Missing person · Wall Township
Jan Andre Cotta: missing from Allenwood (1973)
Missing on the NCMEC poster checked October 2026
Jan Andre Cotta was last seen late on June 26, 1973, at her family's Allenwood property. Wall Township police have asked the public to help resolve her disappearance.
The tack house
Wall Township police's 2014 release says Cotta's younger brother and a friend last saw her inside a barn tack house at the family property in Allenwood between 11:30 p.m. and midnight on June 26. Her mother reported her missing the next day. Cotta taught riding lessons on the property and had taken part in 4-H and equestrian training. Police described her as 19 and pregnant when she disappeared.
The police release places her last sighting at the family property on Ridgewood Road. It does not establish her later movements or what happened to her. The public NCMEC poster continues to list her as missing. This is a missing-person investigation; the available official sources do not establish a homicide.
Decades of investigation
The police said its inquiry, conducted with other agencies and private investigators, had involved roughly 260 interviews across five states by 2014. The department renewed its public appeal that year. Those are dated descriptions of investigative activity, not evidence of a particular person's responsibility.
Anyone with information can use the contact details on the current NCMEC poster, which lists Wall Township Police at 732-449-4500. Her family's former property is not treated here as a public exploration stop.
What remains unknown
Neither source explains what happened after the last sighting. The original 1973 missing-person report and any later official case update could clarify the earliest search and assess whether more recent evidence has changed the investigation. Online claims about a departing vehicle or named people require independent records before they can be presented as established facts.
Sources and research limits
- Wall Township Police Department, “Missing Person – Jan Cotta,” June 20, 2014 — last sighting, family report, riding background and investigative appeal. Its opening paragraph uses “Jane,” while the release otherwise uses Jan Andre Cotta.
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Jan Andre Cotta poster 1005685 — missing status and investigating agency when checked October 3, 2026.
- New Jersey Girl Murders case index — lead to the case; official sources above govern the account here.
The 1973 case file was not inspected. No causal link to other shore cases has been established.