Ortley Beach man reports house missng after Sandy

ORTLEY BEACH, N.J. (WABC) -- So many people lost their homes in Hurricane Sandy. But one man on the Jersey Shore appears to have misplaced his.

72-year-old Nick Maria thought his home was destroyed.

Then, a few days after Sandy, he spotted his Ortley Beach house on TV.

The storm surge had pushed it right off the foundation.

But three weeks later, when residents were allowed back into the area, the house wasn't there.

Only cinder blocks remained.

So Maria reported it missing.

"I was shocked, I was stunned," Maria said. "For a few minutes I had no idea what was going on. One of the governor's assistants said to me, 'You're sure your house is gone?'. I said 'You misplace a pen or a pencil, you don't misplace a house.'"

The state told him the house was one of 26 in Ortley Beach that had to be removed after the storm to clear the street for public safety.

Maria says it's wrong that his family didn't have the chance to at least get their belongings.

He plans to rebuild.

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