Cpl. Bryson Dickson Shot Dead Outside PA SP Barracks

[The Crone]

Wow. The search has been going on for this shooter for 3 weeks and there's no thread about it?

$50K reward offered for tips on trooper's slaying

Updated September 14, 2014 10:53 PM
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/b...pect-1.9309088

BLOOMING GROVE, Pa. - A Pennsylvania state trooper who was injured when a gunman ambushed him and killed another trooper outside a police barracks is conscious and talking for the first time since he underwent surgery, a spokesman said Sunday.

State police spokesman Trooper Tom Kelly said investigators hope to soon interview Trooper Alex Douglass to get additional information on the attack.

The troopers were ambushed around 10:50 p.m. Friday as one of them was leaving the barracks and another was arriving. Cpl. Bryon Dickson of Dunmore was killed.

Kelly said in an emailed statement Sunday that police are getting a large number of tips, and some are "fantastic."

He said they are keeping details of the investigation quiet to preserve the integrity of the leads.

Investigators on Sunday returned to scour the woods across from the barracks where they were ambushed.

Troopers also set up a checkpoint near the site where they were stopping motorists to ask if they had seen anything that could help with the case, Kelly said.

The developments come as a nonprofit group offered a $50,000 reward for tips about Friday's deadly assault at the remote post in northeast Pennsylvania.

Reporters saw investigators walk into the dense forest surrounding the barracks in Blooming Grove around noon Sunday, though authorities suggested a day earlier that the suspect had already left the area.

Police said there would be no news conference Sunday.

Dickson, a seven-year veteran, had transferred to the region from the Philadelphia barracks several months ago.

Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan said the "cowardly attack" was directed at state police and a "very dangerous, armed criminal" eluded quick capture.

"Our troopers were ... shot without warning and really had no chance to defend themselves," Noonan told reporters Saturday afternoon. "It has touched us to the core that such a thing could happen."

Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers, which posted the reward offer, asked anyone with information to call 800-4PA-TIPS or submit the tip online (http://bit.ly/1qOzY13).

Law enforcement officers from at least three states on Saturday searched state game lands surrounding the barracks in Pike County and beyond.

"There has been an exhaustive search conducted by hundreds of members of law enforcement," said Lt. Colonel George Bivens. "We have canvassed the wooded areas, neighborhoods. We are convinced this individual is no longer in that immediate area."

Police interviewed a man they called a "person of interest," but Noonan said authorities are talking to hundreds of people as part of the investigation. He stressed the man is not a suspect.

The slain trooper was married with two young sons. He was described by friends as devoted to work and family.

"They were a committed couple," Melissa Contorno, a friend of Dickson's wife, told The Times-Tribune. "They were raising a beautiful young family. It's not fair."

Memorial contributions can be made to the Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson II Memorial Fund c/o NBT Bank 1230 O'Neill Highway Dunmore, PA 18512.

Blooming Grove is a township of about 4,000 people about 35 miles east of Scranton. State police spokesman Trooper Adam Reed said the barracks cover most of Pike County, a primarily rural area that runs along the Delaware River and borders New Jersey and New York.

[The Crone]

I've been to Bush Kill Falls, the search is going on in Buck Hill Falls. No matter, it's the same terrain. It's heavily forested mountains. I refused to go up the tourist trail to the Falls at Bush Kill because it was so steep. No wonder they are having a problem tracking him. Add in giant abandoned resorts (that resemble something out of a Stephen King novel) and the fact that the guy is wearing diapers make this story quite a read.
Oh, well, fall is coming and he'll lose some of his cover.

Latest report:
Search for Pa. trooper killing suspect hits 3rd week

http://6abc.com/news/search-for-pa-trooper-killing-suspect-hits-3rd-week/322662/

CANADENSIS, Pa. --
Police say the 2-week-old search for the suspect in the deadly ambush of Pennsylvania state police troopers is continuing in the heavily wooded area that has become the manhunt's focus.

Trooper Adam Reed says investigators have no new information to release Saturday.

Authorities said Friday the hard drive of a computer used by suspect Eric Frein (FREEN) provides evidence he has been planning an attack for years. They say Frein's Internet searches included sites on how to avoid police manhunts.

Investigators say Frein opened fire on the state police barracks in Blooming Grove on Sept. 12. Cpl. Bryon Dickson was killed and a second trooper was seriously wounded.

Authorities believe they have Frein contained within a 5-square-mile area around his parents' home in Canadensis.

