POCONOS, PA — After nearly seven weeks on the run, suspected cop killer Eric Matthew Frein is in custody, Pennsylvania State Police spokeswoman Connie Devens said Thursday.
“I can confirm that we have taken Eric Frein into custody. Further information will be released at a later time. No further information will be released or confirmed at this time,” she said in an email to reporters.
According to a federal law enforcement source, Frein was caught hiding at an airport in the Poconos in Pennsylvania. He was arrested by U.S. marshals, the source said.
Frein was taken into custody without incident, according to a second source. The fugitive was armed, and at least one weapon was recovered, a third source said.
Frein, 31, is suspected in the September 12 ambush shooting that left Cpl. Bryon Dickson dead and Trooper Alex T. Douglass wounded outside the Pennsylvania State Police barracks in Blooming Grove.
The search
The weeks-long search yielded a mishmash of purported personal effects.
Police have said they found an empty pack of Serbian cigarettes. Frein claims to have fought with Serbians in Africa and has studied Russian and Serbian languages, according to the FBI, which named him one of its Ten Most Wanted fugitives.
Two fully functional pipe bombs and soiled adult diapers were also found, perhaps used by Frein to stay in a stationary position for long periods of time.
Police have not spoken about a possible motive for the crime, other than that Frein has talked and written about hating law enforcement. Authorities have said a review of a computer hard drive used by Frein shows that he had planned the attack for years.
The manhunt involved as many as 1,000 officers at times, some from other states. The search for the self-styled survivalist cost at least several million dollars.
Community on edge
The hunt for Frein turned life upside down for people inside the search area. Helicopters buzzed overhead and police seemed to be everywhere, all the time.
“Every night, every day, but mostly at night, the helicopters would be flying over our house, waking us up at 1 o’clock in the morning,” said Cory Batzel, in Swiftwater, Pennsylvania, before Frein was caught.
The fugitive was reportedly spotted in a wooded area in the town of Swiftwater, about 8 miles southeast of the Canadensis area, where his family has a home.
“It’s kind of scary — a little bit nerve-wracking — because we live so close to it,” said Marissa Labarre, who rode the bus to school with Frein when they were children.
She remembered him as quiet, but not “weird,” and definitely not the type of person you’d expect to kill a cop.
“You hear of stuff like this, but you never know the person, or it’s like hours from you. You know, it’s on the news but it’s not ever close to home. So it’s a little bit scary,” said Labarre.
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CANADENSIS, Pa. (AP) — There won’t be any trick-or-treating in the northeastern Pennsylvania area where authorities continue searching for a suspect accused of killing a state trooper.
Officials in rural Barrett Township canceled Friday’s Halloween ritual and the 50th anniversary of its beloved parade because of the police manhunt for Eric Frein.
But kids did get to “trunk-or-treat” last weekend. The tailgate party held at a school parking lot included candy, a costume contest and car trunks decorated for the spooky holiday.
Organizers say hundreds of children attended. Still, Halloween parade chairwoman Betty Oppelt says the community is missing a major tradition this year.
Frein is charged with opening fire outside the Blooming Grove barracks on Sept. 12, killing Trooper Bryon Dickson and seriously wounding Trooper Alex Douglass.
