FBI Most Wanted Fugitive Captured After 48 Days

A survivalist accused of ambushing a police barracks in Pennsylvania has been captured, bringing a painstaking seven-week manhunt to an end.

Eric Frein, 31, was discovered by US marshals in an abandoned airplane on Thursday and taken into custody, officials said.

He did not resist arrest, though he was armed.
"Once they approached him he admitted his identity," Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan said.

"The reason this was so important is because Eric Frein was dedicated to killing law enforcement members," Mr Noonan said.
"He had at least one sniper rifle that we knew of. We knew he had a handgun. We knew at the beginning that he had explosive charges with him."

Frein's initial court appearance is scheduled for Friday morning. Prosecutors will seek the death penalty.

Frein eluded police for 48 days after allegedly opening fire outside the Blooming Grove barracks, killing one state trooper and seriously injuring another.

The 12 September attack prompted the FBI to add Frein to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, issuing a $100,000 reward for information leading to his capture.

Authorities describe him as a self-trained survivalist and expert marksman who had talked about committing mass murder and nursed a grudge against law enforcement.

Frein was linked to the attack after police discovered his abandoned SUV in a swamp close to the shooting scene.

Shell cases matching those found at the barracks, two empty rifle cases and camouflage face paint were among the items found inside.

Hundreds of police were deployed across Pennsylvania amid warnings the suspect was armed and dangerous.

The manhunt quickly became focused around Frein's parents' home in Canadensis, around 130 miles north of Philadelphia, after he tried to contact them by phone and the signal was traced to the area.

The search unnerved the community. Schools in the region were closed, residents were at times ordered to stay inside or prevented from returning home, and a man who looked like Frein was stopped by police about 20 times.

There were numerous sightings of Frein during the search, although police were unable to get close enough to apprehend him.

Authorities said he appeared to be treating the manhunt like a game.

Police suspected he was camped out in woodland where they found several items, including an assault rifle, two fully-functional pipe bombs, and a diary offering a chilling account of the ambush.

Frein is charged with the first degree murder of 38-year-old Corporal Bryon Dickson and possession of countless weapons of mass destruction.

The injured trooper, Alex Douglass, 31, who was shot in the pelvis, has been discharged from hospital.