Escaped killer has left area, N.J. police say

BARNEGAT, N.J. — Escaped prisoner Arthur W. Buckel has apparently eluded the massive manhunt that included hundreds of officers scouring the township by land and air for the convicted baby killer, authorities said Thursday.

Mayor John Novak announced at an afternoon news conference that Buckel was no longer in the area, based on information officials received from the state Department of Corrections.

"It appears as though the operation is moving onward and away from Barnegat," Novak said. "Mr. Buckel is no longer in the Barnegat area."

Buckel was discovered missing from the Bayside State Prison Unit on the grounds of the Ancora Pyschiatric Hospital during a head count about 6 a.m. Tuesday.

Convicted killer on loose in New Jersey

Authorities recovered a stolen car authorities believe Buckel drove to the CVS pharmacy on West Bay Avenue in the township, where the fugitive stopped to purchase gum and food and was captured on a surveillance camera.

After announcing that Buckel is no longer believed to be in Barnegat, Novak declined to discuss to where the escapee may have moved on, referring all further questions on the search to the Corrections Department.

Corrections Department spokesman Matt Schuman would provide no details on where Buckel might be, or how solid the leads are, saying he didn’t want to jeopardize the hunt for the suspect. He wouldn’t even confirm that the suspect had indeed left Barnegat.

“We aren’t going to comment on the realm of the search, because we don’t want the escapee or anyone helping him to have any hints where we have searched, or where we are going to search,” Schumann said.

Schuman declined to discuss the number of officers assigned to the search, other than to say that the department’s fugitive unit and K-9 unit are involved, along with “a lot of other law enforcement agencies.”

He urged anyone who spots Buckel to immediately call local authorities or 911.

“On the one hand, he is a minimum security inmate. On the other hand, he is an escaped inmate so it’s possible he could be dangerous," he said.

Buckel was serving a three-year prison term for aggravated assault, drug possession and burglary and was less than a month away from being considered for parole when he was discovered missing from the prison unit Tuesday morning, authorities said.

Before the recent stint in prison, Buckel was sentenced in 1996 to a 25-year prison term for the aggravated manslaughter of a 10-month-old child in Hudson County. He was released in 2010.

The Jersey Journal reported that the mother of the infant that Buckel went to prison for killing in 1996 resided in Barnegat and had taken the child with her to North Jersey to visit him for the Labor Day weekend when the death occurred. The Silverado that was left behind at the CVS may be the second vehicle stolen by Buckel in his quest to escape, Barnegat police Sgt. Jeffrey Ryan said.

Jeffrey Zeigelheim, a former assistant Hudson County prosecutor who prosecuted Buckel for the death of 10-month-old Caitlin Colon, said Buckel “struck the baby several times out of frustration when the baby wouldn’t stop crying."

“He didn’t have the intention to kill the baby," Zeigelheim recalled. “He merely wanted the baby to stop crying." Zeigelheim recalled that the then-19-year-old Buckel was in a relationship with the child’s mother, but added Buckel “was not a parent and was ill-equipped to deal" with the baby.

Buckel at first said the infant’s death occurred by accident when he tripped and fell down the stairs with the child, but that story did not coincide with the medical evidence in the case, Zeigelheim said.

Originally charged with the child’s murder, Buckel pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, according to court records.

The Jersey Journal reported that Buckel was required to serve at least 12 ½ years in prison before he could be considered for parole, and that he was released from prison June 30, 2010.

In prison this time since Nov. 21, 2015, Buckel was eligible to be considered for release on parole on May 21, according to the state Corrections Department’s website. His latest release date would have been Nov. 21, 2017.

But now, Buckel could face an additional three to five years in prison once he is captured, Schuman said.

Contributing: Erik Larsen and Amanda Oglesby, Asbury Park (N.J.) Press and The Vineland (N.J.) Daily Journal. Follow Alex N. Gecan, Kathleen Hopkins and Andrew Ford​ on Twitter: @GeeksterTweets, @KHopkinsapp and @AndrewFordNews