🕊️🔎 HUMAN REMAINS IDENTIFIED AS WOODLAND TOWNSHIP WOMAN MISSING SINCE 2023 🔎🕊️
New Jersey State Police confirmed that human remains found in April belong to Denice Smith, a Woodland Township woman missing since 2023. Forensic testing and the Burlington County Medical Examiner’s Office recently verified the identity of the 51-year-old woman.
📍 WOODLAND TOWNSHIP, NJ — New Jersey State Police have confirmed that human remains discovered earlier this year belong to Denice Smith, a Woodland Township woman who had been missing for nearly three years.
Smith was 51 years old when she was reported missing on October 9, 2023, after authorities said she walked away from her residence in Woodland Township.
Following her disappearance, New Jersey State Police conducted multiple search and rescue operations throughout the area. Investigators with the NJSP Missing Persons Unit and Troop C Criminal Investigation Office at the Red Lion Station continued working the case, following up on tips, developing investigative leads and conducting additional searches.
🔎 A major development came on April 12, 2026, when members of the Burlington County Search and Rescue Volunteer Team discovered human remains near Laurel Lane and Cedar Lane in Woodland Township.
The remains underwent forensic comparison through the NJSP Forensic Anthropology Unit. Those findings were subsequently reviewed by the Burlington County Medical Examiner’s Office, which formally confirmed the remains belonged to Smith on or about August 24, 2026.
The identification brings an end to a nearly three-year missing-person investigation and provides answers regarding Smith's whereabouts.
💙 The case highlights the continued efforts of law enforcement, search-and-rescue volunteers and investigators who remained committed to finding answers long after Smith was initially reported missing.