Key facts
- Name: Mark Himebaugh
- Age at disappearance: 11
- Last seen: November 25, 1991, ~4:00 p.m.
- Location: Del Haven, Middle Township, New Jersey
- Height / build: 4’6″, 85 lbs, red hair, blue eyes, freckles
- Status: Still missing — classified as non-family abduction
- Investigating agency: Middle Township Police Department; Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office; FBI; NJ State Police
He wanted to watch the fire
There was a brush fire burning in the marsh about a quarter-mile from the Himebaughs’ house on Sunray Road in Del Haven, New Jersey, on the afternoon of November 25, 1991. Eleven-year-old Mark Himebaugh wanted to watch it.
His mother, Maureen, was dropping off a neighbor to pick up a car at a repair shop. Mark didn’t want to go. She left him at home for what should have been a five-minute errand — but delays kept her away about forty minutes. When she returned, there was no trace of him. He was reported missing at 5:00 p.m.
A park guard was the last person known to see Mark, around 4:00 p.m., walking toward a playground. Then the intensive searches found one thing: the child’s left sneaker — a hand-me-down L.A. Gear — at Sunray Beach, about 75 yards from his home, with his footprints above the tide line. Nothing else. No other trace of the freckled, red-headed boy has ever been found.
Who Mark was
Mark Himebaugh was 11 — 4-foot-6, 85 pounds, red hair, blue eyes, freckles. He was last seen wearing a blue sweatshirt, a gray jacket, gray pants, and LA Gear sneakers. The public record holds the outlines of an ordinary South Jersey childhood, interrupted on an ordinary afternoon by a fire across the street and a fifteen-minute absence that became thirty-five years.
His mother has never stopped. “I’m still waiting and hoping,” Maureen Himebaugh has said, “not so much dreaming, but hoping that I’ll get closure.”
The investigation
The response was immediate and enormous: more than 200 volunteers fanning out over the cooled marsh acreage, trained canines, helicopters. The dogs found no scent. The marsh gave up nothing but the sneaker.
The case was classified as a non-family abduction, and the investigation has pulled in the FBI, the New Jersey State Police, and the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office. Mark’s face went onto America’s Most Wanted, onto milk cartons and billboards, into the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which has generated several age-progression images — the latest showing what he might look like as a man in his forties.
He was possibly sighted with two males on the day he disappeared. One was described as between 30 and 35 years old, about 5’8″–5’9″ and 150 pounds, with dark reddish-brown hair in a ponytail; police released a composite sketch of him. There were also unconfirmed reports of Mark seen with an unidentified girl, about nine or ten, near a park entrance around 3:40 p.m. The traffic detour set up for the fire had rerouted traffic past the house — a detail investigators have noted when considering how an abduction could have happened in plain sight.
Suspicion fell in several directions over the years. Mark’s father, Jody Himebaugh, drew attention for going to work, seemingly unbothered, while the community searched — but he was cleared on a solid alibi. A convicted pedophile from Pennsylvania, Thomas Butcavage, was declared a key suspect after a composite sketch resemblance; a sex worker claimed Butcavage had shown him a video of a boy who looked like Mark. No physical evidence ever connected Butcavage to the case, and he was never charged in it — he is serving 18 to 36 years for sex crimes against young boys. The presumption of innocence stands regarding Mark’s disappearance.
The case has stayed in the public eye: True Crime Daily devoted an episode to it (“Where is Mark Himebaugh?”), retired Middle Township officer Richard McHale wrote the book Where Is Mark?, and People Magazine Investigates profiled the disappearance. In May 2023, the Middle Township Police Department and the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office partnered with Tabtu Corp and Terawe to apply artificial intelligence — built on Microsoft’s Azure cloud — to re-examine the evidence and look for patterns investigators might have missed. On November 25, 2025, the 34th anniversary, the case was still open and still unsolved.
Theories: what might have happened
Thirty-five years, one sneaker, no answers.
