John J. Ashley, Jr., known as Jay, was 18 when he was last seen in Wilmington, Delaware, on December 14, 1971. He was a Black young man, about 5 feet 4 inches tall and 130 pounds, with black hair and dark eyes. Public missing-person records note a congenital defect of his right hip and a prior metatarsal fracture as identifying medical details.

John was reportedly walking home after school and basketball practice when he disappeared. Another 17-year-old Wilmington boy also disappeared that same night and was later found drowned in February 1972, but John’s whereabouts after he left practice remain unresolved. Mitochondrial DNA testing from John’s mother and three siblings excluded him from skeletal remains once strongly suspected to be his (OCME case 78-N-253, NamUs unidentified case 2185), leaving that lead closed without a resolution.

The Wilmington Police Department lists his case (NamUs MP3853) as still unresolved. If anyone knew John, his routines, or his movements on December 14, 1971, please share information with investigators.