Key facts
- Name: Jennifer Lynn Fay
- Born: December 25, 1972
- Age at disappearance: 16
- Last seen: November 14, 1989, in Brockton, Massachusetts, after leaving a friend’s house with 22-year-old Mark Wombolt
- Location: Brockton, Plymouth County, Massachusetts
- Description: 5’4″, 90–100 lbs, blond hair, blue eyes, scar over her eyebrow; last seen wearing a purple blouse, a black silk jacket with an Iron Maiden patch, dungarees, and white sneakers
- Status: Still missing (Brockton PD case #89-018148; NCIC M393950995; NamUs MP5313; NCMEC 762300)
- Investigating agency: Brockton Police Department, Missing Persons — 1-508-941-0200
The sweater she came back for
On the evening of November 14, 1989, sixteen-year-old Jennifer Fay was supposed to be babysitting her siblings at the family’s Emerson Avenue Apartments in Brockton. Instead she went out with friends. Around 9:30 or 9:45 p.m., she came back — just for a sweater. Her cousin arrived at 10 p.m. to watch the kids. Jennifer left again.
She went to a female friend’s house nearby. The friend wasn’t home, and the friend’s mother wouldn’t let Jennifer in — Jennifer smelled of liquor. So Jennifer left with Mark Wombolt, a 22-year-old man. They walked to a convenience store at the end of the street.
What Wombolt said happened next is the last account anyone has. He said he left the store feeling ill. He claimed he saw Jennifer talking to two men in a truck — and that she may have gotten into it.
Jennifer was reported missing the next morning. She was sixteen, five-foot-four, ninety-some pounds, blond hair, blue eyes, a scar over her eyebrow, wearing a purple blouse and a black silk jacket with an Iron Maiden patch. She never came home.
Another runaway label
Like Melanie Melanson — who vanished from Woburn eighteen days earlier — Jennifer was initially deemed a runaway. November 1989 in Massachusetts: two sixteen-year-old girls gone within three weeks of each other, both filed at first as girls who’d chosen to leave.
Jennifer’s mother, Dottie MacLean, never accepted it. She later established the Jennifer Lynn Fay Foundation to keep her daughter’s case alive. The family has spent decades pushing back against the idea that a sixteen-year-old who came home for a sweater at 9:30 p.m. was planning to disappear.
The case drew serious media attention: Barstool’s “The Case” podcast with Kirk Minihane covered it in 2021, and The Search Podcast took it up in episode 22. Her NCMEC poster (762300) and NamUs entry (MP5313) remain active.
The man at the convenience store
Mark Wombolt’s account has never been corroborated, and it has never been disproven. He was 22; Jennifer was 16. He said he felt ill and left her at the store. He said he saw her talking to two men in a truck. No truck was ever identified. No men were ever identified. No one has ever confirmed that Jennifer got into any vehicle that night — or that Wombolt’s story is true.
Wombolt has never been charged in connection with Jennifer’s disappearance. He is a living person as far as public records show, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven otherwise. But his uncorroborated story is, to this day, the last version of events anyone has offered for the final minutes of Jennifer Fay’s visible life.
Eighteen days apart
Melanie Melanson vanished from Woburn on October 27, 1989. Jennifer Fay vanished from Brockton on November 14, 1989. Eighteen days apart, two sixteen-year-old girls (Melanie five days short of fifteen), both in Massachusetts, both initially written off as runaways.
The proximity has haunted both cases for 37 years. Were they connected? Law enforcement has never established a link — different circumstances, different towns, different last-known companions. But the pattern of the official response was identical: teenage girl, missing, filed as runaway, urgency deferred. Two families, eighteen days apart, told the same thing by the same system.
Jennifer’s mother, Dottie MacLean, refused the label from the start. She knew her daughter — knew that a girl who comes home at 9:30 p.m. for a sweater is a girl planning to come back out, not a girl planning to disappear. The Jennifer Lynn Fay Foundation was her answer to the file gathering dust: an organization with her daughter’s name on it, keeping the case in the public eye.
