Million dollars worth of stolen goods found in man's storage locker in Little Silver

LITTLE SILVER, N.J. (WABC) -- Investigators in New Jersey recovered more than $1 million in stolen property, including watches, iPads, a vintage bottle of scotch and a gold lighter once owned by comedian Bob Hope, among other items.

A suspect is under arrest, and now, police are trying to track down the rightful owners.

The discovery was made in the borough of Little Silver in Monmouth County.

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These items and several more totaling more than a million dollars were found inside of 54-year-old Thomas Earls' storage unit in Little Silver, NJ.

WABC Photo/ Little Silver Police

View all of the stolen items HERE.

Police arrested 54-year-old Thomas Earls after the stolen items were discovered.

"This was huge," Little Silver police Detective Gregory Oliva said. "Especially for the residents of our community, to be able to recover some of their property and give them some peace of mind."

Authorities believe the unusual string of burglaries date back to 2012.

"He does it for the rush, and for the thrill of it," Oliva said.

Police found all the property in Earls' home, car and storage unit.

"It was like the TV show 'Hoarders,'" Shrewsbury police Detective Sergeant James Ramsey said. "Unfortunately, there is a million dollars of jewelry and property in the house, just buried and piled up."

Among the expensive items were a $5,000 bottle of Balvenie Scotch, a 24-karat gold Zippo lighter with a hand written note from Bob Hope, watches, at least two dozen iPads, pearl necklaces and lots of other jewelry. While most of the items are of lesser value, police would like to see them returned to the rightful owners.

"Your home is your safe haven," Ocean Township police Detective Michael Melody said. "It's a shame when somebody comes in and does this and takes things that are worth something or have sentimental value."

Anyone who was a victim of a burglary in any of the eight Monmouth County communities dating back to 2012 is encouraged to call your local police. It is rare, investigators say, to be able to have so much evidence.

"There are a lot of valuable things that are just hidden, not easy to sell either," Ramsey said.

So far, 30 victims have been identified, and police say the number is growing.