Police: Cache of food, clothes found in woods near Warren belonged to escapee Burham

WARREN, Pa. — Police searching for escaped homicide suspect Michael C. Burham found a "hidden cache" of clothes and other materials in the woods near the city of Warren, and police believe it is connected to him, a top Pennsylvania State Police official said at the daily news conference on the Burham case on Thursday.

"We are confident that this was his," said Lt. Col. George Bivens, deputy commissioner of operations for the Pennsylvania State Police.

Bivens declined to say whether the discovery of the cache signals that Burham has had help as he as eluded police while hiding in the woods of Warren County since he escaped from the Warren County Prison on July 6.

Bivens said state police were disclosing the existence of the cache mainly to alert people to contact state police if they find similar items in the woods. Bivens would not comment on when the cache was found. He said it was discovered in a wooded outside the city of Warren, but "not far."

The cache was wrapped in a tarp and partially concealed under a log, Bivens said at the news conference, held in the municipal building for Youngsville, outside of Warren.

Bivens said the cache contained clothes, food and other items needs to survive in the outdoors, but no weapons. The cache appears to include a small camouflage bag, based on the photo the state police released.

State police have been using rapid DNA testing on items found in the woods that investigators believe might be connected to Burham. Bivens would not say whether police had used DNA on the cache, but said the state police are "confident" that it belonged to Burham.

He said searches have found more than one cache in the manhunt for Burham, but he declined to be specific. Police have said that they have also found campsites they believe are connected to Burham's flight.

Police believe Burham remains in the Warren area

Burham is wanted in connection with a homicide in May in Jamestown, New York, and he broke out of the Warren County Prison while awaiting prosecution on kidnapping charges related to the New York case. He used a rope made of bedsheets to slide off the prison's roof, police said.

Burham is accused of fleeing from New York by abducting an elderly couple in Sheffield, Pennsylvania, near Warren, stealing their SUV and forcing the two to drive with him to South Carolina, where he was arrested on May 24 after a manhunt. The couple was found unharmed.

Burham was last know to live in Asheville, New York, near Jamestown. He also owned property in Russell, Pennsylvania, near Warren.

On Thursday, Bivens said that state police continue to believe that Burham remains in the general area of Warren. The search has also extended into the nearby Allegheny National Forest.

"There is no guarantee that it is 100%," Bivens said of Burham being in the Warren area. "But there are enough pieces of information — and I am not prepared to lay out all those pieces of information — but there are enough pieces of information that give us a fairly high confidence level that he is in the areas we are searching."

Police say public should still feel safe in woods near Warren

Bivens said the public should still feel comfortable hiking and walking in the woods around Warren despite the search for Burham.

"If I could articulate for you that I thought there was a tremendous risk to anyone out here in the woods, I would do that, and I would advise people not to come here," Bivens said. But he said that is not the case at this point.

Bivens said state police continue to investigate "the possibility or likelihood that he has had accomplices, and we continue to collect evidence. If we get to the point of charging someone, I will certainly make the announcement."

Police still believe Burham to be armed, Bivens said.

"You need to surrender," Bivens said of his message to Burham. "Don't do anything foolish that gets anyone else hurt. Don't get yourself hurt. We are going to capture you. We are going to bring you back to the criminal justice system. This just needs to end."

"We are going to catch him," Bivens said. "It is a matter of time."

He said searchers are working to wear out Burham so that he gives up. He said more than 200 people from 15 law enforcement agencies are involved in the search.

"Part of our strategy is to push him hard," Bivens said, "And we are pushing him hard. Anyone who is pushed hard tends to make mistakes, tends to allow us to exploit those mistakes. Very simple strategy, but it works."

Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNpalattella.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Police link 'hidden cache' of food, clothes to escapee Michael Burham