Pa. Authorities Capture Fugitive Eric Frein, Prosecutors to Pursue Death Penalty
Police have successfully captured Eric Frein, the 31-year-old survivalist responsible for shooting two state troopers, after a 48-day manhunt through dense Pennsylvania wilderness.
After leading authorities on a wild goose chase through much of the dense Poconos Mountains in Pennsylvania, authorities discovered a weak Frein hiding only 30 miles from where he shot two state troopers, Cpl. Bryon Dickson and Trooper Alex Douglass back on September 12. Dickson died of his injuries while Douglass was critically injured.
Frein reportedly surrendered to police on Thursday evening near an abandoned airplane hangar. During their manhunt, police would find some remnants of Frein's presence, including soiled diapers, but they were unable to get a clear view of the Cold War re-enactment soldier through the dense wilderness that he was able to navigate well.
The fugitive was reportedly handcuffed with the cuffs used by Cpl. Dickson and put into the back of Dickson's squad car when he was found on Thursday evening.
"He has been stripped of his guns, his bombs, and now his freedom," Sam Rabadi, chief of the Philadelphia office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said in a statement Thursday evening.
Prosecutors are reportedly pursuing the death penalty in Frein's case. The fugitive was reportedly in good health when checked out by authorities on Thursday evening, and officials were clear in saying that Frein did not surrender because he was weak. Rather, authorities argue he surrendered because he was completely surrounded.
It remains unclear how often Frein used the abandoned airplane hangar for cover during his time on the lam.
