Mays was last seen sixteen miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina at 1:30 p.m. on November 13, 1980. He was with a companion, Ted Wall, a commercial fisherman. The men went out in the ocean in a 23-foot boat, the Sea Ox. Another fisherman stated he helped Mays and Wall repair their 280-horsepower engine. They have never been heard from again.

The search for the men began at 9:00 p.m. and lasted for two weeks. The Sea Ox was considered "unsinkable" due to its design; it has foam flotation which would keep it just under the surface even if it was swamped. No sign of either the boat or the missing men was ever found.

Mays graduated from Ligonier High School in 1977 and attended East Carolina University in Greenville. His family believes he is deceased, but his best friend thinks he may still be alive. Both agree that the men's disappearances were most likely drug-related; fishermen often sold drugs in the winter when business was slack. No one has been charged in their cases, however. Photographs and vital statistics for Wall are unavailable.