NJ NJ - Celina Mays, 12, pregnant, Willingboro, 16 Dec 1996

anthrobones

New Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2005
Messages
1,142
Reaction score
253
Celina Janette Mays
Missing since December 16, 1996 from Willingboro, Burlington County, New Jersey
Classification: Endangered Missing


Vital Statistics
  • Date Of Birth: May 28, 1984
  • Age at Time of Disappearance: 12 years old
  • Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'0"; 120 lbs.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics: Black / Hispanic female. Very long and wavy black hair; brown eyes; Celina's eyebrows grow together. Medium complexion.
  • Clothing: Long red coat
  • Medical: She was 9 months pregnant at the time of her disappearance.

Circumstances of Disappearance
Mays was last seen in Willingboro, New Jersey on December 16, 1996.
Authorities said Celina had gone to church - the Gospel of Christ Ministries Inc. in Mount Holly - with family members and then came home for dinner and dessert. Without explanation, police have said, she told a cousin "thanks for everything." A few hours later, the young girl who was due to give birth before the end of the year, stuffed a pillow into her bed, grabbed a few precious possessions and disappeared into the night.
Right after her disappearance, Celina was supposedly spotted in Lacey and Hopewell townships but the leads did not pan out.
She did not take any extra clothing with her and left all of her personal items at home as well.
It is believed she has given birth and may be in need of medical assistance.

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1577dfnj.html
 
Why was a 12 year old pregnant? I bet she ran of with the dad and he killed her.
 
Why was a 12 year old pregnant? I bet she ran of with the dad and he killed her.
I had the read the thread title 3 times! 12 & pregnant? I hope that wasn't her outcome Spazkat. I'm hoping she ran off with the baby's father and he's taking care of them. Best case scenario considering the circumstances. Maybe they are afraid of him going to jail if she's found and staying in hiding. At least that's what I'm hoping.
 
Considering her case, the only thing you can wish for is that she just ran away and is safe somewhere. Right now, she'd be a 24 year old woman with an 11 year old child. Maybe LE should check school records in the States for any 11 year old children attending school who might be her child, one of the only ways to ever find her unless she changed her name
 
I think the questions that would have to be answered are: Who was the unborn child's father? Was Celina a victim of incest? Was the father of the unborn child more than 3 years her senior? What was her family's plan for the baby after it was born? Was she in opposition to decisions being made about the baby? Was there anyone at the church that offered her an alternative to her family's plans? If her family wanted her to give the child up for adoption, did she not want to do this? If her family wanted to raise the child, did she not want that? Did someone offer to raise her and her baby? I would look into adults that had access to her that were involved in her church that may have "disappeared" around the same time.
 
teonspareprincess, did you report your possible siting to:

Willingboro Police Department, Detective Al Kelley at
609-877-2200 extension 6268, using
Agency Case Number:

NCIC Number: M-986381735 ?
 
I would think that a 12 year old that was any stage of pregnant would be VERY noticable. Makes me wonder about what her life was like before she disappeared to get into this situation. :(

Do we know if they checked hospitals regionally for someone that age having a baby? It would certainly seem that she'd have complications from her age and body maturity. My hope is that she got to a hospital, as if she didn't she could have died in childbirth.

Also, were there any babies found abandoned in the area at the time? Perhaps one of these could have been her child. It wouldn't answer what happened to her, but it could give us some more information on what happened.
 
teonspareprincess, did you report your possible siting to:

Willingboro Police Department, Detective Al Kelley at
609-877-2200 extension 6268, using Agency Case Number:
NCIC Number: M-986381735 ?

No, I believe that I called 1-800-the-lost. It's been a while since I have seen her around, this was a few years ago, but from NJ to NC isn't that big a jump.
 
kygal~from your link I am guessing she still has not collected on her mother's life ins. I would think that at 12 she would have been aware of the life ins. I wonder why the dad would not help out the police? I am thinking maybe he was the dad and he killed her to cover up his being the father. The sad thing is my brother and I are 11 years apart and I could not imagine having to raise a child so close to my own age.
 
teonspaleprincess, even if you havent seen her in a while, its worth calling the willingboro police dept. it might not be her, but there is always a chance.
 
teonspaleprincess, even if you havent seen her in a while, its worth calling the willingboro police dept. it might not be her, but there is always a chance.

