Pa. state senator calls for review of Frein manhunt

As the manhunt for Eric Frein drags into a second month, a state senator from northeastern Pennsylvania wants lawmakers to review the response and impact on the area.

In a letter released Tuesday, Sen. Lisa Baker (R., Luzerne) said her goal in calling for a hearing "is not to find fault" with the search efforts, but to assess and, if possible, improve the state's response to such incidents.

Her request came on the same day that State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan and Lt. Col. George Bivens privately briefed Baker and other lawmakers in Harrisburg about the ongoing search for Frein in the woods of Pike and Monroe Counties.

Noonan said police would continue to dedicate resources to the search because Frein, charged with killing one trooper and wounding another Sept. 12, remained a threat.

"The thing that's foremost on my mind is, What's the cost if we don't catch him?" he told reporters. "What's the cost if he commits another crime?"

Noonan warned lawmakers he will likely need to request additional funding to cover the costs of the manhunt, according to Baker.

As costs mount, Baker's request for a hearing also reflected a growing weariness with the manhunt and its impact in the Poconos.

"Naturally, because of the money, manpower, and time involved, questions are surfacing about how technology or laws could assist in future searches," she said in a letter to the chairmen of the Law and Justice Committee and the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, the two groups she suggested should convene the hearing. "Moreover, it has raised larger questions about Pennsylvania's response to any emergency."

A hearing, she said, would allow lawmakers to discuss issues such as the safety at state police barracks, communication policies, costs of the search, and the impact the search has had on residents and businesses. Baker's list of items to review also included overall responses to emergencies and the impact of the search on "innocent citizens."

More than 1,000 officers, federal agents, and other personnel have participated in the hunt for Frein. The search has cost state police several million dollars, Bivens said, and placed thousands of residents on a constant state of alert.

Officers and helicopters have spent weeks scouring residents' yards and, at times, have put up roadblocks to limit travel. Business owners near the search have said they were losing thousands of dollars as tourists avoid the area during the fall foliage season.

The state police, leading the investigation, are attempting to cut manhunt costs where possible and to limit the impact on residents, Bivens has said.

The state police, spokeswoman Maria A. Finn said Tuesday, "would be happy to participate - if invited" - in any hearing held by lawmakers. Finn said the state police have not yet compiled the total amount spent on the manhunt. Noonan and Bivens did not make a formal request for additional funding during their meeting Tuesday with lawmakers, she said.

Troopers have returned to work in the Blooming Grove barracks, where Frein allegedly killed Cpl. Bryon Dickson and wounded Trooper Alex Douglass. The barracks, said trooper Connie Devens, have new security measures in place.