Notes May Recount a Pennsylvania Trooper's Death

The weekslong hunt through the Pocono Mountains for a man wanted in the ambush and killing of a Pennsylvania state trooper took another dramatic turn on Wednesday as police officials revealed chilling reflections recorded in handwritten notes found at a campsite apparently abandoned by the elusive suspect.

'Fri Sept 12th got a shot around 11 pm and took it,' the notes attributed to the suspect, Eric M. Frein, say. '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.'

These passages apparently recount the night that a gunman, lying in wait with a rifle across from the state police barracks in Blooming Grove, Pa., killed Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson II and wounded a second trooper, Alex T. Douglass, who came to his colleague's aid.

The notes, found along with some ammunition and other supplies, also recall how the suspect hit a roadblock while fleeing, turned onto an unfinished access road, heard helicopters above, drove his getaway car into a pond - 'Disaster!' - and ran into the deep woods, making a 'half attempt' to stash an assault rifle along the way.

The police later recovered an assault rifle and a half-submerged Jeep belonging to Mr. Frein's parents, who live in Canadensis, not far from Blooming Grove.

Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police described the notes as 'coldblooded and absolutely chilling,' and used them to describe Mr. Frein as 'pure evil' and to support the considerable resources being used in a search nearing its second month.

Mr. Frein, 31, has been described as a self-styled survivalist who plotted his attack and retreat for months, if not years. He is said to have possibly shaved the sides of his head, leaving a Mohawk strip of brown hair. He is also said to be an expert marksman with a particular hatred for law enforcement - as evidenced, the police say, by the recent discovery of two pipe bombs that could have been detonated with trip wires or a fuse.

The dragnet for Mr. Frein has upended the lives of residents in the area, who normally would be enjoying high school football games and the spectacular autumnal colors in its vast forests. Instead, residents have had to adapt to sudden road closures, a heavy police presence, a constant churn of rumors, and the temporary suspension of hunting and trapping seasons in several townships.

What's more, they have had to live with the realization that an armed man is lurking in the woods around them.

The state police have systematically narrowed their search and, for the last several days, have been concentrating on a few square miles. They say that they know he is in there somewhere; since Friday, there have been four reported sightings of Mr. Frein by residents and law enforcement.

The personal tone adopted early on by the state police has continued. 'Every so often, true evil rears its ugly head, and we must deal with it,' Colonel Bivens said.

'The Pennsylvania State Police didn't pick this fight,' he added. 'But it is ours to finish.'

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