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SANDY HOOK: SUNKEN VESSEL LOCATED

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Authorities searching for a 40-foot boat reported to have sunk off Sandy Hook Tuesday afternoon have found a sunken vessel, the New Jersey State Police reported Wednesday morning.

But they haven’t confirmed if it’s the “Jefe,” which was reported missing, according to a statement issued by the agency.

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SANDY HOOK: SEARCH ON FOR SUNKEN BOAT

sheriff boat 082215The Monmouth County Sheriff’s boat Marine 1, seen here in the Navesink on Saturday, is involved in the search. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)

Authorities launched a massive search for a 40-foot boat reported to have sunk off Sandy Hook Tuesday afternoon, according to news reports.

The search, involving Coast Guard and police vessels, divers and helicopters, began with a 4:30 p.m. report of a 40-foot vessel sinking in the Sandy Hook Channel, abc7ny.com reported.

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RED BANK: KAYAKER’S DEATH INSPIRES ALERT

maple cove sign 050615david civileA new water-safety sign was installed Wednesday at Red Bank’s Maple Cove, a popular Navesink River put-in spot for kayakers and canoeists.

With the help of Councilwoman Cindy Burnham, the sign was donated by the parents of David Civile, right, a 26-year-old Tinton Falls man who disappeared while kayaking in the Shrewsbury River off Little Silver in November, 2010. His remains were found two years later.

Signs donated by the David P. Civile Foundation for Boating Safety Awareness have also been installed in Little Silver, Fair Haven, Rumson and elsewhere in Monmouth County.

Read  more about the foundation’s efforts here. (Photo above by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

 

RED BANK: NEWEST COP LEARNING THE BEAT

rb k9 020415 1 Looking a little sleepy at the end of his first day on the job, Hunter relaxes with his handler, Patrolman Stan Balmer. Below, the pair with the new vehicle that will be assigned to them once it’s rigged up. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

rb k9 020415 2The newest member of the Red Bank police department got a tour of the town Wednesday, acquainting himself with the streets and train station. At day’s end, a bit sleepy-eyed, he took a leak behind the police station.

His name is Hunter, he’s 20 months old, and he’s the first official police dog in the borough’s history.

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RED BANK: KAYAKER’S MOM URGES VEST USAGE

rb kayak safety 112414One of the signs that Joan Civile has offered to the town as part of a campaign inspired by the death of her son, David, below. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

david civileFour years after a Tinton Falls man disappeared while kayaking in the Shrewsbury River off Little Silver, his mother is on a campaign to ensure nothing like that happens again.

David Civile was 26 years old, “in great shape,” and excited about the kayak he’d purchased just three weeks earlier, his mother, Joan Civile, told the Red Bank council Monday night. The November morning that he put in at Little Silver Point Road, he’d just purchased waterproof pants.

“He just thought he was safe,” she recalled. “He said, ‘Mom, I’m in a river. If it’s bad, I’ll just come back.'”

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RED BANK: MATTRESS MAVEN PICKS UP K9 TAB

michael fux 2 081211Michael Fux, above on Broad Street  in 2011. His donation cleared the way for the addition of Rugger, an 11-month-old German shepherd, to the RBPD. (Rugger photo courtesy of RBPD. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

rb k9 rugger 092414 3The Red Bank police department has a new, four-legged member, thanks to mattress millionaire Michael Fux.

A fundraising drive launched earlier this month to create a new K9 unit came to an abrupt end Wednesday night when the town council accepted a $38,000 donation from Fux (pronounced ‘fyooks’) and his wife, Gloria Rubin, to cover nearly the entire cost of a police dog, a specially equipped vehicle to transport it and training for the dog and his handler.

The dog has already been acquired. He’s an 11-month-old male German shepherd named Rugger by his new master, Patrolman Stan Balmer. The two are off to 16 weeks of K9 school in Long Branch starting Monday.

“We’re already bonding,” said Balmer, a former rugby player, or “rugger,” as he showed off cellphone photos of his new partner.

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RED BANK: PD HOPES TO ADD K9 TO ROSTER

k9 A member of the Monmouth County Sheriff’s K-9 unit, called in to help find a burglary suspect on Windward Way in Red Bank two years ago. Patrolman Stan Balmer, below, has offered to train with and host a dog. (Photo by Danielle Tepper. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

balmer 112211Over the two decades he’s been with the Red Bank Police Department, now-Chief Darren McConnell has wanted a dog. Not a pet, but a K-9, trained to sniff out drugs, suspects and missing persons.

For one reason or another, though, none of his predecessors got around to securing one.

Now, at the urging of one of his patrolmen, McConnell’s department is attempting to leash a four-legged sniffer, and do it without putting the cost on taxpayers.

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TWO YEARS LATER, KAYAKER’S REMAINS ID’D

Rumson firefighters shine floodlights on the Shrewsbury River from the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge during the November, 2010 search for kayaker David Civile. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

The remains of a Tinton Falls man who disappeared while kayaking in the Shrewsbury River two years ago have been found in Little Silver, New Jersey State Police announced Thursday.

David Civile, 26, vanished after launching on a solo excursion on November 17, 2010, a blustery day. He was reported missing that night, when his kayak was found near the uninhabited Sedge Island, which lies between Sea Bright and Rumson on the Shrewsbury River.

The report triggered an extensive, multi-day search that involved state and local police as well as the Coast Guard.

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AUTHORITIES SEARCHING RIVER AGAIN

searchcopterA helicopter, above, and a State Police boat searched the upper Navesink River near Hubbards Bridge late Tuesday morning. (Click to enlarge)

search-boat

For the second time in 11 days, law enforcement officers used a helicopter and police boat in a search of the Navesink River between Red Bank and Middletown Tuesday morning.

A spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s office was not immediately available to comment on whether the search, like the prior one, was related to the disappearance of 26-year-old Viridiana Beltran-Gomez.

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