aThousandYearsWide
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Two orphan boys run away in 1972, one was found deceased in 2000, the other remains missing.
In April 1972 an orphanage went on a camping trip in the Bass River State Forest in Burlington/Ocean county, New Jersey. It was a week long trip with 16 plus children and four adults. On the night of April 3rd, 12 year old Donald Caldwell and 16 year old Steven Soden ran away and were never seen again. Soden's bones were found in 2000 in the same forest he went missing from. He was identified in 2013 after his family saw a public appeal on identifying John Wayne Gacy victims and submitted their DNA. He ended up not matching any unidentified Gacy victims ;however, but was identified after his DNA was entered into a national database. His cause of death could not be determined as only partial skeletal remains were found.
Donald Caldwell does not have a photo. He was 12 years old (placing his birth year as 1959-1960), African American, black hair, brown eyes, 5'0 tall, and 100 lbs. (NamUs lists his height and weight as approximations.)
Bass River State Forest is located in Tuckerton, NJ and is in both Burlington and Ocean counties (To clear up the differences in articles and his NamUs profile).
The orphanage they were with was from Paterson, NJ, which according to Google maps, is approximately an hour and 30 minutes from Tuckerton.
State Police detectives are asking the public’s assistance with any information about Donald Caldwell, Steve Soden and the Paterson Orphanage group. Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-THE-LOST.
N.J. State Police link bones with 16-year-old boy who went missing in 1972
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
Authorities ID Bones of NJ Teen Who Went Missing in 1972
Bones Identified as NJ Boy Missing Since 1972
In April 1972 an orphanage went on a camping trip in the Bass River State Forest in Burlington/Ocean county, New Jersey. It was a week long trip with 16 plus children and four adults. On the night of April 3rd, 12 year old Donald Caldwell and 16 year old Steven Soden ran away and were never seen again. Soden's bones were found in 2000 in the same forest he went missing from. He was identified in 2013 after his family saw a public appeal on identifying John Wayne Gacy victims and submitted their DNA. He ended up not matching any unidentified Gacy victims ;however, but was identified after his DNA was entered into a national database. His cause of death could not be determined as only partial skeletal remains were found.
Donald Caldwell does not have a photo. He was 12 years old (placing his birth year as 1959-1960), African American, black hair, brown eyes, 5'0 tall, and 100 lbs. (NamUs lists his height and weight as approximations.)
Bass River State Forest is located in Tuckerton, NJ and is in both Burlington and Ocean counties (To clear up the differences in articles and his NamUs profile).
The orphanage they were with was from Paterson, NJ, which according to Google maps, is approximately an hour and 30 minutes from Tuckerton.
State Police detectives are asking the public’s assistance with any information about Donald Caldwell, Steve Soden and the Paterson Orphanage group. Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-THE-LOST.
N.J. State Police link bones with 16-year-old boy who went missing in 1972
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
Authorities ID Bones of NJ Teen Who Went Missing in 1972
Bones Identified as NJ Boy Missing Since 1972