Highlands Man Rescued By U.S. Coast Guard

Dylan Gowan. photo via facebook

Dylan Gowan, 19, of Highlands, was located off of Sandy Hook, oceanside, according the the U.S. Coast Guard-Sandy Hook Station.

Gowan was rescued by the Coast Guard at 6:30 a.m.  He is on land and healthy, according to Coast Guard personnel.

Gowan was reported missing to the Highlands Police at 9:18 p.m. on Tuesday night.  The Sandy Hook Coast Guard station received the report at 9:48 p.m and searched throughout the night for the young man.

An unconfirmed report shared with MMM indicated that Gowan had left Brooklyn, NY on a jetski at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday after driving to the New York borough to assist a friend who had run out of gas after riding a jetski  accross the NY-NJ Habor Outer Gateway .  Gowan reportedly headed back to NJ on the jetski while his friend drove the car home.

Gowan is the son of Kerry Gowan, the well know animal control officer in Middletown, Highlands and other Monmouth County towns.

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Coast Guard Searching For Highlands Man

Dylan Gowan. photo via facebook

Update:  Dylan was found alive by the U.S. Coast Guard at 6:30 a.m. this morning!

Highlands, NJ- The U.S Coast Guard-Sandy Hook Station, is conducting a search over night for Dylan Gowan, 19, of Highlands.

Gowan reportedly left Brooklyn, NY on a jetski, heading home to Highlands via the New York-New Jersey Harbor Outer Gateway at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening August 11.  He was reported missing to the Highlands Police at 9:18 p.m. and the Sandy Hook Coast Guard Station received the report at 9:48 p.m.   Coast Guard personnel told MMM that a boat was searching for Gowan overnight.

Dylan is the son of Jamie and Kerry Gowan.  Kerry is the well known animal control officer in Middletown, Highlands and other Monmouth County towns.

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Highlands Man Surprised To Find Himself In Christie For President Ad

Governor Chris Christie released the first ad of his fledgling presidential campaign today.  The thirty second spot is aimed at New Hampshire primary voters and will air on Boston, MA and Manchester, NH television and cable outlets, according to a report on NJ.com.  Christie’s campaign will spend $500,000 to distribute the ad over the next four weeks, according to the report.

Monmouth County restaurateur Leo Cervantes, the owner of Chilango’s in Highlands and LaPlaya in Keansburg was surprised to find himself featured in the ad.

Cervantes appears 5 seconds into the ad and is the first face featured after Christie’s.  He had no idea he was in the ad when contacted by MoreMonmouthMusings.

“I endorsed Christie for his reelection as governor,” Cervantes said, “I did a commercial for him and was part of his Hispanic outreach, but I have not heard from his presidential campaign. Should I sue them?” he asked jokingly.

Cervantes said he has not made a decision on who to support for president in 2016. “I was just talking to my daughter about this.  I know the candidates are Bush, Hillary, Trump and some others, but I really haven’t focused on it yet.”

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Cinco de Donald: A MexiCan Celebration

Updated with video

When Leo Cervantes is confronted by a difficult circumstance, he looks for the opportunity it presents.

When the waters of Superstorm Sandy receded from Highlands, Cervantes and his staff at Chilango’s recovered the non-spoiled inventory from their destroyed Bay Avenue restaurant and invited the entire town to a free dinner that they prepared and served at Henry Hudson Regional High School which was serving as a shelter for hundreds of residents displaced by the storm.

When Donald Trump disparaged Mexicans during his presidential candidacy announcement last week, Leo, who immigrated from Neza, a tough town outside of Mexico City in 1989 and became a naturalized United States citizen in 2008, shook off the insult and created an opportunity.

Sunday, July 5th is Cinco de Donald at Leo’s two Monmouth County Mexican restaurants, Chilango’s in Highlands and the newly opened LaPlaya in Keansburg.

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Highlands Couple Represents Sandy Victims Cheated By Flood Insurance Adjusters

Kerry and Jamie Gowan of Highlands appeared in Hoboken today with U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker as the legislators announced the reopening of thousands of flood insurance claims related to Superstorm Sandy.

