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The Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office was conducting an autopsy to help determine how 26-year-old Kiariff Alston ended up two miles or so off Island Beach State Park in Barnegat Light, Glen Rock Police Chief Dean Ackermann said Friday.
A Good Samaritan had notified authorities after spotting the body around 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Coast Guard Petty Officer Kimberly Reaves said.
Alston’s family had reported him missing early Monday.
He’d left home the day before, “telling his mother he was going to buy gas and was then expected to report to his job later that day at Home Depot in Paterson,” Ackermann said.
Loved ones became concerned after learning that Alston didn’t show up for work, the chief said.
His mother said the former Paterson resident has a mental illness and has tended to wander but often returned soon after.
Alston’s black 2020 Toyota Corolla was later found in Seaside Heights, Ackermann said.
Sgt. Michael Trover and Detective Lucas Doney went there and canvassed the area with local police before being contacted by the Coast Guard.
Ackermann expressed law enforcement’s deepest sympathies to Alston’s family. He also cited the assistance of the United States Coast Guard, New Jersey State Police, the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office and Seaside Heights and Long Beach Township police.
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