Suspect still at large after manhunt moves
By Nathan Mayberg
CANADENSIS — One of the 10 most wanted men in the United States is still loose after allegedly gunning down a Pennsylvania State Trooper and wounding another in an ambush outside the state police barracks in Blooming Grove on Sept. 12.
On Saturday, state troopers, federal agents, and local police officers scoured the area near Eric Matthew Frein's home in Canadensis, about 20 miles from the barracks. They were following up reports that Frein had been sighted there, and that a door to a nearby home had been kicked in.
Police also heard reports and unconfirmed rumors about shots fired in Barrett Township on Thursday and Friday nights. In one of the few new clues about Frein or his whereabouts in many days, state police report finding an AK-47 that Frein had left behind in the woods. Police say Frein is a war re-enactor and self-styled survivalist.
Roads in this small hamlet in the heart of the Poconos, including Bear Town Road and Snow Hill Road, were closed to traffic on Friday night and Saturday. They were reopened Saturday evening.
The Frein home is surrounded by an abundance of upper-scale homes, some of them seasonal. A ski hill is down the road. On Saturday, a red Lamborghini passed a large media crowd assembled across from a police checkpoint.
By Sunday morning, Frein had still not been captured.
SEARCH INTENSIFIES
Police are now in the ninth day of their around-the clock search for the alleged killer of Pennsylvania State Police Corporal Bryon Dickson. State Trooper Alex Douglass was wounded in the same attack.
Frein is considered armed and extremely dangerous. An AK-47 and .308 caliber rifle with a scope were reported missing from his parent's home. The rifle is believed to have been used in the shootings.
On Saturday afternoon, news of the manhunt didn't stop people from heading to nearby Promised Land State Park and Promised Land Lake in Pike County, which remained open to the public. In Skytop, only a few miles from the center of the manhunt in Monroe County, children enjoyed the day at Adventure Center at Sky Lodge, while older folks played golf nearby. Others attended a local gun show. A big black bear darted across Route 390.
It was a different scene at the border of the towns of Barrett and Price, where police with assault rifles were stationed along the roads leading to Frein's home. Dozens of state and federal agents joined the hunt for Frein.
Some residents and their family members were gathered across the street from one police checkpoint. They complained that they were barred from returning to their homes, which they had left that morning. Police said residents were allowed to leave during the day but that they could not return while the daylong search for Frein continued.
Jennifer Butruch and her brother Jay of Long Island came to visit their 80-year-old grandfather, Lionel. They visited Friday night and left the home on Saturday to get him groceries. But they were not allowed to return to his house. They said they were concerned about his well-being. They'd asked him to leave, but the Korean War veteran wanted to stay put.
"He takes medication," Jennifer said. "He just started a new one."
Paul Keat said he went out on Saturday to buy diapers and soy milk but couldn't bring them back until nightfall. He said he didn't know when he left in the morning that he wouldn't be allowed back home.
FEW NEW CLUES
Police couldn't confirm if they were getting close to capturing Frein, or if he had really been spotted. Officers patrolled the roads while helicopters and airplanes circled overhead. A constant hum filled the air.
Downtown Barrett has a scattering of small shops and restaurants. Peggy Fylstra, owner of Village Crafts, was on edge Saturday. She said business in town was down since the manhunt intensified there.
The night before, she had gone out to celebrate a birthday at the local bowling alley, Mountainhome Lanes, but there were no bowlers. On the television news came word that the town was on lockdown.
"Everybody's just being cautious, and not many people are going out," Fylstra said.
On Saturday afternoon, the local CVS and Family Dollar stores in town were closed. Lewis's Supermarket was open but had only a handful of shoppers.
At Mountainhome Diner in Barrett, a waitress said business was slow but that she didn't think residents were all that affected by events.
"They're just people," she said. "They're not going to stop living."
There were unconfirmed reports about movement in the woods on Saturday. But the only confirmed sightings were of deer and squirrels.
State police reported finding a Jeep last Monday believed to have been driven by Frein. It was found in the woods in a retention pond about two miles from the Blooming Grove barracks. It registered in his parent's name, and inside was Frein's driver's license and Social Security card, camouflage face paint, a black hooded sweatshirt, flashlights, military gear, and information about foreign embassies.