Toms River Woman Home Safe Thanks To Alert Business Owner

TOMS RIVER, NJ — When Marilyn Balzer went missing on Saturday, authorities searched far and wide for the Lake Ridge resident, with dogs and drones and quads. They put out alerts to Union City and NJ Transit police, looking for the 80-year-old woman who has Alzheimer's.

But it was the power of social media and the alertness of a Howell business owner who realized something wasn't right that led to Balzer being found safe, Toms River police said Thursday.

Robert Vaccaro, owner of R&J Auto Repair on Route 9, a mile into Howell, saw Balzer near the repair shop's building on Monday morning, said Jillian Messina, media relations specialist for the Toms River Police Department. He called Howell Township police, who recognized her immediately from the photos circulating and called Toms River, Messina said.

Vaccaro was opening his store at about 6:30 a.m. on Monday when he noticed a woman standing outside his shop, he told Patch. She was covered in mud from the knees down, and walked into the auto repair shop asking for a man named Ed Balzer.

"I didn't even know she was missing," Vaccaro said Thursday. "I opened the bay doors and she came in looking for Ed, asking if I knew Ed."

When she asked Vaccaro to use the store restroom, that's when he contemplated calling the police.

"I knew she was confused, I felt bad. But I feel good now," Vaccaro said. "It just gave me the impression that it was somebody's mother. It could be somebody's grandmother … I was just in the right spot at the right time."

Balzer's disappearance — she left her Lake Ridge home Saturday about 6 a.m. dressed in blue pants and a white jacket and didn't return — led to a police search nearby that soon spread to other areas.

Police from Jackson, Manchester, and Lakewood were notified. Toms River also notified Union City, Old Bridge and NJ Transit Police, Messina said.

The department posted her photo to social media while authorities searched closer to Toms River. Police officers and detectives fanned out. K-9 units, drones and quads searched in the woods and in areas that were more difficult to access.

The Ocean County Sheriff’s Department K-9, Drone and Quad units, along Drone Unit, Quad Unit, Central Jersey K-9 Search & Rescue, Community Search and Rescue - CommSAR, New Jersey Search and Rescue, Pleasant Plains Fire Department, Lakewood Civilian Safety Watch, as well as the the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit all assisted in the efforts that continued through the weekend, Messina said.

Meanwhile, the police department's Facebook post was making the rounds. It was shared more than 4,200 times. News reports by multiple outlets including Patch shared her photos.

Tips came in; she was seen on video at the Wawa at Route 70 and Route 9 at 8 a.m. Saturday. Then she was caught on video walking north on Route 9 near Seagull Square Plaza in Lakewood. Those videos, Messina said, and ones provided by a number of local businesses, helped authorities trace Balzer's travels, before she was found on Monday when Vaccaro saw her outside his business. She was treated at Monmouth Medical Center South in Lakewood.

"Thank you to the public who offered assistance, shared our social media posts, and kept their eyes peeled for Mrs. Balzer," Messina said. "It was because of her photo circulating that she was identified."

Messina said families who have a loved one who suffers from dementia or Alzheimer's can get assistance from the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department through the Project Lifesaver program.

The program, which the county has participated in since 2002, aims to bring people home safely within minutes. Each client wears a wristband that emits a personalized tracking signal so that when someone goes missing, their wristband's radio frequency can be tracked.

The sheriff's office has officers certified by the National Project Lifesaver Organization to operate the specialized tracking equipment used in searches.

Those officers also are trained to develop methods of communication and establish a rapport with the clients and caregivers before an emergency search. For more information call June Farrington at 732-557-4427, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or send an email to ocsheriffsoffice@co.ocean.nj.us.

With reporting by Nicole Rosenthal

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