Barnegat Mayor John Novak said Thursday that a flood of leads has failed to turn up 38-year-old Arthur Buckel. Novak said his town will continue searching for Buckel unless it gets confirmed information he is no longer there.
Surveillance video showed Buckel shopping at a CVS on Wednesday, a day after the minimum security inmate was found missing when guards did a count at Bayside State Prison in Hammonton. Hammonton is about 50 miles southwest of Barnegat.
Novak said at a news conference that police officers are stationed at all of the town's schools and that state police would escort buses Thursday afternoon.
"We have to go forward as if he were still in Barnegat," Novak said. "However, let's be realistic ... considering the law enforcement presence, if you were Mr. Buckel the only thing I would want between Barnegat and myself is distance."
Syed Hasson, a spokesman for the state's department of corrections, said that there was no additional information available on the search for Buckel.
Buckel, whose last known address was in Clifton, had been serving a sentence for aggravated assault, drug possession and burglary. He was scheduled to be considered for paroled later this month.
Buckel previously served 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter of a 10-month-old child. He admitted to striking the child five or six times because she was crying after the girl's mother brought the child with her when visiting Buckel in 1995. He was released in 2010.
"We're fully aware of his criminal history and certainly we consider that any escapee in law enforcement's eye is a danger to society," said Barnegat police Chief Art Drexler. "Mr. Buckel is no different. That is why we intend to stay on this as long as it takes, if it takes days a week."
This post was written by: Raymond Jack
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