A week after homes across a large area of Lower Sayreville lost electricity, repair workers found the deceased on a transformer and pinpointed it as the cause.

"We are guessing a bird dropped it as it flew over," police said on Facebook.

Making light of the victim's fate, they called him "a hard-working family man" and a "father to thousands".

Officers did, however, resist a "sleeping with the fishes" gag.

The suspect, they said, "was last seen flying south" and "may still be very dangerous".

Chris Hoenig, a spokesperson for electricity provider Jersey Central Power and Light Company, said an osprey, a common bird in the area, could have been responsible.

He told CNN the winged killers themselves were a common cause of power outages, as they often make nests on power lines and other equipment.

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The community that lost power last Saturday is located on the banks of New Jersey's Raritan River, southwest of New York's Staten Island.

Mr Hoenig thanked customers for their patience during the outage.