(CANADENSIS, Pa.) - Police believe they are hot on the trail of self-taught survivalist Eric Frein, suspect in the Sept. 12 bloody ambush at the Blooming Grove police barracks that killed Cpl. Bryon Dickson, 38, and critically wounded Trooper Alex Douglass.
Nine days after the shootings at the state police barracks, authorities said Sunday they have recovered one of the weapons he was carrying and as he travels on foot through rugged forests in northeastern Pennsylvania.
According to State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens, trackers have discovered items Frein hid or abandoned in the woods - including an AK-47 assault rifle and ammunition they believe he had been carrying while on the run.
Lt. Col. Bivens said the police were "Pushing him hard" and that Frein is no longer safe. "I am confident that he will be apprehended." "We will apprehend him. It's only a matter of time. He's moving as we push him," Bivens added.
While authorities still do not yet know if the weapon had been used in the ambush, the police believe Frein remains dangerous and possibly armed with a .308 rifle with a scope that the police say are missing from the family home along with the AK-47.
Pennsylvania trooper slaying suspect Eric Frein has been on the run for 9 days http://t.co/potqCEORsy pic.twitter.com/EVQOhADkhg- NBC News (@NBCNews) September 21, 2014
There have been no confirmed sightings of or contact with Frein since the Sept. 12 shooting. Eric Frein was placed on the FBI's Most Wanted list after the ambush.
Lt. Col. Bivens added that the police now know that Frein prepared and planned his attack extensively for months, and maybe years adding that Frein initially had the advantage of knowing the rugged terrain around the area.
The police believe that Frein has covered perhaps 15 or 20 miles on foot since the shooting. Authorities do not believe he has contacted his family and they currently have no information that he's being helped by anyone.
According to Bivens, the search is focusing on a several square-mile area on the border of Pike and Monroe counties around the nearby village where Frein grew up.
