Eric Frein hunt: Police confident they’ll catch trooper-slaying suspect

The manhunt for Eric Frein, suspected of killing a Pennsylvania state trooper, continued for a 10th day Monday, with law enforcement officers and the state’s governor saying they were confident they would catch up with Frein.

“I do believe we’re close to him at this point,” Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said.

Asked at a news conference Monday whether reports that police had Frein surrounded were true, Bivens said, “There is a lot of police activity, and it’s been ongoing through the night.” He said officers are following up on every report of a Frein sighting.

While searching for the marksman in a densely wooded area in and around Monroe County, authorities have found several items he abandoned or hid for future use, including an AK-47-style rifle and ammunition, Bivens told reporters Sunday.

Bivens said Monday that law enforcement was using thermal imaging and other tools to find Frein, but he declined to elaborate.

Frein, 31, described as a survivalist with an anti-government bias who may believe he is an Eastern European soldier, is suspected of killing Cpl. Bryon Dickson and seriously wounding Trooper Alex T. Douglass on Sept. 12. Police believe he is interested in targeting only police or other law enforcement in part because he chose not to shoot civilians who were present the night he shot the troopers, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said.

Corbett said the intense search would continue indefinitely.

“I can’t imagine that we will not continue to search for him with this degree of manpower because this is a very dangerous individual,” he said.

Times staff writers Lauren Raab and James Queally contributed to this report.

Follow @juliewestfall on Twitter.