On Sept. 29, more than two weeks after Eric Frein allegedly opened fire on a Pennsylvania state police barracks, killing one trooper and injuring another, law enforcement had him in their sights. He was 75 to 100 yards away from their agents. The noose seemed to be tightening.
It wasn’t the first time: 10 days earlier, police believed that they had Frein cornered in a house not far from Canadensis, Pa., where his parents live. They exchanged gunfire, but weren’t able to nab him in what has turned into a cat-and-mouse game in the wilds of Pennsylvania.
Shortly after allegedly ambushing the troopers, Frein ditched his SUV in a swamp. Evidence recovered during the manhunt suggests he has lived off canned tuna, worn adult diapers so he could keep an ever-watchful eye on those hunting him, and planted pipe bombs in his bid to ward off authorities.
But even when Frein was within sight of his pursuers for a second time, he somehow, some way, slipped back into the Poconos Mountain wilderness and eluded capture.
Now, nearly a month after the shooting, he’s still out there.
Soon after one state trooper was killed and another injured in a Sept. 12 ambush outside their barracks in northeastern Pennsylvania, police had a suspect: Frein, a 31-year-old survivalist with deep anti-government beliefs. He had staked out the barracks for more than four hours, police have said, and lied to his friends and family, telling them that he planned to leaved the state for a while. Police believe he had planned the attack for two years or more, based on what they’ve found on his computer, according to Reuters.
Since the shooting, a picture of Frein as a fervent anti-government with delusions of grandeur and designs on mass murder has emerged. According to CNN, the FBI said Frein claimed to have fought with Serbians in Africa and had belonged to Cold War reenactment groups that staged battles with Airsoft guns.
His father has told police that Frein is a sharpshooter who “doesn’t miss,” according to ABC News, and police found a U.S. Army sniper training manual at his parents’ house. Police said his computer hard drive showed that he had researched police techniques to avoid detection during a manhunt. One police spokesperson said that he thought Frein saw the entire episode as “a game — a war game, if you will.”
“He has made statements about wanting to kill law enforcement officers and also to commit mass acts of murder,” State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan said soon after the shooting, according to CBS. “What his reasons are, we don’t know. But he has very strong feelings about law enforcement and seems to be very angry with a lot of things that go on in our society.”
Police search the woods, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014, in Barrett Township near Canadensis, Pa., for suspected killer Eric Frein. (AP Photo/Scranton Times & Tribune, Butch Comegys)
A few days after the shooting, police found the Jeep Cherokee that Frein allegedly drove away from the shooting in. They found shell casings matching the gun that shot the state troopers as well as some camouflage paint and other military gear. He reportedly called home once, though he hung up after one ring.
But other than that, they have only spotted Frein from a distance and come across his makeshift campsites scattered through the rural woods, less than 100 miles from New York City, near the barracks where the troopers were shot, even as hundreds of law enforcement agents join the hunt.
Police dogs have picked up his scent and attempted to flush him out, only for the forest’s dense canopy to prevent a police helicopter from following. After the encounter with Frein on Sept. 29, police found two pipe bombs near an area where they believe Frein had slept.
Over the weekend, according to CBS, police said they found some of Frein’s supplies, including canned tuna fish and Ramen noodles as well as more than 90 rounds of ammunition. CNN also reported that police had found soiled adult diapers that they believe Frein used to stay in one place as long as possible.
Frein is believed to be breaking into cabins or looking through garbage bins at restaurants and grocery stores to search for food. His proximity to populated areas has taken a toll on daily life in nearby towns like Canadensis. Schools have closed, given Frein’s alleged desire for mass murder, and residents have been kept away from their homes for 24 hours or more after “shelter in place” orders have been put out when police pick up his scent, according to WTAE.
As recently as Monday, police were responding to a reported sighting at a nearby tree nursery, while his sister told Reuters that she believed he had left the area.
But the collective belief of law enforcement seems to be that that Frein is breaking down.
“I’m more confident than ever that he’s stressed,” State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said Sunday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “It’s only a matter of time.”
