Two pipe bombs found in Pennsylvania cop-killer manhunt

Pennsylvania police have discovered two pipe bombs during the massive search for a survivalist suspected of gunning down two state troopers and think they have spotted him within the last 24 hours, officials said Tuesday.

The search for Eric Frein, 31, has entered its 19th day, with about 1,000 law enforcement personnel scouring the forested Pocono Mountains in eastern Pennsylvania, where the officials said the “fully functional” bombs were found. The bombs were not deployed, however.

“The pipe bombs had the ability to be detonated by either tripwires or lighted fuse,” State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens told reporters. “These devices are consistent with Frein’s nonconfrontational and gutless efforts to kill or injure law enforcement from a distance.”

Frein is suspected of taking years to plan a Sept. 12 attack on a remote State Police outpost in Blooming Grove, Pa., where Cpl. Bryon Dixon was fatally shot and Trooper Alex T. Douglass critically wounded.

The search has been focused on a 5-square-mile area near Frein’s home in Canadensis in the Poconos, a forbidding wilderness that Frein spent years exploring.

Officials have previously discovered a discarded AK-47, empty packs of cigarettes and soiled diapers in their search for Frein. Officials have said that a search of Frein’s computer hard drives revealed he had been searching for ways to evade police and survive in the wilderness.

Bomb-making materials were also found at his home, officials said.

Bevins told reporters Tuesday that searchers have discovered shelters that Frein appears to have used and that he has left behind other undisclosed items, perhaps in a hurry.

“I’m sure he is stressed. He has to be at this point,” Bevins said. “I’m sure he’s not sleeping well at night.”

The Allentown Morning Call contributed to this report.

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