From BlackVoices.com

A promising lead about the whereabouts of Phoenix Coldon turned out to be a cruel hoax, causing the missing Missouri woman’s family additional pain, their entire life savings and their home.

“Unfortunately, we will now be losing our family home,” the missing woman’s mother, Goldia Coldon, told The Huffington Post. “We have tried to explain the situation to our mortgage company but they don’t care.”

A tip that led the family to Texas came from a man who claimed to know Coldon’s whereabouts and provided her family with very convincing details, Goldia Coldon said. The family already had invested much of their money to search for Phoenix, she said, but spent the remainder of their savings on private investigators to follow up on the lead. It was not until after the family’s money was gone that the man who provided the tip admitted he fabricated the story, Coldon said.

For the complete details, visit BlackVoices.com.

We’re finally taking the lack of coverage of missing black persons into our own hands with a new series on TV One called “Find Our Missing.” Each of the 10, one-hour docu-drama episodes will tell the story of a missing black person or persons, beginning with the day they disappeared and the search by investigators and loved ones to find them.

According to TV One President and CEO Wonya Lucas:

“Nearly one-third of the missing in this country are black Americans, while we make up only 12 percent of the population. Yet stories about missing people of color are rarely told in the national media…

“Find Our Missing will be dramatic television, but we also hope that TV One’s combined efforts on air, through digital and social media, and through partnerships will also draw attention to a critical issue and bring new information to light for the loved ones of the missing featured in this series, and for others. We hope these profiles will trigger the memory of someone who might have seen something, and feel compelled to come forward and help these families who have suffered for so long,”

S. Epatha Merkerson, famous for role on “Law and Order,” will host the series which debuts Jan. 18. The first episode will tell the stories of Pamela Butler (shown here), a 47-year-old woman who disappeared in DC, and Hasanni Campbell, a five-year-old boy suffering from cerebral palsy who vanished in Oakland, CA.

Do you plan on tuning in to “Find Our Missing?”

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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