Speculation And Hope As The Eric Frein Manhunt Continues

Alright, I give up dude, I’m done with the world’s most stressful and terrifying game of hide and seek. Congrats, you’ve eluded law enforcement for over a week, you know how to hide in the woods Mr. Mountainman, now just turn yourself in.

For residents of the Poconos this has been a truly exhausting week and a half. There was much shock and sorrow as Cpl. Bryon Dickson was killed in an ambush attack, which left the community reeling and trying to comprehend how that could happen here. The Poconos is a vacation spot for many people from New York, New Jersey and the farther regions of Pennsylvania. If you live here it’s most likely because you enjoy a slower pace of life, the outdoors, wildlife and peace that the Pocono Mountains provide. That peace and calm has been shattered recently as law enforcement track down Eric Frein.

I can understand and empathize with people’s frustration, I get it. Much of that frustration comes from a lack of information. Barrett and Price Township were put on “Shelter In Place” alerts, leading many to ask what exactly it meant and why it was put in place. Imagine you’re told to stay in your house, away from doors and windows and stay there until further notice. But TV coverage is pretty much nonexistent, no one tells you anything, so you desperately turn to social media and the local police scanner for information. And so it begins. The speculation.

CNN was the first to step out there with a bold and not so accurate statement – “they have him cornered” – this lead to relief and rejoicing, finally, this was all coming to an end. But nope, just a false alarm. Since then it’s been a constant cycle of highs and lows as we get told time and again “we’re close” and yet no arrest. This morning it was our local newspaper, the Pocono Record, that took the heat – “he’s been IDed and refuses to surrender”. Yet another bold statement that ended up being not true. It’s not like they made it up, I guess it was just misinterpretation? I’ll admit, I’m guilty of tweeting and retweeting that information as well. No one wants to spread false information, but with so little updates or insight, people are clinging to any hope they can get that this has ended.

What we do know is they said to use “lethal force if necessary, if properly IDed and not surrendering”. If you’re Eric Frein listening in, would you want to hear that they have you cornered? That they’ll use lethal force if necessary? That you refuse to surrender? Are these statements used as mind games for Eric Frein that might quite possibly be listening in?

Tomorrow marks more steps taken to get life “back to business” as usual. Pocono Mountain School District will have school, the first day they’ll be open since last Wednesday. There was Information released today that Eric Frein is not targeting civilians, because he had the opportunity to that fateful night and he did not. Take that as you will. Whether that news or mounting pressure from 3rd parties led to the schools opening tomorrow, I hope it’s the right decision. Barrett Township will not be busing tomorrow, but the location of the current search area is troubling. Barrett, Price and Paradise Townships are a stones throw from each other at that spot as is East Stroudsburg School District. Just move the search a few miles in a certain direction and it changes, the question is whether busing and school closures follow the search area if it moves.

An additional road blockage today made for a very interesting addition and poses more questions. They closed Clarks Road from Route 447 down to Henrys Crossing Road. This is the first road blockage I know of that is on the opposite site of 447. Up until now everything has been contained from 402 to 447 and the woods between. Now you’re looking across a substantial road although it isn’t heavily traveled on a normal day, it’s important to this search. It’s substantial because it leaves a huge question – if Eric Frein is contained in the area across the road, how would he have been able to cross that road with everyone in place. Obviously he wouldn’t have been able to, so either he’s not in the search area at all, or he crossed prior to that area being shut down. Maybe they’re just being overcautious, but again, it’s all speculation.

There’s been talk about the woods, and questions of how could he not be found yet with so much manpower. You really have to live here to understand just how dense these areas can get. It’s rocky, there’s hills, ditches, mountains, ravines, caves, trees, underbrush, ferns and bushes. You can stand in certain areas and literally not be able to see in front of your face, it’s just a bunch of heavily layered greenery. In most neighborhoods it’s pretty clear, which is good news but anywhere you have a bit of land it’s a prime area to be able to hide, and hide well. We have acres upon acres of that prime hiding land, and are trying to find someone who most likely knows that same area inside and out.

I am hoping the weather helps, the rain last night was pretty soaking for someone without a sheltered place to stay. It’s going to be in the low 40s tonight, pretty cold. The leaves will fall soon and we’ll have better visuals, but there will still be tons of Evergreens that will provide plenty of cover. He’s had months if not years to prepare for this. He could have multiple shelters/hiding spots setup and can continue to hide for a long time, they might find him tomorrow, or he could be in Tahiti, as residents we have no clue. Pennsylvania State Police are pretty sure they know exactly where he is, that he’s in that area, and we can only hope it’s true and we’ll see a quick resolution.

We don’t want to forget about the “mass murder” part that we were told about last week. Unless the Pennsylvania State Police get added to the list of people embellishing and speculating then we all need to be really really vigilant. If that’s indeed a true statement, and we haven’t been told otherwise, then we need to keep our eyes and ears open, pray for those that are involved in the search, and keep hope alive that the end is near.