Abandoned Baby Mystery Solved: 5 Must-Read NJ Stories

Good evening, New Jersey Patch readers! We've assembled some of the most share-worthy stories from the state for today, just for you.

Here are the top five stories from New Jersey:

1. An exhaustive search for an alligator in Middlesex Boro has ended, as police said they suspect the reptile is no longer in the area. The four-foot-long alligator — which police think was a pet that someone no longer wanted — was last spotted Aug. 30. (Read more on Patch.)

2. A massive rescue effort is underway to safely bring a scientist more than 3,400 feet out of a cave in Turkey, where he became severely ill last week. Mark Dickey, chief of the New Jersey Initial Response team, was on an expedition with several other American caving experts. (Read more on Patch.)

3. A New Jersey native will be competing on the milestone 45th season of "Survivor," the long-running CBS reality show. This season, 18 participants will be stranded on the island of Fiji, where they have to battle the elements and play an ever-shifting social game, by outwitting other competitors. Sean Edwards, a 35-year-old Mercer County native, is one of them. (Read more on Patch.)

4. A Beachwood native was selected from among thousands of entries to appear in an annual video presentation in Times Square. Charlotte Cohen, 12, will be one of dozens of children, teens and adults featured in a Down syndrome awareness video on Saturday. (Read more on Patch.)

5. Officials have identified the parents of "Baby Mary," who was found abandoned in trash bags on Christmas Eve in 1984 near a small waterfall in Morris County. While the baby’s father died in 2009, the mother was charged in April with one count of manslaughter, authorities said. (Read more on Patch.)