Eric Frein is the man who has been accused in the September 12 ambush shooting that left Cpl. Bryon Dickson dead and Trooper Alex T. Douglas wounded outside the Pennsylvania State Police barracks in Blooming Grove. Frein is currently rogue and highly capable of carrying out similar attacks on police officials and civilians alike. He has eluded capture despite a massive manhunt around Canadensis, Pennsylvania, where his family has a home. Late last week and early this week, Frein was reportedly spotted in a wooded area in the town of Swiftwater, about 8 miles southeast of the Canadensis area. According to classmates of Frein from when he went to school, he was quiet but didn’t seem “weird” or the type of person you’d expect to kill a police officer.

The hunt for Frein has turned life upside down for people inside the search area. Helicopters fly overhead and police seem to be everywhere you look. “Every night, every day, but mostly at night, the helicopters would be flying over our house, waking us up at 1 o’clock in the morning,” said Cory Batzel, in Swiftwater.He said he’s not afraid, except at night, when he believes Frein might be on the move. The area is typically quiet in Swiftwater according to residents, but the presence of police have put an abrupt end to the peace. Police have not spoken about a possible motive, other than that Frein has talked and written about hating law enforcement. Authorities have said a review of a computer hard drive used by Frein shows that he had planned the attack for years.

Frein is familiar with the Swiftwater area, having attended the high school and worked summers at a camp just to the west.Fearing his possible presence, nearby Barrett Township postponed a Halloween parade and canceled trick-or-treating, urging children to celebrate at a local high school instead.Officials who canceled school in the Pocono Mountain School District similarly chose not to take the chance. Parents, in large part, seem to agree that’s the right move.

Some people didn’t believe Frein would last this long. This includes Myron, a self-styled survivalist who said, “I didn’t expect him to last out there this long. But he must be, you know, prepared more than I thought or, you know, a lot of people thought. We didn’t think he would make it this long. We didn’t think it’d go this long.” The manhunt has already cost several million dollars. It has involved as many as 1,000 officers at times, some from other states.