Knowing the 'boro police, I highly doubt they'd care. Its a rough town, big gang population. Is her family still around? Why wouldn't she at least call her family and tell them she was ok? Its been too many years...
 
Wow. Her child would be a teenager now. I have thought about her over the years after hearing her story (my own daughter was born in '94, and I remember hearing this story of a 12 yr old mom and thinking how scary that would be)

... but it just struck me how long it has really been. And still, she would only be 26?

I hope that they are both doing well somewhere.
 
Maybe she left because she was going into labor? She wasn't hiding her pregnancy, there would be a reason why she felt she had too leave at that point though. Hmm. I just hope her and baby are fine.
 
I am thinking that once we know who the father of the baby was, we will be a little closer to finding out what happened.

Also, after reading the Charley Project page, it sounds like religion was a huge part of her life and possibly a bit forced. I have no idea how she felt about that, but is it possible that maybe she felt she had sinned or done something wrong by being pregnant (and this could be made even worse if it was someone from the church or within her family who was the father) that maybe she left to commit suicide? I hate to consider that possibility, but if she didn't want to burden or shame her family because of their beliefs, maybe she would venture away from home to do it?

I'm not sold on this idea since no signs or a body was found. However I am still suspicious of whoever the father was.
 
Happy ending to Tammy Jordan case but others from the county still missing

The case of Tamela "Tammy" Jordan's disappearance remained open for nearly 10 years. No matter how cold the trail went, the search never ended and police continued to publicize the Burlington Township teenager's disappearance in hopes of finding a fresh lead or clue to her whereabouts.

[snip]

But others remain missing.

[snip]

Celina Janette Mays of Willingboro was 12 years old and 9 months pregnant when she walked out of her family's Country Club Park home just after midnight Dec. 15, 1996. She apparently told a cousin "thanks for everything" before she disappeared. Police found a pillow stuffed in her bed. Reported sightings of Mays have come from all over the world, but none have ever been verified.

More: http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/loc...cle_bfd48c3a-3667-544f-b5b3-1d61bc4918ec.html
 
Celina is the one I can't get out of my mind. I'd love to know what happened to her. It sounds as if this little gal had a rough life from this news article:

http://articles.philly.com/1997-01-10/news/25561226_1_neighbors-shy-girl-mother

Suddenly, Celina was thrust into the communal world of the Gospel of Christ Church family, where she shared a house with at least 15 other relatives, where she was homeschooled with the congregation's other children, where every aspect of her life seemed entwined with the church.

Suddenly, the physical and emotional parameters of her young life seemed confined to the red brick building on Washington Street in Mount Holly. The site, which once housed Sacred Heart Catholic Church, is now the hub of the church's activities.

The congregation's children are schooled there. Prayer services are conducted there. And several church families live there.

``They say Celina had no contact with the outside world, that sounds absolutely right to me,'' said Mayo Goldman, a former church member who left the congregation five years ago. ``They want to shut you off from outside communication.''


Sounds like a very cult-like atmosphere to me. I hope she found a sympathizer who helped her escape and is living happily somewhere.
 
Found another interesting article on Celina:

http://articles.philly.com/1997-01-25/news/25561144_1_due-date-willingboro-police-odd-case

Willingboro police said yesterday that the baby of Celina Mays, a pregnant 12-year-old missing since Dec. 15, might not have been due as early as was widely believed.

It seems as if her due date was the subject of some confusion. She had been concealing her pregnancy and hadn't had an ultrasound done until her fifth month. This still doesn't enlighten us to her whereabouts, but if this is correct she had a good month to get as far away as she could before she gave birth if she did indeed run away.
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
164
Guests online
1,773
Total visitors
1,937

Forum statistics

Threads
589,947
Messages
17,928,048
Members
228,010
Latest member
idrainuk
Back
Top