[The Crone]

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...r-cops-n212266

Fugitive Eric Frein removed the hard drive from his own computer before the Sept. 12 ambush on a Pennsylvania State Police barracks, but another computer he had access to revealed he had researched police manhunts as far back as two years ago, authorities said Friday. Police also said Frein — who is accused of killing one trooper and critically wounding another — had access to pipe bomb materials and may have booby-trapped the woods that hundreds of investigators are searching. He also bought materials that could be used to build a bunker, but search teams have not found it.

State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said he is confident that Frein, 31, is still lurking in the forest near Barrett and Price townships. He said tracking dogs startled Frein out of his hiding spot some days ago, but because night was falling, he got away. Police spent 12 hours searching the 4,600-acre grounds of the abandoned Buck Hill Inn, a Pocono Mountains resort that was once the setting for a television show called "Fear," because Frein had an interest in the crumbling hulk.

A canvass of empty homes and outbuildings in the search area turned up signs of tampering at some locations, but authorities have not yet determined whether the damage was caused by Frein. They say soiled diapers and cigarette packs found in the woods are linked to the military re-enactment buff, but there has not been a sighting of him in three days.

[The Crone]

The search for this cop-killer in Pennsylvania has been going on since 9/12. That's the same time a search for a little boy in NSW began. This adult has left clues, however. Pipe bombs were found at a campsite according to this latest update:
http://news.yahoo.com/police-manhunt...191952641.html

BLOOMING GROVE, Pa. (AP) ? State police searching for a man accused of killing a trooper said Tuesday they found two pipe bombs in the Pennsylvania woods during their manhunt that were capable of causing significant damage.
The bombs were not deployed, but they were fully functional and had both trip wires and fuses, Lt. Col. George Bivens said at a news conference.

The weapons were among several items that were "clearly hastily discarded" at a campsite used by suspect Eric Frein, said Bivens, who then called on the fugitive to surrender.

"You are clearly stressed," Bivens said. "You are making significant mistakes."

Frein, 31, has been on the run since Sept. 12, charged with killing one state trooper and wounding a second outside their barracks in Blooming Grove.

Authorities believe the self-taught survivalist is hiding in the rugged terrain near his parents' home in the Pocono Mountains. But Bivens said Tuesday that he doesn't believe this was Frein's original getaway plan.

Frein's car was found submerged in a swamp several miles from the barracks a few days after the shooting.

"I think things went wrong with his plan," Bivens said.

Bivens said there has been at least one credible sighting of Frein in the past 24 hours, from between 75 yards and 100 yards away through thick woods.

Police said last week they were treating the search area as if it was booby-trapped, because of evidence Frein had been experimenting with explosives.

Bivens said he believes Frein abandoned the pipe bombs because he was "under pressure" from the heavy law enforcement presence. Items found with the pipe bombs "conclusively lead us to know they belong to him," Bivens said, though he declined to identify other objects.

The bombs had the capability of causing substantial damage, Bivens said.

The disclosure comes as deer hunters prepare for bow season to open this weekend. Hunters are being asked to keep an eye out for cabins or other structures that look like they've been tampered with or used by Frein. It's not yet clear if the Pennsylvania Game Commission will impose any restrictions during the manhunt, Bivens said.

Law enforcement officers have found several structures where they believe Frein has stayed. Police also know what Frein is eating and drinking, but Bivens declined to provide specifics.

Authorities say Frein has a vendetta against law enforcement and ambushed two troopers during a shift change. Cpl. Bryon Dickson was killed and Tpr. Alex Douglass Douglass remains hospitalized with unspecified injuries. Bivens said Douglass has a long road to recovery.

Dickson wasn't even supposed to work the night of the ambush, according to Bivens, but was filling in for another trooper. He said there's no evidence to suggest Frein deliberated targeted the troopers he shot

I hope they are both found soon.

[The Crone]

He's on the FBI's most wanted list.



They are coming to get you, Frein.

[Ron_NYC]

He planned this WAY in advance. Good luck finding him.

[beli]

picture of a pipe bomb found at the site -




A bigger picture of Eric Frein -



I swear I've seen this picture before.

[Queena]

picture of a pipe bomb found at the site -




A bigger picture of Eric Frein -



I swear I've seen this picture before.

I feel like I've seen this picture before also, or someone who looks like him.

I'm reading Crone, I just don't comment much.

[blighted star]

I've been to Bush Kill Falls, the search is going on in Buck Hill Falls. No matter, it's the same terrain. It's heavily forested mountains. I refused to go up the tourist trail to the Falls at Bush Kill because it was so steep. No wonder they are having a problem tracking him. Add in giant abandoned resorts (that resemble something out of a Stephen King novel) and the fact that the guy is wearing diapers make this story quite a read.
Oh, well, fall is coming and he'll lose some of his cover.

Latest report:
Search for Pa. trooper killing suspect hits 3rd week

http://6abc.com/news/search-for-pa-trooper-killing-suspect-hits-3rd-week/322662/

Oh wow. It never occurred to me that fugitives could be easier to track in autumn & winter because the bush stays just as thick all year here. Should've been obvious but I just never thought of it.


ETA o/t & I should've done a thread on him, but this guy (suspected killer of at least 2 girls from Dubbo, NSW - one's still missing) was on the run in northern NSW bush for over 7 years I think (kind of near where the 3 yr old went missing 12 Sept)

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1226277235009

[The Crone]

Suspect Eric Frein, carrying a rifle, believed spotted near his high school in Poconos
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20...pFyUbPYvAcx.99

The suspected cop-killer who has sparked a wide-ranging manhunt in the Pocono Mountains may have been spotted Friday night near his high school alma mater, authorities said Saturday afternoon.

Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said a woman walking near Pocono Mountain East High School in Swiftwater spotted a man matching the description of Eric Frein around 9 p.m. The spotting and other tips have led searchers to refocus the area of their manhunt to the townships of Paradise and Pocono.

The man, who was not on campus but in the area, was carrying a rifle but his face was covered in mud, preventing confirmation of his identity. Still, Bivens said, authorities were assigning the sighting a high level of credibility.

Bivens said Frein attended the high school, located in Monroe County, and also worked several summers at nearby Camp Minsi, operated by the Boy Scouts of America.

Questioned by reporters at a news conference, Bivens said no decision has been made whether to close the school.

The high school is located about 20 miles southwest of the state patrol barracks at Blooming Grove, where Cpl. Bryon Dickson, 38, was shot and killed the night of Sept. 12. Another trooper, Alex Douglass, 31, was wounded.

"Our search area remains very fluid and is based on the information we have available to us at any given time," Bivens said.

In addition to the new sighting, Bivens said another development is the discovery of what is believed to be blood on the back porches of two homes near Cresco, about five miles northeast of the high school. The substance is being tested, he said.

Gov. Corbett, who joined in the press conference, promised no end to the search.

"Nobody's going to stop until we find this individual and he's apprehended," Corbett said.

"Everybody has one mission, and that mission is to apprehend this individual," the governor said.

That may become easier as the weather changes and the search drags on, Bivens said.

"I think we've kept a tremendous amount of pressure on him," he said.

As fall progresses and leaves come off the trees in the densely forested region, Bivens said, aerial searchers have better visibility and other technology may become more effective.

The search has cost several million dollars, Bivens said. A more precise number was not available Saturday, he said, but it was "well under" $10 million.

Frein, 31, a self-proclaimed "survivalist," is accused of shooting and killing Dickson, a married father of two, outside the state police barracks in rural Pike County. Douglass suffered a gunshot wound to his pelvic area in the ambush.

Douglass was released Thursday from Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton to an undisclosed facility in the area.

"He is in good spirits and is doing well," Bivens said Saturday

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20...pFyUbPYvAcx.99

[The Crone]

I wonder if he's prepared for the search going on so long. Maybe one of the natural inhabitants will take him out.

http://poconosbest.net/common-poconos-wildlife.html

Two fresh sightings of alleged sniper Eric Frein has resulted in more closed public schools in northern Pennsylvania and a shift in a massive manhunt to near where Mr. Frein went to high school ? and where he was a member of the high school rifle team.
The pressing question of how a single man has outmaneuvered 1,000 trained law enforcement officers in the Pocono Mountains for over five weeks suggests that Frein has used a home-field advantage, long-term planning, and survival skills to resemble a ?wilderness ninja,? a term some use to describe a rare breed of native scouts who can, in essence, morph into shadows.

But while true native scouts are bulwarks for good, Frein has ?gone to the dark side,? says Shane Hobel, the founder of the Mountain Scout Survival School in New York?s Hudson Valley
?This guy is on a totally different parallel [than a native scout] but it is a parallel,? says Mr. Hobel. ?That makes him a dangerous individual, and the fact that he?s got sniper capability makes it even more dangerous.?
A self-taught survivalist and crack rifle shot, Frein is alleged to have killed one state trooper and wounded another in a brazen midnight ambush on a rural police barracks in Blooming Grove, Pa., on Sept. 12.
>>>>
http://news.yahoo.com/eric-frein-sig...164430311.html

[bermstalker]

He planned this WAY in advance. Good luck finding him.

I agree Ron.

If they do find him, there is no way they are bringing him in alive.

[The Crone]

Halloween canceled as police continue manhunt


Combo of alleged sniper Eric Frein photos. Two fresh sightings of Frein has resulted in more closed public schools in northern Pennsylvania and a shift in a massive manhunt to near where Mr. Frein went to high school ? and where he was a member of the high school rifle team.

The ongoing manhunt in northeastern Pennsylvania for the suspect in the deadly state police ambush last month has scrapped plans for trick-or-treating Friday and what would have been the 50th anniversary of a beloved Halloween parade.

But kids in the mountainous region still managed to celebrate by "trunk-or-treating

The tailgate party held last weekend at a school parking lot in rural Barrett Township came as authorities continue to search the woods for Eric Frein, the suspect charged with killing one state trooper and seriously wounding another.

Organizers of Sunday's event called it a success, noting hundreds of children turned out for activities including face painting and a costume contest, and to see dozens of car trunks decorated for the spooky holiday. Oh, and to get lots of candy.

"It really was a great day," said Cheryl Jones, a member of the township's Halloween parade committee.

Police believe Frein has been hiding in the rugged area, near where his parents live, since the troopers were ambushed Sept. 12 outside their barracks in Blooming Grove.

The committee had originally planned to hold the 50th anniversary of the town's Halloween parade on Sunday, but authorities said the logistics would have presented problems during the manhunt. The event draws participants from all over the region, and includes marching bands, floats, costumed revelers throwing candy and thousands of spectators gathered along a main road, committee chairwoman Betty Oppelt said Thursday.

"The Halloween parade is a big, big, big deal," Oppelt said. "This is not a rinky-dink parade."

Still, "trunk-or-treat" seemed to be a hit with the children, said township supervisor Ralph Megliola. He said he spent that day handing out sweets from the flatbed of a truck decorated with fake spider webs, a big spider, pumpkins and mums.

And his 9-year-old son made out pretty well on the candy front.

"He doesn't bring that much home from the parade, believe me," Megliola said.

The township now plans to hold its 50th anniversary parade in 2015.
http://news.yahoo.com/halloween-canc...153726027.html

Happy Halloween

[Ron_NYC]

I don't get it. It's not like he's hurting people.

[puzzld]

FBI special agent: Alleged cop killer Eric Frein surrendered to police north of Tannersville, Pa. -
http://www.breakingnews.com/topic/sh...-sept-13-2014/

[The Crone]

They got him!

FBI Most Wanted Fugitive Eric Frein Captured Alive

Accused cop killer and one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives Eric Frein has been captured alive, sources told ABC News tonight.

Both a federal law enforcement source and a Pennsylvania law enforcement source confirmed that Frein, 31, is in custody.

It has been "a very good day," the Pennsylvania law enforcement source said.

Frein had eluded authorities since Sept. 12, when he allegedly killed one Pennsylvania state trooper and injured another during an ambush of the Blooming Grove police barracks.

Police had conducted a manhunt for weeks in the woods of the Pocono Mountains. Police believed Frein, a self-trained survivalist from nearby Canadensis, escaped to the woods. They found two pipe bombs, an AK-47, ammunition and various food and supplies they believe belong to the suspect.

On Tuesday, police investigated a possible sighting of Frein made by a resident in Barrett Township, said Trooper Connie Devens, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police.

https://gma.yahoo.com/fbi-most-wante...opstories.html

[Ron_NYC]

[bermstalker]

Wat? Man, what a pus. He just surrendered after all of this????

[animosity]

awwww, he didn't want the halloween parade canceled on his account! how thoughtful!

[UncomfortablyNumb]

awwww, he didn't want the halloween parade canceled on his account! how thoughtful!

The kids gots to has their parade!

[raisedbywolves]

Survivalist sentenced to death for murder of PA state trooper

https://www.aol.com/article/news/201...oper/22058926/

A survivalist convicted of killing a Pennsylvania state trooper in a 2014 sniper attack that launched a massive manhunt was sentenced to death on Wednesday by jurors.

The Pike County jury deliberated for about five hours before returning the verdict in the penalty phase of Eric Frein's trial.