Brick Man Found Dead In Shark River Park Was Murdered: Prosecutor

WALL, NJ — Authorities have identified the body found in Shark River Park on Wednesday morning as that of a Brick Township man reported missing earlier this month.

Trupal Patel, 29, of Brick, was found along the side of Gully Road and down a slight slope by a Monmouth County park ranger who was collecting litter in the area, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced Thursday evening.

The park ranger reported the discovery at 8:37 a.m., and officers from the Wall Township Police Department were dispatched to the area and confirmed the presence of a deceased male, the prosecutor's office said.

Patel's identity was confirmed quickly, the prosecutor's office said, and investigators discovered he had been reported missing to the Asbury Park Police Department by a friend on Feb. 9, the prosecutor's office said. A car he had been driving before he disappeared was discovered abandoned on an Asbury Park street on that same day, the prosecutor's office said.

Gramiccioni said Patel's murder is an isolated incident and that there are no active or ongoing threats to the Wall Township community.

Detectives from the prosecutor's office and the Wall Township and Asbury Park police departments are investigating Patel's disappearance and murder, Gramiccioni's office said.

Anyone with information is strongly urged to contact Detective Pamela Smith of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office at 800-533-7443, Detective Michael Steitz of the Wall Township Police Department at 732-449-4500 or Detective Gabriel Carrasquillo of the Asbury Park Police Department at 732-774-1300, they said.

Anyone who wishes to remain anonymous can also contact Monmouth County Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-671-4400, or text “MONMOUTH” and your tip to 274637 (CRIMES). All information will remain anonymous, he said.

The case is assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Bogner.

Photos provided by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office