Escaped prisoner who killed baby caught near New Jersey highway

BERKELEY TOWNSHIP, N.J., May 9 (UPI) -- An escaped prisoner who once served time for killing a baby was apprehended Monday morning in a wooded area of the Garden State Parkway.

Arthur Buckel, who escaped from Bayside State Prison on May 3, was found near Exit 77.

All lanes of the highway were closed around 11:30 a.m. as authorities placed Buckel in a police vehicle.

The Ocean County Sheriff's Department confirmed Buckel, 38, was caught.

Lacey Township Police Chief David Paprota said that a motorist reported seeing someone in the woods Monday near the Forest Rover Area Area.

He said detective Keith Pearce tracked Buckel down nearby and held him at gunpoint as a state corrections officer took him into custody. Pearce told him Buckel appeared fatigued and didn't resist.

Paprota announced Sunday night that Buckel was making arrangements to turn himself in but left a nearby rest area along the roadway 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.