Teens Escape From Juvenile Detention Center in North Jersey; Getaway Car Found In Newark

Maybe authorities should have been suspicious when a group of teenagers volunteered for laundry duty.

That’s how three juveniles incarcerated at the minimum-security Green Residential Community Home in Ringwood State Park made their escape on Sunday night, police reported.

After volunteering for laundry duty, the teens reportedly jumped the 71-year-old employee on duty, tackled him, took his car keys and made their escape in his 2012 white Toyota Sienna, reported NorthJersey.com.

A female friend of the employee was sleeping in the backseat of the van at the time it was stolen, the report stated.

The van – with the unharmed woman still inside - was found in Newark around 5 a.m. on Monday.

The New Jersey Department of Justice is conducting an investigation.

According to the NJ Juvenile Justice Commission’s website, the Green Residential Community Home is a residential facility for younger male juvenile offenders between the ages of 13 and 17. The center serves a maximum of 28 residents.

Residents complete 52 man-hours of work per week at Ringwood State Park, as well as daily community service on the grounds of Ringwood State Park and Ringwood Manor.

Residents also provide assistance to the municipal government, ambulance corps, fire department, a local battered women’s shelter, and maintain one of the town’s main roads through the Adopt-A-Road Program.