Pennsylvania continues manhunt for suspect in state trooper’s slaying

A 31-year-old marksman wanted in the shooting of a Pennsylvania state trooper was still on the loose and thousands of residents remained on lockdown Saturday evening as police scoured the Poconos Mountains for the man suspected of carrying out the ambush a week earlier.

Eric Matthew Frein was believed to be hiding in woods near his family’s home in Canadensis, a densely wooded section of Monroe County in eastern Pennsylvania.

Frein, described as a survivalist with an anti-government bias who may believe he is an Eastern European soldier, is accused of shooting and killing Cpl. Bryon Dickson and seriously wounding Trooper Alex T. Douglass in what police have called a “cowardly ambush.”

Jeffrey Strunk, deputy director of communications for the Monroe County 911 center, told the Los Angeles Times that a “shelter in place” order was issued for Price and Barrett townships late Friday night, as media reports surfaced that police appeared to be closing in on Frein.

The search intensified Friday night, with police narrowing their search to the two townships that envelop Canadensis, an unincorporated section of Monroe County.

While several media outlets reported that police had exchanged gunfire with Frein on Friday night, State Police spokeswoman Maria Finn told the Los Angeles Times that was not true.

The two towns have a combined population of nearly 7,000, and Strunk said residents were being asked to stay in their homes while troopers searched the area.

Brad Eastman, a 36-year-old Reading, Pa., resident who is trapped in a weekend cabin with his family, told the Los Angeles Times that the intense search had left his wife and children rattled as troopers continue to traverse the dimly lighted woods.

“It’s a little nerve-racking. It’s scarier at night because you can’t see. We’re in the woods,” he said. “There have been helicopters over the house pretty much nonstop since last night.”

Eastman said many of the cabins in the area are rented, and he believes more than a few vacationers may have come to the area with only a cursory understanding of the danger they might face this weekend.

“This is a very small town,” he said. “Nothing really ever happens here.”

Armed with a .308-caliber rifle, the shooter opened fire on Dickson and Douglass from a secluded position around 10:50 p.m. on Sept. 12, authorities said.

Dickson was shot twice and died a short time later. According to a criminal complaint filed earlier this week, the shooter opened fire on several other troopers, including Douglass, who had rushed to the fallen officer’s aid.

Frein was trained to shoot by his father, a U.S. Army veteran, and has become so adept with longarm weapons that he “doesn’t miss,” his father told police, according to the criminal complaint.

State Police officials said this week that Frein has a long-standing grudge with law enforcement, and may believe he is actually an Eastern European soldier in a combat situation.

Cait Finnegan-Greneir, 63, said the buzz of helicopter rotors has been constant over the Price Township home that she shares with her husband, a local pastor, who has been barred from returning to their residence.

He left home early Saturday morning to perform a wedding ceremony, but was unable to pass a police roadblock and return in the afternoon.

Despite the heavy police presence and firm order to remain indoors, Finnegan-Grenier told The Times she doesn’t feel like she’s in danger.

“His anger is with law enforcement it’s not with his neighbors, that’s my approach,” she said.

Finnegan-Greier said the manhunt has brought disquiet to the sleepy town she’s called home for nearly 30 years.

“The most excitement at our house is when the turkeys and deer show up to eat,” she said.

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