LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J., May 9 (UPI) — An escaped prisoner who once served time for killing a baby was spotted at a highway rest area, New Jersey State Police said Sunday.
Arthur Buckel, 38, was seen along the Garden State Parkway in Lacey Township at the Fork River rest area. Surveillance video caught Buckel near a service station Burger King.
Police Chief David Paprota announced Sunday night that Buckel was making arrangements to turn himself in but left before state police arrived.
“Arthur Buckel is now clean-shaven and was last seen wearing gray, long-sleeve sweatshirt; gray shorts; and work boots,” Paprota wrote on the agency’s Facebook page. “The most recent photos are from the Forked River Rest Area prior to the initiation of a search by the NJSP.”
Officers and K-9 units checked the wooded area between the Garden State Parkway and Double Trouble State Park.
Buckel was serving a three-year term in prison for aggravated assault, drug possession and burglary but was due to be considered for parole on May 21.
He served 14 years in prison for aggravated manslaughter of his girlfriend’s 10-month-old child in 1996.
Authorities believe Buckel stole a Chevrolet Silverado at a CVS drugstore in Barnegat, about 50 miles from the prison, one day after escaping from prison on May 3.
