The ongoing search for the elusive cop-killer Eric Frein near the Pocono Mountains in northeastern Pennsylvania will unfortunately ruin Halloween enthusiasts' trick-or-treating plans this Friday, in what would have been the 50th anniversary of a beloved Halloween parade, the Associated Press reported.
The parade, which is known to draw participants from all over the region, and includes marching bands, floats, costumed revelers throwing candy and thousands of spectators gathered along a main road, has been canceled since it could pose logistic problems during Pennsylvania State Police's six-week manhunt, Barrett Township committee said.
"The Halloween parade is a big, big, big deal," committee chairwoman Betty Oppelt said Thursday. "This is not a rinky-dink parade."
Frein, 31, has been accused of ambushing the Blooming Grove police barracks and shooting at two Pennsylvania State troopers on Sept. 12, eventually killing Cpl. Bryon Dickson and wounding Trooper Alex T. Douglass.
Described to be a self-trained survivalist and war reenactor, Frein has been spotted several times, with the latest sighting reported as recently as last week. But the suspect has been able to evade police capture in the 5-square-mile area due to his training and the thick terrain.
Even though Friday's beloved annual parade was canceled, officials still managed to plan an early celebration by throwing a tailgate "trunk-or-treating" party at a school parking lot in rural Barrett Township last weekend, according to Fox News.
Hundreds of children attended the event, which included candy, a costume contest and car trunks decorated for the spooky holiday, organizers of Sunday's event said.
"It really was a great day," said Cheryl Jones, a member of the township's Halloween parade committee. Still, the Halloween ritual parade would be missed this year, Oppelt added.
Over the six-week manhunt involving more than 1,000 officers in an area near the border of Pike and Monroe counties, 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, the Post Standard Syracuse reported.
In one instance, police found a campsite where Frein 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.
