Steven Anderson and David Williams: the New Lisbon disappearance (1975)

A short walk on a large campus

The FBI’s paired case records place the boys walking toward their residence from a nearby ball field, where they had been playing with staff. They lived at the 1,896-acre facility off Route 72, now known as the New Lisbon Developmental Center. Both had developmental disabilities and needed supervision. Steven had difficulty communicating; David required daily seizure medication. These circumstances made the disappearance urgent without establishing why the boys vanished.

The search and the renewed appeal

An October 25, 2017 FBI release describes searches involving Human Services Police, State Police, Pemberton police and the Air National Guard, using helicopters, dogs and ground teams. It announced the addition of the boys to the FBI website and identified Human Services Police as the lead agency. NCMEC supplied age-progressed portraits.

The release mentioned promising information but did not disclose a solution. The currently accessible FBI posters, checked for this entry, still solicit information. Their placement in a combined kidnapping/missing-person section does not itself establish an abduction.

What the available record leaves unanswered

The public notices do not identify a suspect, confirmed destination, or final explanation. They also do not supply a complete search log. Original incident reports and a map of the 1975 campus would be useful for reconstructing the last known route. The separate 1954 New Lisbon disappearance belongs to another case; a shared institution is not evidence that the events had a common cause.