Christopher Cole Thomas

• Missing Since 11/25/2016
• Missing From Benson, North Carolina
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Age 22 years old
• Height and Weight 6'1, 230 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A blue t-shirt, a black long-sleeved undershirt, black pants, dark-colored Hurley shoes and a blue and white baseball cap. A photo of Thomas in those clothes is posted with this case summary.
• Distinguishing Characteristics White male. Blond hair, blue eyes. Thomas has a tattoo of a tribal design on his left shoulder; a photo of it is posted with this case summary. He goes by his middle name, Cole.

Details of Disappearance

Thomas was last seen in Benson, North Carolina on November 25, 2016. He and two coworkers, Jeremy Brian Carpenter and Julian Valles Jr., had gone traveled from Minnesota to North Carolina, and were on their way back when Thomas disappeared. According to his companions, they stopped in Benson to buy methamphetamine. Thomas drove, because Carpenter and Valles didn't have drivers' licenses.

Afterwards, his coworkers said, Thomas became paranoid and began driving erratically. The drugs were thrown out the car window. He pulled over and stopped at the intersection of Elm Street and Morgan Street at 3:00 a.m., got out and ran away. One of his coworkers went looking for him and returned an hour and a half later, without him.

Thomas has never been heard from again. His family stated they were shocked to hear that he had been involved in a drug deal, and that he had been in touch with them by text shortly before he disappeared and everything seemed normal at the time.

In July 2017, four men were charged with concealment of a death in Thomas's disappearance: Carpenter, Valles, Rudolfo DeLeon Jr., and Anthony Ridell James Jr. All of them except DeLeon were also charged with obstruction of justice in the case. But in September 2019, all the charges against the suspects were dropped; the prosecution said they did it in order to avoid compromising a possible future prosecution for homicide.

Thomas had attended the University of Florida and studied sports medicine, but then decided to become an electrician instead. In October 2016, the month before he went missing, he had moved from his hometown of Live Oak, Florida to Minnesota to start an apprenticeship on a commercial solar farm.

His case remains unsolved and foul play is suspected.