William 'Billy' Jones Jr.

Case background and investigation

William Ebeneezer Jones Jr., called Billy, was born on March 5, 1959, and was three years old when he went missing from his neighborhood in Vineland, in southern New Jersey. His case is described by Fox News as believed to be the longest unsolved case of a missing child under five in the state, and it is carried on the FBI's kidnappings and missing persons list.

According to the FBI, Billy was last seen outside a neighbor's house at around 11:45 a.m. on December 17, 1962. He had gone out to play with his younger sister, Jill. Sources differ slightly on the exact spot: the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says he was last seen in the back yard of his residence, while Fox News reported that he vanished from the front yard. The FBI describes him as wearing a light blue or grayish snowsuit with a navy collar and silver buttons, a matching hat, and tan high-top shoes with yellow laces, and says he reportedly had a dime in his pocket given to him by his mother.

A search began within about an hour. New Jersey 101.5 reports that it grew to involve more than 100 people and the New Jersey National Guard, and Fox News reported that hundreds of volunteers eventually took part. Investigators also excavated ground near an abandoned automobile dump. Nothing connected to Billy was found.

At the time he disappeared Billy was 3 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 35 pounds, with brown or blond hair and blue eyes. The FBI notes a distinctive vaccination scar on the back of his left arm that was said to resemble a giraffe. The bureau has also published photographs of the family home and neighborhood, and an image age-progressed to 50.

Vineland Police Detective Kristian Kirchner reopened the investigation in 2009, and in 2012, on the fiftieth anniversary, an FBI special agent told Fox News the bureau hoped to develop new leads. By then both of Billy's parents had died. His sister told Fox News she has no memory of the day and believes her brother may have been taken by someone who had lost a child and raised as their own; that is her personal view and has not been established by investigators. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children continues to circulate an age-progressed image. No one has been charged, and Billy has never been found. The FBI asks anyone with information to contact the Vineland Police Department or the bureau's Newark field office.