The media kept coming back. Barstool’s “The Case” with Kirk Minihane covered it in 2021 — bringing a sports-media audience to a 32-year-old missing-child case, which is its own statement about the story’s staying power. The Search Podcast took it up in episode 22. Her NCMEC poster (762300) is still up. Her NamUs entry (MP5313) is still active. Brockton PD’s case number — 89-018148 — is still a number someone answers to.
And Mark Wombolt’s story is still the last word on the last night: the convenience store, feeling ill, the two men in the truck. Thirty-seven years, and no one has ever found the truck, the men, or a reason to believe it — or a reason, beyond his word, to disbelieve it.
Theories
Foul play involving Wombolt or the men in the truck
The last person to admit being with Jennifer describes leaving a sixteen-year-old girl at a convenience store at night and watching her talk to two men in a truck that no one has ever found. Evidence level: Wombolt’s account is uncorroborated. No one has been charged. Presumption of innocence applies.
Abduction by strangers
If the truck existed, two men taking a sixteen-year-old girl is the nightmare scenario. Evidence level: Entirely dependent on Wombolt’s account, which has never been verified.
Runaway
The original police classification. Evidence level: Jennifer came home for a sweater mid-evening — the behavior of someone planning to come back, not someone leaving. No contact in 37 years.
Have information?
Contact the Brockton Police Department, Missing Persons at 1-508-941-0200, or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678.
In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- December 25, 1972 — Jennifer Lynn Fay is born.
- November 14, 1989, evening — Jennifer, supposed to be babysitting her siblings at the Emerson Avenue Apartments in Brockton, goes out with friends. She returns around 9:30–9:45 p.m. for a sweater; her cousin arrives at 10 p.m. to watch the kids; Jennifer leaves.
- November 14, 1989, night — Turned away from a friend’s house (she smelled of liquor), Jennifer leaves with 22-year-old Mark Wombolt for a nearby convenience store. Wombolt says he left feeling ill and saw her talking to two men in a truck; she may have gotten in. She is never seen again.
- November 15, 1989 — Jennifer is reported missing; initially deemed a runaway.
- 2021 — Barstool’s “The Case” podcast (Kirk Minihane) covers the disappearance.
- 2026 — The case remains active (Brockton PD #89-018148; NamUs MP5313; NCMEC 762300).
- Today — Still missing.
FAQ
Is Jennifer Lynn Fay still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, Jennifer Lynn Fay remains missing. She vanished in November 1989 and has never been found.
Was Jennifer Lynn Fay ever found?
No. No trace of Jennifer has been found in the thirty-seven years since she disappeared.
What happened to Jennifer Lynn Fay?
She was last seen on the night of November 14, 1989, in Brockton, Massachusetts, after leaving a convenience store area with 22-year-old Mark Wombolt, who said she may have gotten into a truck with two men. She never came home.
How old would Jennifer Lynn Fay be today?
She was born December 25, 1972, so she would be 53 years old in 2026.
What did Jennifer Lynn Fay look like?
She was 5’4″, 90–100 pounds, with blond hair, blue eyes, and a scar over her eyebrow. She wore a purple blouse, a black silk jacket with an Iron Maiden patch, dungarees, and white sneakers.
Who is Mark Wombolt?
The 22-year-old man last known to be with Jennifer. He said he left her at a convenience store feeling ill and saw her talking to two men in a truck. His account is uncorroborated, and he has never been charged. He is presumed innocent.
Sources
Official / law enforcement:
– Brockton Police Department, Missing Persons — 1-508-941-0200 (Case #89-018148; Sgt. George Khoury, police@brocktonpolice.com per Doe Network)
– National Center for Missing & Exploited Children — 1-800-843-5678 (NCMEC 762300; poster: missingkids.org/poster/NCMC/762300)
– NamUs — MP5313; NCIC M393950995
Reference:
– 411gina.org — missing persons flyer for Jennifer Lynn Fay (cases archive)
Media:
– Barstool Sports, “The Case” podcast with Kirk Minihane — episode on Jennifer Lynn Fay (2021)
– The Search Podcast — episode 22 (Jennifer Lynn Fay)
– Jennifer Lynn Fay Foundation (family organization)
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.