Pennsylvania deer hunt curtailed as police search for ambush suspect
By Joe McDonald EAST STROUDSBURG Pa. (Reuters) - Pennsylvania has reversed an earlier decision to allow deer hunting in an area of the Pocono Mountains where hundreds of law enforcement officers are searching for the suspect in an ambush that killed a state trooper nearly three weeks ago. The closure of a large swath of state game lands in the northeastern corner of Pennsylvania, announced on Wednesday, came a day after police said search teams had found two pipe bombs while in pursuit of the 31-year-old suspect, Eric Frein. R. Matthew Hough, the Pennsylvania State Game Commission’s executive director, issued an order closing the hunting and trapping seasons within seven municipalities in Monroe and Pike Counties, where the manhunt has been concentrated. Despite the danger posed by the suspect and the small army of law-enforcement officers looking for him, the decision to close the area is likely to be a disappointment in the Poconos, one of the Northeast's most popular hunting grounds. “Guys are still eager to get out there,” said Rob Hill, caretaker at the Beaver Run Hunting and Fishing Club, a private club 10 miles from the state police barracks where the troopers were ambushed on Sept. 12. Earlier in the week, the commission had said it would permit hunting as usual. But the discovery of the pipe bombs in the woods led to a change of heart, Hough said. Frein is on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list on charges stemming from the fatal shooting of Corporal Bryon Dickson and wounding of Trooper Alex Douglass in Blooming Grove. The autumn season for hunting deer with bows in Pennsylvania opens on Saturday. There are separate seasons during the winter for rifle hunting. The number of bow hunters is much smaller than those who use rifles, said Terri Koch, owner of the Pickerel Inn General Store in Dingmans Ferry, down the road from the barracks where the ambush occurred. Even so, Saturday is when families traditionally venture into the forest to get cabins ready, set up tree stands and scout for prime hunting spots, in preparation for rifle hunting. “I’m sure it’s going to be pretty disappointing for hunters and sportsmen,” Koch said. With the search entering its third week, Koch said people in Pike County had been “sitting on the fence," expecting the manhunt to affect deer hunting. “Everything changes almost day to day,” she said. (Writing By Frank McGurty; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
