By Charley Falkenburg, Special to the Packet
WEST WINDSOR Windows, doors, fireplace mantles and a part of a staircase: these are just some of the missing Grover Homestead items police found at a restoration company in Warren County.
The ongoing investigation was sparked after a volunteer committee charged with creating a viable restoration plan for the property started questioning the whereabouts of several items missing from the homestead.
The Grover Restoration Homestead Committee is the result of a community movement to save the farms, which the council voted to demolish in 2010.
After two months and more than 50 interviews, Det. Mark Lee, who is leading the investigation, has located the bulk of missing property at Restoration Technologies of New Jersey LLC. in Belvidere.
Det. Lee said the West Windsor Historical Society traded the items with the company in exchange for pieces to add to the Schenk Farm.
Township Attorney Michael Herbert, who started the investigation in late June, said he is in contact with the company’s owner, Adam Wengryn, to get a specific list of what was sent to the Schenk Farm.
He also is requesting proof that Mr. Wengryn received the Grover items at an equal value to what he traded.
If the barter is not found to be equal, the town will have to decide whether it would be worth spending the money for legal action or hauling the bartered items to and from Belvidere, which is about 60 miles away.
The Historical Society took the items some time after the council voted to tear it down two years ago.
If the trade was fair, the ball would be in Mr. Wengryn’s court and the property would be his, if he chose to keep it. As of now, those items will stay put in Belvidere until the investigation comes to a close.
Mr. Herbert said they also found things taken illegally that are of the metal type and can be scrapped easily, such as the heater and its registers. However, these items are no longer in their original form and are now part of a criminal investigation.
Det. Lee, who has been on the case since Sept. 24, described the investigation as “special.”
From working in tandem with Mr. Herbert to gathering information dating back to 1953 when the Grover family moved in, the research and homework Det. Lee has done for this case is unlike any other he has conducted.
”A lot of individuals had a small part in this puzzle and I need to talk to them,” he said Mr. Lee. “I know there will be even more questions after this is done, but I want to avoid that initially.”
Emphasizing the need to be thorough, Mr. Lee also acknowledged the likelihood of being unable to find 100 percent of the property.
”It’s virtually impossible to find everything that was in that house,” he added. “But I’m not looking for peas and carrots; I’m looking for the meat and potatoes.”
Det. Lee hopes to wrap up the investigation by late December. Once closed, he will present the administration and council with a timeline style report, which he said was “the only way someone could even come close to understanding it.”
From there, the town and the Grover Home committee will decide what to do with whatever items are recovered.
”Decisions have to be made on whether to sink money into this home or not,” said Mr. Herbert. “The storm [Hurricane Sandy] caused a significant financial hit to the township and the mayor and council have to decide whether it’s worth spending a couple of $100,000 to bring it up to code.”
The township bought the 88-acre property in 1994 for $3.7 million to designate it for open space under the state Green Acres program. Because it was an open space purchase, it must be used for some type of public purpose.
The Grover Farm Committee has expressed favor in recommending the house be rented by a caretaker or farmer, which is allowed by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and does not require additional changes to the property.
It is still gathering initial estimates and ideas for its financial plan and might have a detailed business plan ready for the council by sometime in December or possibly January.

