Authorities Search for N.J. Girl's Body

BRICK TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Authorities said Monday they hoped better weather would assist in the search for the body of a 16-year-old girl who vanished last week.

Authorities on Sunday charged Jack Fuller (search), 38, in the death of Brittney Gregory (search), and the search for the girl turned into a quest to recover her body. They did not release any information about how he and the girl may have met, but family members said Fuller's daughter was a friend of the girl's.

Robert Gassert, executive assistant Ocean County prosecutor, said search parties were still looking for the Brick Township teen's body in several locations in Brick, Lakewood and Howell.

With better weather on Monday, authorities planned to use a state police helicopter to assist, Gassert said. Heavy rain had grounded the helicopter on Sunday.

Fuller did not enter a plea Monday during a brief appearance before Superior Court Judge James N. Citta, and he remained in custody on $1 million bail. Outside the courthouse, Debra Gregory said she wants to see her daughter's killer "in jail for the rest of his life, and I hope he lives to be 100."

Gregory has not been heard from since the evening of July 11, when she called her mother from her father's house saying she wanted a ride to her boyfriend's home.

The mother said the girl's sister could pick her up later, but when they called back after 45 minutes, there was no answer. When her father's companion, Lori Petersen, returned home later that night, the girl was not there.

Gregory hadn't gone to her 18-year-old boyfriend's home, and did not take her purse or any identification. Authorities said there was no sign of a break-in at her father's town house.

"It looked like she left knowing she was leaving," Petersen told the Asbury Park Sunday Press. "But it looked like she didn't plan on staying away."

Gregory recently finished her sophomore year at Brick Township Memorial High School (search). Family members have described her as a straight-A student who always wanted to become a forensic scientist.

Residents in the neighborhood where Fuller lives described it as a quiet, blue-collar area. Neighbors, who did not want to be identified, said Fuller lived off and on with his father there.