Search Continues For Missing NJ Boater Believed To Have Staged His Own Disappearance
By Cleve Bryan
LONGPORT, NJ – After confirming they believe missing powerboat racer Andrew Biddle may have staged a boating accident to avoid prosecution, Egg Harbor Township Police have entered Biddle into an FBI database.
According to the department, Biddle's profile with the National Crime Information Center says he is a wanted person with full U.S. extradition in all 50 states.
"It just seems like the most ridiculous thing to pull off," says Tom Murphy, who helped bring Biddle's friend to shore the night of the July 20th accident near Longport.
Murphy says when he heard the bang of the pontoon boat hitting the channel buoy he ran outside to see Justin Belz struggling in the water.
He says Belz was screaming for his friend Andy, who he thought also fell overboard.
"Unless he's an exceptionally good actor, he came out really frazzled, distraught, out of breath," says Murphy.
Warrants supplied to Eyewitness News by the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office describe Biddle and his racing partner Tracy Blumenstein as having conducted fraudulent boat sales.
In one report, Biddle is accused of "purposefully creating a false impression by receiving a down payment for a boat in the amount of $20,000. The boat has not been supplied."
P1 Powerboat, which recently placed stickers on their boats acknowledging Biddle, has been very cautious about how they handle the disappearance of their reigning champion.
"You just sit here and watch news unfold and think about those people who are suffering, those people close to him who maybe don't know what's going on," says Roy Mantle head of public relations with P1.
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