More Details Released In Search For Missing Fairfield Girl, 16: Update

FAIRFIELD, CT — The Fairfield Police Department is asking for the public's help in finding a 16-year-old local girl who has been missing for nine days.

Jomana Ali was last seen on July 2, at approximately 5:45 p.m., when she left her home in the Elm Street area in Fairfield. Police said she turned off location services on her phone and stopped using social media.

She is described as having brown hair and brown eyes; she stands is 5 feet, 4 inches tall, and weighs 140 pounds. Additionally, Jomana was last seen wearing black Converse sneakers with white bottoms, black leggings and a blue t-shirt with white lettering.

According to police, she was seen on surveillance video footage in the southbound rest area on I-95 in Fairfield on the 2nd.

"Several witnesses at the Fairfield Rest Area reported that Jomana had approached them, expressing her desire to run away from home and was actively seeking transportation to an unknown location," said Fairfield Police Sgt. Michael Stahl in a statement.

She was then seen willingly getting into a black Saturn Ion with Massachusetts license plates, which drove away southbound on I-95.

Stahl also released the following information:

• Her cell phone connected to multiple cell tower locations on July 3, 2024, in New York and New Jersey for a brief time before being turned off. It was later found that Jomana’s cell phone had been left in the bed of a pickup truck while parked in the rest area in Fairfield on July 2, 2024. The phone was located by Fairfield Police Detectives, and contact was made with the operator of the truck, who found the phone in the bed of their truck.
  
• On July 5, 2024, the Saturn was located in Charlotte, North Carolina.
  
• The operator of the Saturn was located and stated that they drove Jomana south on I-95 and dropped her off at a gas station on North Black Horse Pike, Bellmawr, NJ.
  
• Fairfield Detectives traveled to Bellmawr, NJ, and in canvassing the area, located surveillance footage of Jomana which showed her walking alone in that area.
  
• Jomana’s last known location, where she was seen on video surveillance, was in the area of Ace Auto Repair at 132 N Black Horse Pike, Bellmawr, NJ just after midnight (12:00 AM) on July 3, 2024.
  
• We have added still images from surveillance videos, each indicating the location it was taken.

According to News 12 Connecticut's Marissa Alter, Jomana's family said that she left without cash or her daily medications.

"[Jomana] is believed to be in the area of Bellmawr, NJ or the surrounding Philadelphia area. Based on the aforementioned updates, she is considered an endangered missing juvenile at this time," Stahl said. "We have no reason to believe or any evidence to suggest that any crime was committed in the Town of Fairfield or the immediate surrounding area, but we are seeking the public's assistance in locating Jomana, returning her home, and ensuring she is provided with any necessary care she needs."

Stahl added, "Jomana has been entered into the database for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) along with nationwide law enforcement databases. We are actively collaborating with statewide intelligence centers within the tri-state areas, along with other local, state, and federal authorities in our attempts to located Jomana."

Additionally, Fairfield police are asking the public not to make assumptions "about the circumstances surrounding Jomana's departure to avoid additional stress on the family and our resources."

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Jomana Ali is urged to contact the Fairfield Police Department at 203-254-4800 or by dialing 911.

— Flyer from Fairfield Police Department