Accused cop killer Eric Matthew Frein was allegedly spotted near his former high school by a woman in northeastern Pennsylvania on Friday, providing a six-week multimillion-dollar manhunt with a major boost to refocus their search, State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police said on Saturday.
Described as a "high-credibility" sighting, the suspect in the ambush of two Pennsylvania State Police troopers was spotted in a wooded area near the eastern Pennsylvania town of Swiftwater after 9 p.m. on Friday, the unidentified woman told ABC station WPVI-TV, adding that she had been walking in Paradise Township, Monroe County, near Pocono Mountain East High School, when she noticed a man standing about 15 to 20 feet away.
The man's face was apparently obscured by mud and he appeared to be carrying a rifle. "He had actually turned towards me and that's where you could tell the mud on his face, you could tell the height he was based on the truck he was standing next to," she said Sunday.
"You could clearly tell it was a gun, a rifle with a scope attached to it. It looked as though he was looking for something or looking which way to go. He avoided making eye contact, I had the light shining on his upper half and his face was kind of confusing. This guy was not startled by me."
Over the six-week manhunt involving more than 1,000 officers in an area near the border of Pike and Monroe counties in eastern Pennsylvania, police said Frein has been "making errors" in his continued effort to hide from his pursuers, including leaving two "fully functional" pipe bombs, an AK-47, soiled diapers and Serbian cigarettes behind, Post Standard Syracuse reported.
Although the 31-year-old's identity could not be confirmed, the fact that the man was walking around the Swiftwater area, where the survivalist has known to have worked summers at Camp Minsi, makes him a good guess, CNN reported.
"Our investigators believe this was likely Frein," Bivens said at a news conference in Barrett Township, adding that the new manhunt area was about eight miles southeast of where authorities have been searching for the suspect since the past few weeks.
After the police interviewed the woman, the search space was shifted to the new designated area. "The individual's description was consistent with Frein and he was observed carrying a rifle," Bivens said.
Two weeks ago, a handwritten letter believed to have been penned by Frein was found in the Pennsylvania woods, detailing how Frein allegedly ambushed the Blooming Grover police barracks and shot at two Pennsylvania State troopers on Sep. 12, eventually killing Cpl. Bryon Dickson and wounding Trooper Alex T. Douglass, according to unnamed officials. It did not, however, contain a motive for the shooting or make it clear whether it was left intentionally or by accident.
Described to be a self-trained survivalist and war re-enactor, Frien has been spotted several times. But the suspect has been able to evade police capture in the five-square mile area due to his training and the thick terrain.
On Oct. 3, police found a campsite where Friend is believed to have stashed food, clothing, other supplies, and 90 rounds of ammunition from the same type of rifle used during the ambush, according to UPI.
Meanwhile, security has been heightened at Pocono Mountain East High School, but the local community remains concerned, eighth-grader Luke Bokins told WPVI-TV.
"I'll probably go to school," Bokins said. "But, I mean, it's probably not a great idea to keep school open if he's still going around the school."
