No Shots Fired During Frein's Surrender, Officials to Seek Death Penalty

Eric Frein, the man suspected in the Sept. 12 ambush and murder of a Pennsylvania State Trooper, was captured Thursday evening near an abandoned airplane hangar in Tannersville.

Frein, who spent 48 days hiding out in the woods in the Poconos, surrendered around 6 p.m. Thursday, according to information from Pennsylvania State Police. Prosecutors said they planned to seek the death penalty for Frein, 31, who was on the FBI’s Most Wanted List.

He was sought in connection with the murder of Cpl. Bryon Dickson. Trooper Alex T. Douglass also was wounded in the shooting outside the Blooming Grove State Police Barracks.

Frein kneeled and put his hands up when marshals approached him about 30 miles from the Blooming Grove State Police Barracks, according to Frank Noonan, Pennsylvania State Police Commission.

At a press conference late Thursday in which Governor Tom Corbett was present, Noonan said officials approached an individual they suspected was Frein and ordered him to surrender, which he did. No shots were fired.

“He was in good physical condition. He did not require medical attention,” Noonan said. Frein, who had stashed food and other survival items throughout the rural Pennslyvania woods, was “healthier than I expected.”

Noonan said he also was found to be in possession of pipe bombs.

Frein is facing numerous charges in connection with the alleged ambush and subsequent search, including first-degree murder, murder of a law enforcement official and possession of weapons of mass destruction.

He is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. Friday in Pike County.