There's a new search for evidence in the murder of a woman 47 years ago in New Hampshire.

Cathy Millican was 27 years old when she was found stabbed to death on October 25, 1978, in the woods off Route 11 in New London. The area is now known as the Esther Currier Wildlife Management Area.

The New Hampshire Cold Case Unit and the state's Fish and Game Department went back there Wednesday in what the attorney general's office called a search "focused on locating physical evidence." They did not specify what they're looking for.

Attorney General John Formella also released two "previously unseen photographs" of Millican Wednesday, hoping to generate new leads in the case.

Millican was last seen alive on October 24, 1978, when she told others she was going birdwatching in the afternoon. Witnesses told investigators her car, a brown Volkswagen Rabbit, was parked at the entrance to the wetlands.

The next day, around 11:30 p.m., her body was found in the woods. She had been stabbed several times.

There have been no arrests in the case. Formella said authorities have released only a limited amount of information about what they know "to preserve the integrity of the investigation."

Millican's family released a statement through his office Wednesday, saying she was "an artist, a photographer, an ornithologist, and a national sailing champion."

"We remain ever hopeful that her case will be solved and that closure will ease the pain of everyone who knew her. We are encouraged to know that her case has not been abandoned but continues to be worked," the family said.

Anyone with information is urged to call the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit at (603) 271-2663.

New London, New Hampshire is 100 miles northwest of Boston.