Discussion: Not the best weekend for training in Harriman

A local mad man killed his daughter in law and is hiding out in Harriman. He is armed, dangerous and knows the woods well.
News Article
and
an article about his knowledge of Harriman
He is in his 70's and is diabetic so you have to wonder how long he will last in there. Still the cops are advising people to stay out of the back woods.

Thanks Bernie. Please post if you hear he's been found/caught (or is at least out of ammo)

He lived at the bottom of route 106 and his property is a few hundred meters beyond the east end of Jackie Jones. The cops have a command center set up at lake Welsh. Beaver pond campgrounds are closed.

I bet the orienteering maps showing the rock overhangs and caves in the area would be a great help to the police - if they also had someone who could read the maps for them.
But their way will probably be to form a big line and go though the woods making as much noise as possible.

Maybe they can burn him out and clear some of the thick laurel from Jackie Jones in the process :)

One of the videos shows the cops making plans using a Hagstrom Map of the area.

I need to put water and controls out this weekend for the Highlander. any volunteers for that job?

Hey, the fugitive might appreciate the supply of drinking water!

All the news articles mention the entire park. I would think/hope that the timing would enable the authorities to narrow the search area considerably (eg, he is unlikely to be on the Baileytown map).

If he took refuge in any of the camps, the buildings could conceal him from infrared devices.

A couple years ago we had a similar incident in Ohio. They spent weeks looking for the fugitive survival expert hiding in the state forest. Turned out he was never in the forest at all. Even the "expert survivalist" had sought out the shelter of a friend and indoor lodgings in a more urban setting. So possibly he may not even be in there at all.

...and wasn't there a similar situation with the Beltway Sniper just before a US Champs about a decade ago? One of the murders was near the entrance to Prince William Forest in VA. I think they caught the dude about a week before the race.

He's going to be a bit soggy today if he's actually out there!

There was a similar situation about five years ago in Allegany State Park. There was no notice at the entrances, but various state police/FBI units were "tracking" the fugitive in the park. I was doing rogaine vetting and my scent was picked up by the dogs who led a unit right to me. They politely asked me to leave the park and I agreed to head straight to my car. I was picked up again, this time at "almost gunpoint" about 0.5 km from my car. When I asked why there was no notification to the public that they shouldn't be in the woods, I was told that they hoped to surprise the fugitive!

I recall one incident of an orienteer being menaced by guy with a gun during an o-meet.

Yeah, but in that case, the guy was on his own property, defending it from bizarre unexpected intruders, some babbling in foreign tongues.

you forgot 'and wearing pajamas'....

Or, he thought he was on his property...

If Charlie is referring to the incident that I think he is, I believe the armed landowner was on his own property.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_%22Bucky%22_Phi...

Bucky Phillips (the guy from Western NY) was on the loose for 5 months and shot four state troopers before they caught him. An ATV rider was also shot by police during the manhunt.

Staying far away from Harriman is probably a good idea.

@Charlie: Was that event in Rhode Island?

It was.

you have to assume they use dogs to track people in wilderness areas. Aren't the dogs pretty good at finding stuff? I hope they find this nutcase soon. I guess the rain probably didn't help things.

I remember driving two and a half hours to some sprints in Harriman a few years ago only to discover, on arriving, that the police wouldn't let the event take place because they were hunting a suspect in the woods. It would be good to know in advance that that won't happen next Sunday.

@bct - It was Bucky Phillips to whom I was referring above.

And as someone considering a 7-hour drive to the Highlander, I echo PBricker's concern.

All entrants will receive an email on or about October 4 with final details, and if the event is not on, I expect it will be noted at that point. If they're still looking for the guy in the park as late as Thursday, there will probably be no Highlander this year. We've already got problems due to the fact that no controls or water can be put out this weekend. It would be entirely reasonable if the course setter were to decide to pull the pIug right now, given the circumstances. I also expect (but I'm not 100% certain) that all entry fees will be refunded if it's cancelled.

This might have to be relocated...

...And this might have to be reduced by 60%.

This guy is not going to be a threat in Harriman in two weeks' time. He will either 1) not be there, or 2) have met his demise.

How about in 1-week's time...

@j-man - based upon the way things were closed here during the "Bucky hunt", it doesn't matter if he is not there or if he has met his demise - UNLESS the authorities know that. Bucky was never in many of the areas that were closed; they were closed because he might have been there and hadn't been found. If this guy shot himself in an obscure cave somewhere in Harriman several days ago, the authorities may still not be able to open the park for quite some time. I'm routing for his capture; that would open the park the quickest.

Oh yes, I realize there is a big difference between that guy being a threat and having the park open.

If he is not there, the situation is like proving God doesn't exist. Unless you demonstrate that he (God or this guy) exists somewhere else. Otherwise the working assumption is that he is a maleficent spirit, haunting the glades around the big potato, somehow evading the authorities due to his Rambo-esque outdoors skilz.

This is such a great template for those wanting to disappear. If I were in his situation, I would have abandoned my car, and hiked down the ridge to Suffern and stopped at Starbucks or that great bagel place.

Sorry to be cynical (and I'm not really following this, so I'm probably ignorant too)--he probably is within a km of where he conveniently dropped off the car. But, just possibly this is the Streetlight Effect, and that is always interesting to see.

@j-man: Please tell. Where is the great bagel place? I'll need sustenance.

Bagel Train
150 Orange Avenue
Suffern, NY 10901

It is a great place for Psycho Killers and the rest of us.

If you go when it is busy, parking may be at a premium. Don't park next door at the laundromat. The owner/proprietor does not take kindly to people using his lot for the store next door.

It is notable that the Bagel Train staff don't really fit the profile of a prototypical NY bagel shop, but they do a wonderful job. America is a great place. And Bagel train is a marvellous place for before or after Harriman training.

There is no Starbucks in Suffern. There is a Dunkin Donuts. If you are in great shape its a tough 3 hour or 4 hour trail run on the Suffern-Bear Mountain trail from where they found his car to Suffern. He will need bagels after that run.

According to their website, the nearest Starbucks (I clicked on the "as the murderer walks" option) is either Sloatsburg or the outlets in Central Valley. The police should start their search there rather than face the temptation of a Dunkin Donuts.

So if I were to conveniently bring along a load of laundry, and then go to the Bagel Train while "waiting" for my laundry, would that be OK with the laundromat guy?

Yes, I have done that. As a bonus, there are some benches in front of the laundry guy. Perfect for eating the bagel.
Bagel train with the laundry to the left and to the left of that, Harriman in the background:
http://goo.gl/maps/r9I7t