acquaintances"..
 
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