Search for escaped convict continues into night in Barnegat

Barnegat residents were being told to stay in their homes Wednesday evening as a manhunt for an escaped convict continued into the night.

Earlier in the day authorities placed local schools on lockdown as police searched for a fugitive who had escaped Tuesday from the Ancora unit of Bayside State Prison in Hammonton.

Residents were warned to remain indoors and keep the doors to their homes and cars locked.

According to a post on the Barnegat Police Department's Facebook Page Wednesday night, officials have decided that schools will remain open Thursday.

"All Barnegat Township schools will be open tomorrow. In the event that the escaped subject is not yet in custody, the Barnegat Police Department will have officers present at each of the district schools for the entire school day," police said on Facebook.

Barnegat police said a stolen minivan was tracked to the CVS on West Bay Avenue about 10:17 a.m., adding that authorities believe the driver to be Arthur Buckel.
Agencies involved in the search are the Ocean County Sheriffs Department, state Department of Corrections Fugitive Task Force, Ocean County Special Operations Group, Ocean County SWAT Team, State Police, Ocean Township police and Stafford police. Patrols and K-9 units were searching the Garden State Parkway and other parts of town, police said.

Buckel’s record includes burglary, possession and aggravated assault dating back to 2014. He is described as a white male with brown hair and blue eyes standing 5 feet and 9 inches and weighing 180 pounds.