Manhunt for Frein escalates around Snow Hill Falls neighborhood near state forest

PRICE TOWNSHIP, Pa. - Troopers perched on rocks and leaned on trees, their eyes fixed on the dense woods in front of them.

Police cruisers lined the unpaved roads.

White vans, unmarked SUVs, and armored vehicles sat ready near a pond.

The manhunt for alleged state trooper killer Eric Frein narrowed in on the rural Snow Hill Falls neighborhood bordering a state forest in Monroe County on Sunday, where residents were once again advised not to leave home.

Police said the search for Frein, the self-styled survivalist who has evaded capture in the Poconos for more than two weeks, was centered on the neighborhood.

"We have a large presence there, but it certainly isn't the only area we are taking a look at," said Trooper Adam Reed. "We still believe he is in the area."

Modest homes along the winding dirt roads sit on densely wooded lots of several acres.

Helicopters hovered so low over Pat Snively's home here that large trees swayed in the wind and she could see the faces of the pilots.

"It looked like Black Hawk Down, those helicopters," she said.

Snively and her neighbors also lost power for several hours Saturday evening. PPL Electric reported that more than 70 customers lost power in the area; state police could not confirm that the outage was caused by wind from the helicopters.

Snively said her grandchildren were playing in her back yard Saturday afternoon when an armed trooper in camouflage appeared and signaled to her son.

The trooper advised them to take the children inside - and stay there. A person believed to be Frein had just been spotted in the woods behind their home, the trooper said, but he had run away.

They went inside, and the helicopters began to hover over their backyard.

"I don't mind, as long as they catch him," Snively said.

Police said they could not provide information about possible sightings. On Friday, investigators said that Frein had not been spotted in the woods since Tuesday evening.

Frein, 31, is charged with killing Cpl. Byron Dickson and wounding Trooper Alex Douglass at the state police barracks in Blooming Grove on Sept. 12. Police said Frein is likely in a roughly 5-square mile area near his parents' home, about 20 miles from Blooming Grove.

When Gladys Rivera left her Snow Hill Falls Road home for church on Sunday morning, police stopped her and searched her pickup truck. All day, police cars sat on either side of her house. She said she's now accustomed to their presence, but worries what would happen if police do confront Frein in her neighborhood.

Police believe Frein is still armed with the .308 rifle he allegedly used in the shooting this month. State troopers would be authorized to use lethal force if they identified Frein and he refused to surrender.

"That's what's scary, is there might be a shootout," Rivera said.

Rob Heist said he was recovering Sunday from the shock of losing power the previous night. He was stopped by police as he rushed home to his wife, who has dementia and was sitting alone in the dark.

"I became unglued last night when I got home," he said Sunday, as a group of about eight troopers walked around his yard and on his deck. "I was just like, this is unbelievable."

As the search intensified in Heist's neighborhood, other Monroe County residents tried to ease back into daily routines.

Police vehicles were hardly visible outside the focus area. The country roads were filled with motorcyclists enjoying the sunny fall day. The Pocono Mountain School District announced that most school bus routes were scheduled to resume Monday morning, and absences or missed assignments would no longer be excused.

At the Mountainhome Diner on Sunday afternoon, Esther Bender sat at the counter reading her book while she ate. Last weekend, investigators sat on her property. On Sunday, she said she had not seen any state troopers in her neighborhood.

"I'm not really nervous," Bender said, as she finished her toast and bacon. "It will play out the way it's supposed to play out, I guess."

The search remained a topic of conversation for residents, however. In the small community, most people have friends or relatives affected by the manhunt, and many said they knew the Frein family.

"It is heartbreaking for them as well," said Bender, who said she would often see Frein's parents around town but does not know them well.

Police said Frein plotted his attack and retreat into the Poconos for years. Investigators believe he may have constructed a bunker in the woods to store supplies and evade police. He has left behind items such as soiled diapers and Serbian cigarettes, police said, and he may have explosives.

Nearly 1,000 law enforcement officers have descended on the woods in search of Frein. Rivera, whose home was in the center of the search on Sunday, said she never imagined a manhunt could unfold in her own backyard.

"Nothing ever happens here," she said. "It's too super quiet. It's rural here -- we don't even have paved roads where we live."

lmccrystal@phillynews.com

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