Evesham police launch hunt for person apparently hit by car

When an Evesham Township police officer stopped the elderly motorist for driving erratically, he quickly spotted the car's smashed windshield and front-end damage - along with blood and hair on the glass.

The 81-year-old Cherry Hill man admitted hitting "something" he thought was an animal, then leaving after finding nothing along the road, police said.

The encounter on Tuesday evening has baffled authorities, who launched an extraordinary investigation this week to find the victim.

"We fear someone could be lying out there injured," Evesham Police Sgt. Joseph Friel said Thursday.

The continuing search has involved local and state police and fire officials using squad cars, all-terrain vehicles, helicopters, and heat-sensing cameras, as well as media towers to track the motorist's route.

They've also been studying highway and store video footage and had a New Jersey State Police forensic team confirm the hair was human. Blood tests had not yet come back.

On Friday, Evesham police will use dogs to check a five- to 10-mile stretch of Route 70 and nearby roads.

"It's like a needle in a haystack, a shot in the dark," Friel said late Thursday.

But the search will continue.

"We're all in on this," Friel said. "We have a victim, a starting point, and a two-hour window."

The driver, who police said appeared confused during the stop, told them he had visited the Apple store at the Cherry Hill Mall and left about 6 p.m.

He became confused and lost, and was driving erratically shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday when police stopped him at East Main Street and Knox Boulevard.

The Evesham officer saw the heavy damage to the front passenger side of the blue 1997 Ford Taurus, along with the hair and blood, and asked the driver whether he had been in an accident.

The man told him he didn't remember where the accident occurred, and later rode with officers for hours, trying to find the accident site.

The Cherry Hill man has a current license and hasn't been charged with any offense, police said. Evesham police did not release his name; his car has been impounded during the investigation.

Investigators obtained a video showing the driver's undamaged car leaving the Cherry Hill Mall, and on Thursday, they were checking video from other public highway and convenience-store cameras for clues.

They also were trying to determine whether an operating "Apple device," which they wouldn't identify, could be used with local media towers to determine the motorist's route.

The distance between the mall and East Main Street is about 11 miles and should have taken about 25 to 30 minutes to drive.

"We're using every available resource," Friel said. "We have ATVs in wooded areas along the highway and state police helping with a helicopter."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Evesham Police Department at 856-983-1116, a confidential tip line at 856-983-4699, or to send an e-mail to Facebook@Eveshampd.org.

Anonymous tips can also be sent via text: ETPDTIP to 847411.