Search continues for prison escapee, schools reopen Thursday

OCEAN COUNTY, NJ (WTXF) - Schools in Ocean County will reopen Thursday as officials continue to search for an escaped prisoner who has been on the run since Tuesday. Residents and area schools in Ocean County were told to stay indoors Wednesday while police continued their search for an escaped prisoner.

Police in Winslow Township, New Jersey began searching for an man who escaped from Bayside Prison at Ancora Tuesday.

Arthur Buckle, of Clifton, was last seen at 4:10 a.m. Tuesday.

On Wednesday, police say Buckle may have been involved with stealing a car in the Barnegat Township area in New Jersey.

At approximately 10:17a.m. a stolen vehicle (white 2015 Chevy Silverado from Hammonton, NJ) was located at the CVS Drugstore on West Bay Avenue in Barnegat, N.J.

Agencies from the Ocean County Sheriffs Department, New Jersey Department of Corrections Fugitive Task Force, Ocean County Special Operations Group, Ocean County SWAT Team, New Jersey State Police, Ocean Township Police Department, and Stafford Township Police Department are assisting with area searches, patrols, and K-9 Tracks along the Garden State Parkway and other areas of town.

MORE: Police : Prisoner escapee took stolen car to Barnegat

FOX 29's Steve Keeley reported Tuesday that all schools and homes in the area had been ordered locked tight by officials. Cops had been swarming woods along Garden State Parkway just north of Atlantic City looking for Buckle.

Police say Buckle was in jail for aggravated assault, burglary and related offenses.

Buckle, 38, is described as 5'9", 180 lbs., with brown hair, blue eyes, a goatee, and a small tattoo under his left eye.

If you see Buckle, you are asked to call 911 immediately.