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Pennsylvania police have suspected cop killer Eric Frein in custody Eric Matthew Frein, alleged cop killer and ‘most wanted’ fugitive, is in custody
(about 4 hours later)
Suspected cop killer Eric Frein is in custody, Pennsylvania state police said on Thursday, ending a lengthy manhunt for one of the FBI’s most-wanted fugitives. A massive 48-day manhunt for survivalist Eric Matthew Frein ended Thursday evening at an abandoned rural airport in Monroe County, Pa., some 40 miles from the state police barracks where he allegedly ambushed two state troopers, killing one and seriously injuring the other. After Frein was captured, police used the slain trooper’s handcuffs to secure him.
In a brief, emailed statement to The Post, Trooper Connie Devens confirmed that police have taken Eric Frein into custody. Police will release further information at “a later time.” Devens declined to confirm other details pertaining to Frein’s capture. Officials said the U.S. Marshals Service had a team at the airport Thursday as part of a regular routine in the search for Frein. Marshals saw him and ordered him to surrender. He knelt down, raised his hands and admitted his identity. Frein was then transported to the barracks in Blooming Grove, Pa. — the alleged scene of the crime — and turned over to state police.
Two law enforcement officials speaking to the Associated Press said that Frein was captured Thursday by U.S. Marshals in an abandoned airplane hangar. Frein has been charged with ambushing two troopers outside the barracks Sept. 12, killing Cpl. Bryon Dickson and wounding trooper Alex Douglass. Since then, he has been hiding in the woods surrounding the Pocono Mountains.
A reporter at WBRE tweeted what is reportedly the first photo of Frein in custody: “He was placed under arrest and handcuffed with the handcuffs of Cpl. Dickson, which I think is very appropriate,” Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said at a late-night news conference. Frein was then loaded into Dickson’s squad car.
Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan said Frein, 31, was captured near an old hanger at the now-defunct Birchwood-Pocono Airpark, where authorities found a rifle and a pistol. Noonan said the suspect was “taken by surprise” and arrested without incident.
On Frein’s FBI’s wanted poster, it now reads, “captured.”
A WBRE-TV reporter tweeted reportedly the first photo of Frein in custody.
Frein photo from State Police source. pic.twitter.com/Usa7DRH2jc — Andy Mehalshick (@AndyMehalshick) October 30, 2014Frein photo from State Police source. pic.twitter.com/Usa7DRH2jc — Andy Mehalshick (@AndyMehalshick) October 30, 2014
Frein photo from State Police source. pic.twitter.com/Usa7DRH2jc Frein photo from State Police source. pic.twitter.com/Usa7DRH2jc — Andy Mehalshick (@AndyMehalshick) October 30, 2014
— Andy Mehalshick (@AndyMehalshick) October 30, 2014 More than 1,000 law enforcement officers have been involved in the search for Frein, a survivalist who has been eluding police for more than six weeks. Thursday night, Noonan said the reason Frein’s capture took so long was because the wooded search area was vast and Frein was completely familiar with it. He said police “had to be very careful” how they searched it.
Frein’s listing on the FBI’s most wanted site now reads, “Captured.” “Our thanks to the public and our partners,” the FBI said in a tweeted statement.  Noonan said police knew that at one point Frein had a sniper rifle, handgun and explosive charges with him.
The capture ends a 48-day search for the man accused of killing a Pennsylvania state trooper, Bryon Dickson, and wounding another, Alex Douglass, on Sept. 12 in an ambush outside of Blooming Grove state police barracks. “I can’t think of a more dangerous occupation than going into the woods after this individual,” he said. “Eric Frein had a mission and that was to attack law enforcement. If he got out of those woods, we were very concerned that he would then kill other law enforcement and, if not them, civilians. That’s why we had to keep the pressure on.”
More than 1,000 Pennsylvania officers have participated in the search for Frein in the dense woods of the Pocono Mountains. At one point, police suspected Frein may have been treating the massive manhunt as a game with law enforcement officers, who would catch glimpses of him before he would disappear again into the woods. Police found several items he reportedly left behind, including military-style food packs, pipe bombs, ammunition and clothing.
Frein, 31, is a survivalist who eluded capture for weeks, despite several reports of sightings. However, authorities found several items believed to belong to Frein in the mountains, including military-style food packs, pipe bombs, ammunition and clothing. Police also found his trash, including some empty packs of cigarettes and soiled diapers. The FBI later said DNA testing on the diapers was inconclusive since they had been exposed to the elements.
Police also found a handwritten journal, which included what police described as a “cold-blooded” account of the Sept. 12 ambush. Later, officers discovered a handwritten journal, reportedly written by Frein, and it included what police described as a “cold-blooded and absolutely chilling account” of the Sept. 12 ambush. Earlier this month, State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens read passages from the pages at a news conference, starting with a description of Dickson’s death.
The lengthy hunt unnerved nearby communities. Several schools closed in northeastern Pennsylvania last week as police investigated a possible sighting of the suspect. “Got a shot around 11 p.m. and took it,” Bivens read. “He dropped. I was surprised at how quick. I took a follow-up shot on his head, neck area. He was still and quiet after that.”
Barrett Township authorities cancelled Halloween. According to NBC’s Philadelphia affiliate, Halloween is now back on after Frein’s capture. “Another cop approached the one I just shot,” he continued, explaining how Douglass entered the scene. “As he went to kneel, I took a shot at him and he jumped in the door. His legs were visible and still.”
Abby Phillip contributed to this report.  Frein, of Canadensis, Pa., is charged with first-degree murder, homicide of a law enforcement officer, first-degree attempted murder, possession of weapons of mass destruction, discharging a firearm into an occupied structure and reckless endangerment. Authorities said they would seek the death penalty.
[This post has been updated multiple times] The manhunt unnerved nearby communities. Several schools closed in northeastern Pennsylvania last week as police investigated a possible sighting of the suspect.
Barrett Township authorities had canceled Halloween activities. Since Frein’s capture, Halloween is now back on.
Even a local resident claimed this month that he has been mistaken for Frein by state troopers more than 20 times.
At the news conference late Thursday night, Corbett told reporters that Frein’s capture has been a long time coming.
“To the family of trooper Dickson, to the family of trooper Douglass and to trooper Douglass, let me assure you from everybody here, justice will be served,” he said.
Abby Phillip contributed to this report.
RELATED: “Survivalism: The stark ideology that may have led to killing of a Pennsylvania state trooper“