law enforcement

Search Area Expands as Accused Trooper Killer Eric Frein Moves South

Pennsylvania State Police announced Saturday they are expanding the search area for accused trooper killer Eric Frein as they received reports of sightings of a person, with a mud-covered face, carrying a rifle near a Poconos-area high school.

The most recent sighting of Frein occurred Friday night near Pocono Regional High School, where the suspect was a student, according to Pa. State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens.

Additional security measures will be added to the school, which already took steps to ensure the students' safety, said Bivens, who added the search area will now include Paradise Township and Poconos township.

Investigators are analyzing blood found on several back porches near Cresco, Pennsylvania as well as other items, which were discovered in the dense woods of northeastern Pennsylvania,

It is unknown if the blood is related to Frien at this time.

The shooting suspect has eluded capture for more than a month despite an intense manhunt, which centered on the heavily wooded area around his parents' home in Canadensis.

Frein is charged in the Sept. 12 shooting that killed Cpl. Bryon Dickson and wounded Trooper Alex Douglass. Douglass was transferred from a hospital to a rehabilitation facility on Friday.

Frein is described by police as a 31-year-old survivalist with a grudge against law enforcement.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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