Abduction near the home. The working classification, and the theory the evidence best supports: a possible sighting of Mark with two unidentified males that afternoon, the rerouted fire-detour traffic providing cover, the sneaker left behind suggesting he didn’t walk away voluntarily. A child lured or grabbed in the confusion of a neighborhood emergency. What it lacks: identified individuals, a destination.
The fire itself. That Mark, drawn to the marsh fire, wandered into the burn area or the marsh and died there. The search covered the acreage thoroughly once it cooled — 200 volunteers, dogs — and found nothing but the shoe. Against it: searches find bodies in marshes; this one found a sneaker 75 yards from home.
A local predator. The Butcavage thread: a convicted offender against boys, a sketch resemblance, a claimed video. Investigators pursued it; it never produced evidence. It remains what it was — a lead that didn’t break.
Family involvement. The father was suspected, investigated, and cleared. There is no public evidence implicating family members, and the case’s official classification is non-family abduction.
Have information?
Contact the Middle Township Police Department: (609) 465-8700. You can also contact the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at (609) 465-1135 or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children: (800) 843-5678. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- ~1980 — Mark Himebaugh is born.
- November 25, 1991, ~4:00 p.m. — Mark stays home to watch a marsh fire while his mother runs an errand; a park guard is the last to see him. His left sneaker is later found 75 yards from home.
- 1991–1992 — Massive searches; case classified as non-family abduction; America’s Most Wanted coverage.
- 2000s — Thomas Butcavage investigated as a possible suspect; never charged.
- 2021 — True Crime Daily episode; Where Is Mark? by Richard McHale published.
- May 2023 — Police partner with AI firms to re-examine the case.
- November 25, 2025 — 34th anniversary; case still open.
- Today — Still missing.
FAQ
Is Mark Himebaugh still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, Mark Himebaugh has been missing for nearly 35 years. The Middle Township Police Department, the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, and the FBI continue to investigate.
What happened to Mark Himebaugh?
On November 25, 1991, the 11-year-old stayed home to watch a marsh fire while his mother ran an errand — delayed, she was gone about forty minutes. He was last seen around 4:00 p.m. walking toward a playground. His left sneaker was found 75 yards from home. He was never seen again.
Was Mark Himebaugh’s father involved?
Jody Himebaugh was scrutinized early — particularly for going to work during the search — but he was cleared on a solid alibi. The case is classified as a non-family abduction.
Who is Thomas Butcavage?
A convicted Pennsylvania sex offender investigated as a possible suspect based on a composite sketch resemblance and a witness claim about a video. No physical evidence connected him to Mark’s case and he was never charged in it.
How old would Mark Himebaugh be today?
Mark was 11 when he disappeared in November 1991 — he would be 45–46 in 2026.
How can I help?
Share this case file and his age-progressed images. Tips: Middle Township PD (609) 465-8700 or NCMEC (800) 843-5678.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: Middle Township Police Department; Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office; Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI Newark); National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
- News: WPST, “34 Years Ago Today, Mark Himebaugh Disappeared in Middle Township” (Nov 25, 2025); WFPG, “34 Years Ago Today, Mark Himebaugh Disappeared in Middle Twp., NJ” (2025).
- Reference: The Charley Project, “Mark Himebaugh”; whereismark.com (family/advocate site).
- Media: True Crime Daily: The Podcast, “Where is Mark Himebaugh? New Jersey boy vanishes, anniversary looms” (2021); People Magazine Investigates; Where Is Mark? by Richard McHale; Crime Solvers Central, “Through the Smoke: The Unsolved Disappearance of Mark Himebaugh” (2026).
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.
Corrections (Oct 2026): Aligned scene details with the Charley Project: the fire was a brush fire about a quarter-mile from the house (not “massive” and “across the street”); the errand was meant to take five minutes but took about forty (not “fifteen minutes”); removed the unverified “white or grey car” and “daily medication” details, replacing the sighting account with the documented one (two males, one 30–35, ~5’8″–5’9″, 150 lbs, ponytail; composite sketch; unconfirmed 3:40 p.m. sighting with an unidentified girl). Removed the unverified Cape May Prosecutor’s Office detective name/extension, keeping the sourced office number (609) 465-1135.