Police find rifle carried by ambush suspect

Associated Press

CANADENSIS, Pa.

Nine days after a gunman went on a deadly ambush at a state police barracks, authorities said Sunday they have recovered one of the weapons he was carrying and believe they are hot on his trail as he travels on foot through rugged forests in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Investigators said they believe the suspect they describe as a self-taught survivalist had been planning a confrontation with law enforcement for months, if not years.

State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens revealed a few more details about the manhunt for Eric Frein, saying trackers have discovered items he hid or abandoned in the woods — including an AK-47 assault rifle and ammunition they believe he had been carrying while on the run.

“We are pushing him hard; he is no longer safe, and I am confident that he will be apprehended,” Bivens said.

Authorities did not yet know if the weapon had been used in the ambush, he said. Still, police believe Frein remains dangerous and possibly armed with a .308 rifle with a scope that police say was missing from the family home along with the AK-47.

Since the Sept. 12 shooting, there have been no confirmed sightings of or contact with Frein, who was placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted list after the ambush at the Blooming Grove police barracks that killed Cpl. Bryon Dickson, 38, and critically wounded Trooper Alex Douglass.

The search is focusing on a several square-mile area on the border of Pike and Monroe counties around the nearby village where Frein grew up, Bivens said.

“We know that Frein has prepared and planned extensively for months, maybe years,” Bivens said. “He planned his attack and his retreat.”

Bivens said Frein initially had the advantage of knowing the rugged terrain around the area.

“Our tactical-operations people now also know his backyard, the area he once felt safe in,” Bivens said.