FBI Searching NJ Woods for Pair Who Went Missing in 1975, Reports Say

STAFFORD — FBI agents were in the woods of Ocean County conducting an investigation on Tuesday afternoon.

ABC 7 Eyewitness News cited unnamed law enforcement sources as saying the search was in connection with the disappearance of Steven Anderson and David Williams, who disappeared in 1975 from the New Lisbon State School just over the border in Burlington County. They were 17 and 12, respectively, when they disappeared.

The case was reopened earlier this month when the FBI released images showing what Anderson and Williams would look like now at age 56 and 48.

Representatives from the Ocean County Sheriff's Department and the Prosecutor's Office are on site but would not disclose the reason for the search. One law enforcement official not authorized to speak about the search said there was a large police presence and the search involved digging in the ground.

"The FBI and our law enforcement agencies are conducting investigative activity in the Edwin Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Stafford Township as part of an ongoing investigation," the FBI said in a statement.

The roommates at the school now known as the New Lisbon Developmental Center were seen walking into the woods from a ball field where they had been playing with staff.

The FBI asked anyone with information about their disappearance to call the FBI at 609-677-6400.

Tom Mongelli contributed to this report