Halloween can continue as planned on Friday, as Pennsylvania residents breathe a bit easier after police captured a “Most Wanted” FBI fugitive hiding in the area.
Suspected cop killer Eric Frein was arraigned in a state county courthouse on Friday morning. Authorities caught Frein, 31, without incident after a 48-day manhunt in the Pocono Mountains. The lengthy search ended on Thursday around 6 p.m. ET, NBC News confirmed.
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Frein is accused of killing one state trooper and seriously injuring another after he allegedly opened fire in an ambush outside of the Blooming Grove barracks on Sept. 12. Frein faces a slew of multiple charges, including first-degree murder, homicide of a law enforcement officer, and possession of weapons of mass destruction, NBC confirmed.
A task force of U.S. Marshals found Frein, an experienced survivalist and military reenactment buff, outside of an abandoned airplane hangar in Tannersville, which is located in the Poconos resort region miles from where the incident occurred. They apprehended him using the handcuffs of State Trooper Cpl. Bryon Dickson, whom he allegedly killed last month. He is also suspected of injuring Trooper Alex Douglass.
Officials told NBC that they found a rifle and pistol inside the hangar.
State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens told reporters Friday that officials found Frein during a routine sweep of the area, rather than as the result of a tip or sighting. Bivens also said that Frein has spoken with law enforcement officials, but he wouldn’t comment further on the conversations.
The incident set off one of the largest manhunts in Pennsylvania history. During the seven-week search, police blocked roads, launched helicopters, went door-to-door, and flooded the mountains in hundreds. Officers discovered multiple items in the mountains they suspect were left by Frein, including a trail of diapers, an assault rifle, homemade pipe bombs, a journal, and several campsites.
Michele Richinick