Overview

On the evening of December 15, 1996, Celina attended church services with members of her family before returning home.

According to investigators, she went to bed around 11:00 p.m.

The next morning, on December 16, her younger stepsister entered the bedroom to wake her and discovered pillows arranged beneath the blankets, making it appear someone was still sleeping there.

Celina had disappeared.

Despite being only days away from giving birth, she left behind nearly all of her belongings, including clothing and personal items. There were no obvious signs of forced entry or a struggle inside the home. Investigators have never determined how she left or whether someone helped remove her from the residence.arance. Bobby Travis died in 2014.

Detailed Case Breakdown

The Disappearance of Celina Mays: A Pregnant 12-Year-Old Who Vanished Without a Trace

The disappearance of Celina Mays remains one of New Jersey’s most haunting unsolved missing persons cases. Nearly three decades after she disappeared, investigators continue searching for answers about what happened to the 12-year-old, who was nine months pregnant when she vanished from her family’s home.

Despite years of investigation, media coverage, and renewed public attention, no confirmed sightings, physical evidence, or definitive answers have emerged.

Who Was Celina Mays?

Celina Mays was born on May 21, 1984. She lived with her family in Willingboro, New Jersey, and attended school locally. Friends and relatives described her as intelligent, caring, and deeply involved with her family’s church.

By late 1996, however, Celina’s life had become extraordinarily complicated.

At only 12 years old, she was approximately nine months pregnant. Investigators later identified the alleged father of her unborn child as Sean Smith, an adult member of the family’s church who was significantly older than Celina. The circumstances surrounding the abuse became a major focus of investigators and raised numerous questions about the environment within the church.

The Night She Disappeared

On the evening of December 15, 1996, Celina attended church services with members of her family before returning home.

According to investigators, she went to bed around 11:00 p.m.

The next morning, on December 16, her younger stepsister entered the bedroom to wake her and discovered pillows arranged beneath the blankets, making it appear someone was still sleeping there.

Celina had disappeared.

Despite being only days away from giving birth, she left behind nearly all of her belongings, including clothing and personal items. There were no obvious signs of forced entry or a struggle inside the home. Investigators have never determined how she left or whether someone helped remove her from the residence.

Early Investigation

Police immediately began searching the surrounding area while interviewing family members, neighbors, and church associates.

Attention quickly centered on the family’s church, Gospel of Christ Ministries, after allegations surfaced involving abuse, manipulation, and strict control exercised over members. Former members later described the organization as operating much like a cult.

Investigators also examined Sean Smith, who reportedly fathered Celina’s unborn child. While he admitted to sexual contact, no criminal conviction directly tied him to Celina’s disappearance. Authorities have never publicly named a suspect in the case.

Theories in the Case

Because no physical evidence has established what happened after Celina disappeared, several theories have been considered:

1. She voluntarily left the home with assistance.
2. Someone abducted her before or during labor.
3. She died shortly after leaving and her remains have never been located.
4. Multiple individuals may know what happened but have never come forward.

Investigators have never publicly endorsed one theory over another.

Renewed Attention

Interest in Celina’s disappearance has grown in recent years through documentaries, podcasts, television coverage, and renewed efforts by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Her family has also spoken publicly, hoping new witnesses may come forward after decades of silence.

Age-progressed images continue to be distributed because investigators have never found evidence confirming that Celina is deceased. Authorities still consider her a missing person.

Latest Investigation Information

The case remains active.

Investigators with the Willingboro Police Department continue to accept tips and have stated publicly that they have not ruled out the possibility that Celina could still be alive. Law enforcement encourages anyone with information—even information that may have seemed insignificant years ago—to come forward.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children also continues to feature Celina’s case and periodically shares updated age-progressed images to generate new leads. Recent interviews with investigators indicate they remain committed to solving the case despite the passage of time.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact investigators immediately.

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Facebook Post:
What happened to 12-year-old Celina Mays? Nearly 30 years later, her disappearance remains one of New Jersey’s most haunting unsolved mysteries. Celina was last seen going to bed on the night of December 15, 1996, at the home she shared with nearly 15 relatives on Crestview Drive in Willingboro, New Jersey. Her family reported her missing the following day after her father, C.J. Mays, said he found pillows arranged under her blankets to make it appear she was still sleeping. Celina, who was three months pregnant, left behind her prenatal vitamins, clothing, personal belongings, and even her prized Walkman CD player. Raised in a strict religious household, her pregnancy had shocked the family. C.J. said she refused to identify the baby’s father despite repeated questioning and that he had threatened to seek a paternity test after the child was born. Investigators interviewed everyone living in the home, but the process took nearly a month because family members were slow to cooperate. Police later stated they could not rule out anyone who lived in the house.

The investigation quickly became controversial. Police said the family appeared to be hampering the investigation, something C.J. strongly denied, claiming investigators were biased against his family. Authorities also waited nearly a month before publicly announcing Celina’s disappearance, and her maternal relatives were not informed for almost two weeks. They were devastated to learn not only that Celina was missing but that she had also been pregnant. Her half-brother, Robert Benaglio, recalled that after their mother, Lynn Vitale, died in 1994, Celina begged him to take her back to Michigan, but an attorney advised him to wait until after a custody battle. It would be the last time he ever saw her. Celina’s maternal relatives believed C.J. and his family were withholding information, while C.J. claimed they disliked him because he was Black, an allegation police said had no merit. Eventually, C.J. and several members of the household stopped cooperating with investigators altogether.

A year after Celina vanished, her family’s church, Gospel of Christ Ministries Inc. in Mount Holly, came under scrutiny when her cousin, Shawn Smith, was arrested for sexually assaulting two teenage girls. Former members described the church as cult-like, while church leaders denied those claims and even suggested former members could be hiding Celina, a theory never supported by evidence. Public comments from Celina’s aunt Cerita Mays and stepmother Evette Mays drew criticism after both blamed the 12-year-old for her own disappearance, saying she had made bad choices and likely ran away. Over the years, C.J. moved to Florida, where he was questioned again before his death in 2019, but no new answers emerged. Celina’s obstetrician, who last saw her on December 12, 1996, said she appeared happy about her pregnancy. Rumors later circulated that someone may have impersonated Celina at that appointment, but those claims have never been proven. Despite reported sightings over the years, Celina and her unborn child have never been found, and investigators believe someone still knows what happened that December night.