this is the first ive heard of large anacondas and constrictors in the US. Did some dummy with a pet anaconda let it loose or something?

There is a North American native that would sort out the snakes it was considered so dangerous most states had a bounty on it.
It was a fish. The alligator garfish, it got huge and could kill a man easy, would eat anything and had a widespread range,if it ate all the baby constrictors and you hunted the adult snakes i would imagine your snake problem might go away.no snakes in New zealand.. yet

   For some reason I have no modify button in this Firefox browser and Google Chrome is jammed up right now.  I just want to add that a sixteen foot anaconda isn't fully grown.  He's only about half grown and consequently hasn't reached near his full weight yet.  Consequently, a sixteen foot anaconda isn't as dangerous as most would imagine.  Anyone reading this could easily, with a little know how, pick one up and control it.  There is no reason to kill such an animal.  A thirty footer, maybe.. a sixteen footer.. no way.

Late to the thread..... I say find it and kill it.
When I was about 5 years old living in Colombia there was a similar situation. A constrictor snake(boa or anaconda I don't remember), had escaped from the zoo and his in a public pond.
A child I knew ended up playing in the pond unaware the snake was in it and he got eaten. They never found him for some time later and I still remember the newspaper picture with the dead snake stretched out and a big lump where the kid was inside.
Kill it, it's a large powerful animal in a human environment.

Rat Man, I honestly don't think your experience with Burmese Pythons translates here. Adult anacondas are usually 15-16 ft with 22 ft at the extreme and they're almost twice the weight of a python that's the same length. The anaconda actually ties with the Komodo dragon for heaviest squamate.

Rat Man, I want to appologise to you if I gave the impression that I didn't believe your story about the 16ft rattler. I think you are a totally reliable witness. I have no doubt the Pine Barrens could be harboring a very large rattler (maybe more than one), and I agree with you that killing the anaconda would be a terrible shame. They are beautiful snakes and deserve the right to live, just maybe in a more appropriate area.

  Thanks for the vote of confidence, guys.  It's nice to be believed when you're telling the truth, especially when your tale is way out of the ordinary.  Both Dad an Marie have passed so Kate is my only remaining living witness. She's seen it twice. 
    Mas, my experience is with Pythons and Boas so you may have a point.  A sixteen foot anaconda might be heavier than I'm imagining.  They do grow up to 29" BTW.  I'd still rather see it captured than killed.  It's a moot point though.  In  a month or so the snake will be dead anyway. An anaconda is tropical and New Jersey isn't. 
    Imagine the surprise if an unsuspecting fisherman hooked the anaconda.  He' be telling stories about the big one that got away forever.
   Sorry I didn't grasp the meaning of your window faller, Ajax.  Obviously I thought that you meant an escaped pet.  I've spent countless hours in the Jersey Pines since I was a baby.  Though I've never heard it described that way before, I'd say it absolutely has a soft reality.  I don't know if you've ever been there but you can feel it.  The place has vibes like no other.  Night time is the best.  You could be a million years in the past.

Speaking along those lines certain Native American tribes believe Sasquatch are capable of traveling between dimensions. Not sure what to make of that but the soft reality statements reminded me of it.