N.J. town 'buzzed' by mystery helicopter
LAKEHURST, N.J. — When locals in this small town insist that something strange is happening in the sky, well, it merits notice.
After all, it was at the naval base next door that the first commercial aviation disaster — the crash of the Hindenburg — took place.
The latest air drama is turning heads as well.
Earlier this month, municipal officials and residents began to report unusual encounters with a New Jersey State Police helicopter operating at low altitudes over Lakehurst — so low the whirlybird appeared to be buzzing the rooftops of houses inside the borough.
On Jan. 16, at the request of Mayor Harry Robbins, borough attorney Sean D. Gertner fired off a letter to the State Police superintendent in pursuit of an explanation.
"I write this correspondence as several residents have reported uneasiness to the mayor regarding recent activities of a State Police helicopter within the borough," Gertner wrote to Col. Rick Fuentes.
Gertner continued: "Several residents have noticed a significant increase in activity. The mayor's concern is that this activity has not been reported to local law enforcement to our knowledge and the mayor asked if I could ascertain if the increase in activity was related to any particular information."
State Police Capt. Stephen Jones, an agency spokesman, said there has been no authorized helicopter operations of that nature in Lakehurst. But answers are not yet forthcoming.
As of Tuesday, the complaint had reached the intake unit in the Office of Professional Standards at the State Police, where an investigator was in the process of determining whether there is sufficient cause to open an internal affairs investigation, according to the State Police.
Gertner also sent copies of the letter to other state, county and local officials.
The Asbury Park Press obtained a copy of the letter under the state Open Public Records Act. No municipal official contacted has been willing to discuss the matter further.
The mayor did not answer repeated requests about the incidents. Moreover, no one on the six-member Borough Council responded to an e-mail from a reporter sent to the entire governing body.
Lakehurst Police Chief Eric S. Higgins also did not return a call about the helicopter activity.
"Anyone know (why) the police copter was hovering in Lakehurst today?" asked Candie Marie Lane on Jan. 11, through a public Facebook page dedicated to Lakehurst.
Lane did not get an answer.