Slocum, Joseph (1959)

Disappearance and search

Slocum lived at 491 South Pine Avenue, Sayreville, although reports often used his South Amboy mailing address. He turned 25 the day he disappeared. Hunting with his brother George and friend Jay McKeon on opening day, he went in another direction; they soon heard three shots. A gas-station operator near Stump Tavern and Toms River roads later identified Slocum from a photograph and said he had borrowed a coat around noon before walking north with hunting gear and a shotgun.

State Police, local woodsmen, the West End Gunning Club of Cassville, 55 Fort Dix soldiers and 25 McGuire Air Force Base airmen searched a ten-by-four-mile area around Success Lake. Bloodhounds came from New York State Police. Marsh water reached waist depth. A Navy blimp joined after an emergency storm refueling near Island Beach.

Recovery

On Sunday, December 13, a party including George found Slocum face-up in a marsh at Colliers Mills State Hunting Grounds. Ocean County Coroner Dr. Seymour Werthamer determined exposure caused death. A cut above the left eye was initially suspected as a gunshot wound but was attributed at autopsy to a branch. Reports say Slocum left a wife, from whom police said he was separated, and a child.