NEWARK N.J.

The search for the two remaining suspects in the cold-blooded murders of three college students extended down the Eastern seaboard Wednesday, as local authorities continued to downplay any organized gang involvement despite anecdotal evidence that suggests a gang connection.

Federal marshals joined the search for suspects shortly after the killings, said U.S. Marshal James T. Plousis, who is responsible for New Jersey.

"We have an expertise in tracking fugitives, and we try to help our state and local partners when we can," Plousis said Wednesday.

Marshals in several southern states are involved, Plousis said. He said Rodolfo Godinez may have some connection in the region, but declined to be more specific and would not name the states.

A law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation said the search had extended beyond Virginia.

The three Delaware State University students Terrance Aeriel, 18, Dashon Harvey, 20, and Iofemi Hightower, 20 were murdered late in the evening of Aug. 4 in an elementary school playground.

Since then, authorities have arrested and charged three people: two juveniles and 28-year-old Jose Carranza, an illegal immigrant from Peru. They are seeking Godinez, a Nicaraguan native living in the U.S. legally, and his brother, a juvenile.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office would not confirm whether the two had split up or were fleeing together.

Friends and neighbors have said some of the suspects claimed to be involved with the El Salvador-connected MS-13 gang, according to published reports.

In addition, several images on a computer showed one of the juvenile suspects making hand gestures associated with MS-13, and numerous references to the gang have cropped up on some of the suspects' MySpace pages, the New York Times reported for Wednesday newspapers.

Though they have not gone as far as to discount a gang connection, authorities have indicated that the references may merely signal that the youths aspired to be associated with the gang.