Official Site of The State of New Jersey
Fish & Wildlife
The Bureau of Law Enforcement, of the Fish and Wildlife program, received a New Jersey State Public Service Recognition Award for Heroism. Conservation Police Officers Shawn Coiro, Cowan Sikora and Allen Sutton were recognized for their extraordinary efforts to locate and rescue an individual reported missing on July 29, 2024, in the Berkshire Valley Wildlife Management Area. The missing person, who is diabetic, had left his home on an all-terrain vehicle about 30 hours earlier. The officers combed the wooded area well into darkness before locating the man, who appeared to have gone into diabetic shock. They secured the man and brought him out of the woods to paramedics, who were able to stabilize him before he was transported to a hospital for treatment. The quick response by the three officers was deemed critical in saving the man’s life.