Fire damages Toms River home

TOMS RIVER — An early Thursday morning fire caused moderate smoke and minor fire damage to a home in the East Dover section of the township, officials said.

The fire began in the bedroom of the home at 612 Parkside Ave. shortly after 2 a.m., said James Mercready, director of the township Fire Prevention Bureau.

An investigation later determined that improperly disposed smoking materials in an improvised ashtray ignited a nightstand in the house, he said.

The home did not have working smoke detectors at the time of the fire. However, since officials deemed the home safe following repairs and cleanup, firefighters installed a new smoke detector in the residence, Mercready said.

The bureau reminds residents that installing, testing and maintaining operable smoke detectors in homes is essential for fire and life safety, and can greatly improve chances of surviving a fire, Mercready said.

Any resident with questions on smoke detectors or planning a family escape can call the bureau at 732-240-5153 or visit its website www.trfireprevention.com.

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Death of 18-year-old Brick woman in Toms River motel under investigation, police say

TOMS RIVER — The death of an 18-year-old Brick woman found dead this week at a township motel has been labeled suspicious, investigators said Wednesday.

The woman?s lifeless body was found in a room at the Red Roof Inn on Water Street on Tuesday morning, but investigators still don?t know what caused her death, said Capt. Jack Sramaty, a spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor?s Office.

The woman?s identity has been withheld by police.

Sramaty said the woman?s death is ?considered suspicious? and investigators with the prosecutor?s Major Crimes Unit are trying to find out all of the circumstances surrounding how she died.

?Anytime someone that young dies, the death is labeled as suspicious,? Sramaty said.

An autopsy was performed on the woman later Tuesday, Sramaty said.

He said the exact cause of her death won?t be determined until investigators get back toxicology results.

?It could take as long as two weeks,? Sramaty said.

He declined to discuss whether the death may have been drug-related.

?We don?t know what this is right now,? Sramaty said.

The woman was found by township police after they received a call to check on the woman?s well-being at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Inn on Water Street, according to Police Chief Michael G. Mastronardy.

?Police got a call from someone who was concerned and asked us to go check on her,? Mastronardy said.

Mastronardy said the Prosecutor?s Office and Toms River Police are continuing to investigate the death along with the Ocean County Sheriff?s Department and Detective Randy Petrick.

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Lacey man charged with 2012 burglary of Forked River Pharmacy

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Toms River police search for bank robber

TOMS RIVER — Township police say they are searching for a man who robbed a Route 37 bank this morning and fled towards Cedar Grove on foot.

The suspect, described as a white man in his 30s with a thin build, robbed the Sovereign Bank on Route 37 near Hooper Avenue just before noon Monday , Captain Steven Henry of the Toms River police said in a news release.

The robber entered the bank and handed the teller a note, demanding money, Henry said. The man was wearing a dark T-shirt, blue jeans, an unzipped sweat shirt and a dark colored baseball hat.

No weapon was shown and no one in the bank was injured, Henry said.

The investigation is being conducted by Toms River Police, Ocean County Sheriff?s Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Anyone with information is being asked to contact Detective Mark Bajada at 732-349-0150 ext. 1241.

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Girls named in river bodies find

24 July 2013 Last updated at 07:27 GMT Several emergency teams were involved in the six-hour search Two teenage girls, whose bodies were found by police divers in the River Wear in Tyne and Wear, have been named.

Passers-by tried to rescue the pair who were discovered on Tuesday evening after getting into difficulty near a viaduct in Fatfield, Washington.

They were named locally as Chloe Fowler and Toni-Beth Purvis.

A spokesman for Northumbria Police said inquiries would now be carried out into the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

Onlookers said they believed the girls jumped into the river for "fun" and to "keep cool" but this has not been confirmed by police.

Northumbria Police said the river was still tidal at the point where the girls went missing just before 15:00 BST and there was a lot of debris and foliage in the water.

Supt Alan Veitch said: "One was an off-duty police officer going for a run who dived in and saved a boy who was trying to save one of the missing girls.

"Another gentleman dived in and swam the width of the river to get to one of the girls but he came up empty-handed. He was distraught, as you can imagine."

About 100 emergency services staff were involved in the search, which took about six hours.

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