I got a phone call on Halloween from the Philadelphia Inquirer. Wendy Ginsburg, a reporter in charge of the Burlington section of the paper, had found me (which amazes me still) and wanted to do a story on us, accompanying us to the favorite hotspots of the Jersey Devil. So after a team make-over and some phone calls, I got the trip organized and off to Leeds Point we went. This time I was accompanied by Bel, Mary, Tony, Paul, Beata, and the wonderful P.I. team of Wendy and Mike.

Our first stop was of course, the house. Nothing too new to report about that place, except that I still remind people not to attempt discovering it on their own since the entire area is constantly being watched by the Galloway Township Police Department. We found something new in there - something that looked like it could have been a very old refrigerator, but we're still not sure. It was old and rusted and had pretty much been buried by the collapsed wood.

After that, I took everyone to one of our other favorite spots - with little to report from there as well. It started to seem like the night was going to be a total wash as far as Jersey Devil activity goes. We had a few odd noises here and there, but nothing significant enough to freak anybody out. A lot of dogs were going nuts. While back in the woods, we did hear a growl and there were definite hoof noises, but like I always say, the simplest explanation tends to be the correct one and it was more than likely a deer tromping through the woods. As for the growl, I don't know what to say.

So we started to head back to our cars, and I was feeling lame for not showing the Inquirer team a good time. But then we got lucky...

We had parked the cars by one of the numerous docking areas of Leeds Point. Paul suggested we go out to the water for a quick peek at the Atlantic City skyline, all lit up at night. So we did. And as we started walking over there, expecting nothing, we found something amazing.

Strewn across the cement where the boats are loaded into the water were the bodies of at least four birds, mangled, headless, and ripped apart. We found entrails that had been ripped from the bodies yet the organs were still intact. We found the skins of the birds, which appeared to have been ripped off the animal's body. And we couldn't find a single head. There were at least four bodies, possibly more. The area around was covered in down feathers, as if a struggle had occurred. The skin had been ripped roughly off the body (not like a knife cut) and the legs had all been removed and scattered throughout the area. One bird's entrails were in the water, currently feeding some fish. There was definitely blood surrounding the bodies and surrounding the entrails, but there wasn't blood all over the place - mostly just feathers.

Paul leaned down and got close to examine, while Mary carefully lifted one of the skins. After close examination, they had determined that the bodies were still fairly fresh. The blood had not yet turned a dark shade and was not dry. The entrails were still full of fluids. That day had been a sunny day, and had they been left out there during the daylight, it would have dried out. Whatever it was that had done this, had done it RECENTLY.

Now we had sufficiently freaked out the news crew, and even some members of the group, so we left. We regrouped at our favorite place, JD's Pub, and discussed the events.

What do we believe? Well, who knows... We know there was a struggle, we know that the animals had been brutally mangled yet their internal organs seemed almost carefully removed and intact - we could see the digestive tracks and stomachs of at least 2 birds. We know that most animals would have attacked a bird for food, and would not have left such a significant amount of the bodies behind. And what creature eats only the heads? Pretty much the heads are useless for a food source, since they're just beaks and skulls.

We also found some strange wet tracks in the sand - it appeared to be more like lines, but there were some round clumps here and there.

So basically, we have no idea what actually happened. It does remind me of a story printed in the Asbury Park Press a little while ago, about a creature coming out of the water and attacking a dog.

Got an answer for us? We'd love to hear it. E-mail us with what you think might have happened to these birds. We'd love to discuss it!

Well, that's our story for Hunt #14. Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected]. Want to join us? Click here for the online application!