A Pennsylvania man has taken to wearing his ID around his neck for his two-hour walks to and from work through the Poconos mountains because of his resemblance to Eric Frein, the 31-year-old who has been on the run for more than a month since being named as the suspect in a late night ambush that left one police officer dead.
The plight of James Tully, a 39-year-old father of two whose five-mile walk to work crosses through the search area for Frein, was covered by the Pocono Record earlier this week, inspiring the creation of a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe. He told the newspaper that he has been stopped and questioned more than 20 times by law enforcement.
More than $6,300 had been raised for Tully, though the fundraising site does not specify what the money will go to, saying that the donations are meant to “help James get to work safe”. Other campaigns with more specific goals, such as to buy Tully a working car, now direct people to that campaign.
Tully told the Pocono Record that he has also been threatened by an unidentified man clad in camouflage who pointed a rifle at Tully. His mother has bought him a reflective vest, hat and gloves for the trek, which often occurs between midnight and 2am.
Frein is accused of killing police officer Bryon Dickson and wounding another in an ambush outside a remote police barracks in the region. The trooper wounded in the 12 September attack, Alex Douglass, was released from the hospital last week.
Authorities have since discovered a journal left by Frein that describes the incident. They have also discovered campsites that they believe are Frein’s and include materials such as Frein’s cellphone and checkbook, two pipe bombs and diapers.
The ongoing manhunt, which has cost the state millions of dollars, has failed to result in Frein’s arrest despite the involvement of state police, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
What investigators do know is that Frein had been prepared for such an escape, having searched “how to avoid police manhunts” on his computer and studying survivalist tactics. He is also a skilled marksman and is reported to detest law enforcement
There have been multiple sightings of Frein by civilians and law enforcement, some as close as about 200 yards away. This week, police said he was possibly seen two times in a four-day period. Law enforcement have focused the search on the wooded area around Frein’s parents home, but adjusted the search to the area of the sightings.
The Pocono Mountain school district on Tuesday closed all schools on its campus near the sightings so state police and the FBI could search the area. School was back in session on Thursday and state police have ramped up campus patrols in the region and the school district said it has security officers patrolling the campus at all hours.
Local business have said they are suffering from the search, leading US senator Bob Casey to send a letter to US small business administration requesting that the agency provide training and counseling services to businesses in the region.
