Denice Smith vanished from her Woodland Township home in October 2023
Woodland Township, NJ — A nearly three-year search for a Burlington County woman has ended with heartbreaking answers after human remains found in Woodland Township were identified as Denice Smith, who disappeared from her home in October 2023.
New Jersey State Police said Smith was 51 when she walked away from her Woodland Township residence on Oct. 9, 2023. She was later reported missing, touching off repeated searches across the heavily wooded area.
Search for Smith stretched across years
Smith was last seen after leaving her residence during the early morning hours. A missing-person listing said she was later spotted walking along Cedar Road in Woodland Township.
In the days after she vanished, state police and search teams combed the surrounding area but were unable to find her.
The case did not go cold. Detectives with the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit and Troop C continued following tips, conducting additional searches and pursuing new leads over the next several years.
Smith’s disappearance remained publicly listed as an endangered missing-person case as the search continued.
Search team finds human remains
A major break came on April 12, when the Burlington County Search and Rescue Volunteer Team discovered human remains near Laurel Lane and Cedar Lane in Woodland Township.
Forensic comparisons were later conducted by Dr. Anna Delaney of the New Jersey State Police Forensic Anthropology Unit.
The Burlington County Medical Examiner’s Office reviewed those findings around Aug. 24 and formally confirmed that the remains belonged to Smith.
Authorities have not provided additional details about the circumstances surrounding her death in the information released with the identification.
More information about missing-person investigations is available through the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit and the federal National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
Long search brings an answer
Smith’s disappearance drew sustained attention from police, volunteer search teams and members of the community who spent years hoping for information about what happened to her.
The identification now provides an answer to the central question of where Smith was, though officials have not announced further findings about how or when she died.
Readers can find more coverage through Shore News Network’s New Jersey and Missing Persons pages.
Key Points
- Denice Smith disappeared from her Woodland Township home on Oct. 9, 2023.
- Human remains were discovered near Laurel Lane and Cedar Lane on April 12.
- Forensic testing later confirmed the remains belonged to Smith.