Accused cop killer Eric Matthew Frein was reportedly carrying a laptop computer to assist him in evading the Pennsylvania State Police during the massive six-week manhunt, according to a search warrant affidavit obtained Tuesday by The Times-Tribune. The device, along with two storage drivers, was found in the abandoned airplane hangar where the suspect was captured last week.
The 31-year-old Frein told investigators that the laptop, which was connected to the Internet through WiFi networks, belonged to him, according to court documents.
In order to analyze and examine the laptop's hard drive for internet searches, instant messages, photographs, emails, journals or diaries, a search warrant was immediately approved by Magisterial District Judge Shannon Muir in Hawley.
Additionally, the two USB thumb drives were sent to forensic analysis for further investigation, the Associated Press reported.
On Sept. 12, Frein allegedly ambushed the Blooming Grove state police barracks and shot at two Pennsylvania State troopers, eventually killing Cpl. Bryon Dickson and wounding Trooper Alex T. Douglass.
Described to be a self-trained survivalist and war re-enactor, Frein had been spotted several times, but managed to evade police capture in the five-square mile area of the Pocono Mountains due to his training and the thick terrain.
In one instance, police found a campsite where Frein was 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.
A week ago, a giant 15-foot unmanned Mylar balloon equipped with high-resolution cameras had been recruited by the Pennsylvania police as a quieter, low-cost alternative to helicopters and other methods of aerial surveillance, according to ABC News.
Following the 48-day manhunt involving more than 1,000 officers in an area near the border of Pike and Monroe counties, Frein surrendered to an elite team of highly trained and skilled Deputy U.S. Marshals on Thursday at an abandoned open airfield near the former Birchwood-Pocono Airpark.
Since his capture, Frein has been housed in the Pike County Correctional Facility.
