Investigators are asking for help to find the person who left a dog locked in a cage at the water’s edge to drown.

A 1-year-old pit bull was found by a nearby resident who was walking their dog at 6:15 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park.

Their dog alerted to the cage, which was on a small portion of sand between a bulkhead and the water and had reached the cage, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office said.

Investigators believe the dog was placed there between 4 and 6 a.m., based on the tide schedule.

The dog was taken to the Highlands Police Department, which called animal control.

"If not for the heroic rescue act of the good Samaritan, the dog could have potentially drowned," the county prosecutor's office said in a statement on Facebook.

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Tracy Woodard from InTown Cares (left) and Lauren Hopper from Mercy Care organization work with residents at the Copperton Street encampment in August 2024. 
(Miguel Martinez / AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez