Celina Mays was 12 and nine months pregnant when she disappeared from her Willingboro, New Jersey, home on a December night in 1996. She had attended church with her family that evening, eaten ice cream, and gone to bed around 11:00 p.m. The next morning her father, C.J. Mays, found the bed arranged with pillows under the covers as if she were still there; Celina’s purse, prenatal vitamins, and other personal items were left behind. There were no signs of forced entry or a struggle.

Celina was raised in Gospel of Christ Ministries Inc., a Mount Holly church where her aunt, Cerita Smith, was pastor and her father worked as an accountant. She was homeschooled and, according to reports, kept the father of her unborn child a secret; she had told her obstetrician the father was a 16-year-old boyfriend who was not in the church. Her father reportedly threatened a postnatal paternity test. Investigators say the family was uncooperative at times, the church later became defunct, and efforts to search church property were initially blocked by a judge. Age-progression images have been released and the investigation remains open.