Mostly Cloudy 64°
Police & Fire
Details Released In Rockaway River Body Recovery Details Released In Rockaway River Body Recovery
Details Released In Rockaway River Body Recovery Authorities have released details in the body that was recovered from the Rockaway River Monday morning.  Police were called to a portion of the river in Boonton where responders pulled a 71-year-old man's body from the ice around 9:50 a.m., Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll said. The man's identity was not being released and the investigation was being completed by the Medical Examiner’s Office, he said alongside Chief of Detectives Christoph Kimker and Town of Boonton Captain Stephen Jones. The incident was not suspected to be criminal and there was no risk t…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
News
Fire Ravages One Paterson Home, Damages Another Fire Ravages One Paterson Home, Damages Another
Fire Ravages One Paterson Home, Damages Another UPDATE: A trio of Paterson police heroes evacuated a multi-family home during a Saturday morning fire, getting several residents to safety, authorities confirmed. Officers Edward Akins, Kevin Brito and Mark Alvarez were instantly on the scene of the Oak Street fire and got all of the residents out safely, Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said. The officers selflessly "put others' lives before their own," the director said. Firefighters were met by heavy flames on the second floor and in the attic of a two-story wood-frame home shortly after 9:30 a.m., Speziale said. The blaze spread …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
FOUND! Paterson Boy With Autism, 9, Home Safe After 'Scary' Overnight Search FOUND! Paterson Boy With Autism, 9, Home Safe After 'Scary' Overnight Search
Found! Paterson Boy With Autism, 9, Home Safe After 'Scary' Overnight Search An intense overnight search for a missing 9-year-old Paterson boy with autism ended happily when he was found several hours later in a vacant apartment right next door to his home. City Police Chief Ibrahim Baycora commanded the search for the youngster, who was reported missing from his Spring Street home, down the street from St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, at 10:20 p.m. Wednesday. "It was all hands on deck," city Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said. "Shifts were held over. Patrol officers, detectives, juvenile officers and Fire Department personnel all walked the streets and…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
KNOW ANYTHING? Nearly 2 Dozen Vehicles Burglarized Overnight In Hunterdon County KNOW ANYTHING? Nearly 2 Dozen Vehicles Burglarized Overnight In Hunterdon County
Know Anything? Nearly 2 Dozen Vehicles Burglarized Overnight In Hunterdon County Know anything? Authorities are seeking clues and surveillance footage after nearly two dozen cars were burglarized in Hunterdon County before dawn Monday. The burglaries — 20 in total — occurred around 4 a.m. throughout Holland Township, according to the town’s department of public safety. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information or surveillance footage is asked to contact the Holland Township Police Department at (908) 995-4670 or tips@hollandtwp.org. “Over the last few months, Hunterdon County has seen an increase in vehicle burglaries,” said the Holland Township D…

