It's been almost 26 years since a pregnant 12-year-old Celina Mays said 'goodnight' to her family and then vanished. Willingboro, New Jersey police are still hoping for tips that could lead them to her whereabouts.

It was December 16, 1996, when after attending church with her loved ones, Celina Mays enjoyed some ice cream back at her Crestview Drive home, said 'goodnight', and went to bed.

Relatives reportedly felt the sentiment was different that night, more like a 'goodbye' than 'goodnight', according to Courier Post.

But the next morning when family set off to awake the pre-teen, who was nine months pregnant at the time, they found an empty bed.

Pillows had been arranged to make like someone was in it, but Celina was nowhere to be found. Had she become a runaway? However, she left her purse and her entire belongings behind.

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She hasn't been seen since.

The case of whatever happened to Celina Mays may have grown cold over the more than two decades since she was last seen, but never forgotten. Willingboro Police continue to investigate her disappearance and are hoping with new resources connecting them to the public through social media will give them new leads.

Did Celina Mays make the decision to leave her family (perhaps with the father of her baby), or did she meet a more nefarious fate?

The Mays Family claims Celina never knew for certain the identity of her baby's father, but the 12-year-old told them it was a 16-year-old boy she met at Gospel of Christ Ministry in Mount Holly, the same church the family attended.

Police say they've only known of one Celina Mays sighting since the night she vanished, and that was at a local Sizzler restaurant in January of 1997 approximate one month after she disappeared, Courier Post reports.

Celina Mays would now be 38 years old, the child she was carrying now a full-grown adult approximately 26 years of age.

Age progression by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children shows what she'd look like now.

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
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Anyone with information related to the disappearance of Celina Mays is asked to contact Willingboro Police Department.

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