Kerry spoke to the gathered press about her family’s ordeal swimming from their home on October 29, 2012, and the nightmare that has multiplied since.  She said her flood insurance claim paid about half of what the family was due.

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Father shot dead in hostage standoff had domestic violence arrests, records show

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Highlands Man Gets 121 months for child porn

Layne Bracht

Layne Bracht, 32, of Highlands, was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison today for uploading images of child sexual abuse to an online file-sharing network, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

A repeat offender who was convicted in 2006 of possession of child pornography, Bracht admitted in October of 2013 that he knowingly placed images and videos depicting child sexual abuse into shared folders that others could access via a peer-to-peer network. Special agents of the FBI executed a search warrant at his residence in Highlands on Jan. 15, 2014 and seized digital evidence that contained numerous videos and images depicting child sexual abuse, including material involving prepubescent minors and sadistic or masochistic conduct. The digital evidence seized included three files previously downloaded from Bracht by law enforcement agents working in an undercover capacity on the peer-to-peer network.  Brach has been in federal custody since his January 2014 arrest. He pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Irenas on December 2, 2014.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Irenas sentenced Bracht to serve 15 years of supervised release.

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Law Enforcement needs help identifying body that washed ashore in Highlands a year ago

A white male in his mid-20’s washed ashore at the Gateway Marina in Highlands on December 31, 2013.  A year and 12 days later, the State Police and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office have yet to identify the body.

Investigators are now circulating a composite sketch of the the young man may have looked like at the time of his death. Facial features, hair length and coloring may vary.

A forensic examination concluded the man is not of American Indian, Japanese, Chinese or Guatemalan nationalities.

A joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the New Jersey State Police has found no matches for the DNA Profile of the man in the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), and there have been no missing persons reported for anyone matching the description of the deceased man.

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Highlands Man Pleads Guilty To Possession Of Child Pornography

Layne Bracht, screen shot

Layne Bracht, 32 of Highlands, pleaded guilty in federal court in Camden today to one count as possession of child pornography, according to a statement by U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.

Bracht admitted that on Oct. 28, 2013, he knowingly placed images and videos depicting child sexual abuse into shared folders that others could access via a peer-to-peer network. Special agents of the FBI executed a search warrant at his residence in Highlands on Jan. 15, 2014 and seized digital evidence that contained numerous videos and images depicting child sexual abuse, including material involving prepubescent minors and sadistic or masochistic conduct. The digital evidence seized included three files previously downloaded from Bracht by law enforcement agents working in an undercover capacity on the peer-to-peer network.

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Highlands Hero Gets RREM’d

After Closing On A RREM Grant, DCA Says A New Home For Vietnam Vet Is Not In The Cards

By Art Gallagher

Russell Card Jr removes his “family crest” from his family’s home in Highlands in preparation for demolition . Photo via facebook

A Vietnam Veteran from Highlands and his 65 year-old wife had their expectations of a new home  crushed last week when their RREM approved builder informed them that a stop work order had been placed on their project by the Department of Community Affairs, with no explanation.   The family had prepared their house for demolition, based upon promises from DCA/RREM, and now fear they will be without a home.

Russell Card, a 72 year-old Vietnam Veteran from Highlands closed on his $150,000 RREM grant on July 28.  He put up his $18,000 escrow to cover the difference between the cost of the project and the amount granted.  Card, his wife Maureen and son Russell Jr, 35, prepared their home (which was built in the 1890’s and in the family since 1933) for demolition.   They moved most of their belongings into a POD on their immaculately maintained property and moved themselves into an apartment the size of the living room in the Bay Avenue house they have lived in since 1986.  By mid-September all the utilities were disconnected at the house and it was ready for demolition before their new home would be built.  The funding for the new home was the RREM grant, a gap grant of $30,000 from Gap Funding Initiative and $17,762 that was remaining from a $55,000 grant Mrs. Card had received from her employer, CareOne, after Sandy filled their home with eight feet of water on October 29, 2012.

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