SHARE

by Valerie Musson
News
No One Is Giving Your Kids Pot Edibles For Halloween -- Even If They Ask For It No One Is Giving Your Kids Pot Edibles For Halloween -- Even If They Ask For It
No One Is Giving Your Kids Pot Edibles For Halloween -- Even If They Ask For It Halloween 2021 is bringing the usual warnings from authorities to be on the lookout for nefarious strangers giving kids pot edibles that look like candy -- but how much of it is (a) based in reality and how much is (b) fear mongering? The answers: (a) none of it and (b) all of it. The true danger lies in people believing urban legends, says Snopes.com, a site dedicated to debunking them.  “You are more likely to summon Beetlejuice by saying his name three times than you are to find marijuana edibles in your children’s Halloween candy,” NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri told Marijuana …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
GOTCHA! Hackensack PD Nabs Teen Groper Who Grabbed Women At Night GOTCHA! Hackensack PD Nabs Teen Groper Who Grabbed Women At Night
Gotcha! Hackensack PD Nabs Teen Groper Who Grabbed Women At Night UPDATE: A Hackensack woman groped by a 16-year-old boy while walking her dog at night was initially reluctant to report it. "I was too ashamed," she said. Calling police turned out to be the right thing, she said Friday. Barely 24 hours later, another woman who was walking her dog in the same area of the Esplanade in the north end of town near Maywood was attacked more severely. It was the same teen: He was carrying the same backpack as the night before, sources said. Having been warned of the previous incident, the second woman called police right away. "They located the possible suspec…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Boy, 14, Caught Packing Handgun, Paterson PD Says Boy, 14, Caught Packing Handgun, Paterson PD Says
Boy, 14, Caught Packing Handgun, Paterson PD Says A 14-year-old boy shoved a 9mm handgun into his waistband seconds before he was seized by Paterson detectives outside a neighborhood liquor store, authorities said. The boy was among a dozen or so people " blocking the business entrance, playing loud music, and consuming alcoholic beverages" in the middle of the 100 block of North Main Street, Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said. Detectives Yamil Pimienta, John Traynor, Mohamed Bashir and Levis Qirjako approached to break up the group when they saw the boy trying to hide the gun and immediately took him into custody, Speziale said. …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Suspected Pipe Bomb Found On Tenafly RR Tracks Stops Traffic, Turns Out Harmless Suspected Pipe Bomb Found On Tenafly RR Tracks Stops Traffic, Turns Out Harmless
Suspected Pipe Bomb Found On Tenafly RR Tracks Stops Traffic, Turns Out Harmless The stray tube spotted by a passerby with wires hanging out of it on the CSX tracks in Tenafly Friday morning could've been mistaken for a pipe bomb. It turned out to be a piece of railroad equipment, police said. The call came in from the tracks along Piermont Road near Riveredge Road shortly before 9 a.m., Capt. Michael deMoncada said. Tenafly police considered the item suspicious enough to notify the Bergen County Sheriff's Bomb Squad, which just so happened to be conducting a weekly training exercise. A CSX representative also was summoned to the scene and identified it as part of tra…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Distressed Boy Who Wet His Pants Gets Help From Newark Officer Distressed Boy Who Wet His Pants Gets Help From Newark Officer
Distressed Boy Who Wet His Pants Gets Help From Newark Officer A distressed boy who had wet his pants got help from a compassionate police officer in Newark. Newark Police Officer L. Ciesla found the boy near Broad Street and Branford Street, the city’s department of public safety said Tuesday. Ciesla then went to a nearby store and bought the boy new clothes using her own money. “Officer Ciesla went above and beyond in making the child’s day brighter by giving him a fresh set of clothes and helping him change, literally on her knees,” the department said. “We salute Officer Ciesla for treating the child as if he were a member of her own family.”

SHARE

by Valerie Musson
News
SMH: Dispatcher Catches Thief Stealing Gear From Rochelle Park Flood Rescue Boat SMH: Dispatcher Catches Thief Stealing Gear From Rochelle Park Flood Rescue Boat
SMH: Dispatcher Catches Thief Stealing Gear From Rochelle Park Flood Rescue Boat How low can someone go? Rochelle Park firefighters found out when a Clifton man tried to snatch police life jackets and safety ropes from their rescue boat Thursday night, authorities said. The rescuers had left the boat on West Passaic Street, just beyond the floodwaters, after saving several victims and shuttling police to headquarters flooded by Tropical Storm Ida. Dispatcher Mike Colombini rushed out and kept Omar Omar, 49, from leaving before officers arrived around 7 p.m., Police Lt. James DePreta said. Omar was arrested, charged with theft and released pending a court hearing. Poli…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
HAZMAT INCIDENT: Leaking Household Cleaners Bring Responders To Dumont Home HAZMAT INCIDENT: Leaking Household Cleaners Bring Responders To Dumont Home
HAZMAT Incident: Leaking Household Cleaners Bring Responders To Dumont Home Leaking household cleaners created enough of a problem to bring responders to a Dumont home, authorities said. Borough police, firefighters and the Volunteer Ambulance Corps responded to the Prospect Avenue home along with a Bergen County Hazardous Materials Unit late Sunday morning, Mayor Andrew LaBruno said. No one was hospitalized, LaBruno said. "We are extremely pleased no parties were injured or made ill due to the incident," the mayor said. "A huge 'thank you' to our Dumont first responders for their tremendous work on the scene and the Bergen County HAZMAT team for their assistance.…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
14-Year-Old NJ Boy Said Nothing Before Deadly Leap From Hudson Yards Vessel, Report Says 14-Year-Old NJ Boy Said Nothing Before Deadly Leap From Hudson Yards Vessel, Report Says
14-Year-Old NJ Boy Said Nothing Before Deadly Leap From Hudson Yards Vessel, Report Says A 14-year-old New Jersey boy leapt to his death from The Vessel at Hudson Yards in New York City Thursday. The teen was with his parents, sister and grandmother, and said nothing before the jumped around 12:50 p.m., the New York Post reports. Police did not disclose the boy's identity, however, NJ1015 says he was from Livingston. This is the fourth suicide at the building in the last 18 months, and could prompt The Vessel to close, the outlet said. “We are heartbroken by this tragedy and our thoughts are with the family of the young person who lost his life,” Hudson Yards spokeswoman Kimb…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine