Police said they have found evidence of alleged cop-killer Eric Frein's presence in the Pennsylvania woods — including soiled diapers and Serbian cigarettes. "We believe he's in that area," State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said at a Wednesday news conference. He said officers hunting Frein have spotted the fugitive from a distance and that local residents have reported seeing a figure dressed in black and hearing gunfire. Police have pursued Frein after spotting him, but because of the rough terrain, "he has had the ability to disappear," Bivens said.
"Some of this is a game to him," Bivens said, explaining that it appears Frein has "almost made himself visible" at times, though at a safe distance.
Frein, 31, a military-reenactment buff who posed as a Serbian soldier, is accused of gunning down Cpl. Bryon Dickson and wounding Trooper Alex Douglass during the Sept. 12 ambush on the Blooming Grove barracks. Investigators have said he has a vendetta against the state police but have provided few others details. "We believe that Frein has prepared or planned extensively for months, or even years," Bivens said.
Tactical teams have brought in locksmiths to open vacant homes in the primary search area, which is five square miles around Barrett and Price Townships. Helicopters equipped with thermal imaging technology have been deployed, but the forest canopy is hindering that effort.