It is now almost certain that Cherif Chekatt has a support network of at least one person. That's relevant because Chekatt is the prime suspect in the terrorist attack on Tuesday in Strasbourg, France. That attack took three innocent lives, and wounded twelve others, six seriously.

But 48 hours since the attack, it is striking that Chekatt hasn't yet been found.

His closest associates and family members have now either been arrested or cleared from the investigation. So where is Chekatt hiding? After all, it is very likely that the French would have identified any Chekatt-personal safe houses by now. France's DGSI domestic intelligence service has extremely wide legal latitude and significant signal, technical intelligence capabilities with which to monitor terrorists. Using these capabilities, it almost certainly knows down to the hour where Chekatt was in the days leading up to the attack. That he has not yet been found at one of these locations suggests he took operational security measures that most inspired terrorists would be unaware of.

Still, Chekatt's at-large status isn't terribly surprising. As I noted on Tuesday, there were immediate indications to suggest that Chekatt was operating with the support of a broader network. Two other factors stand out here.

First, one German news outlet is reporting that Chekatt received a phone call from Germany just before the attack took place, but that he didn't answer the call. If the report is true, who called Chekatt? Was it a green-light order? Again, the decision not to answer the phone is also nominally indicative of operational security. It's also relevant because Germany is just across the border from Strasbourg and terrorist facilitators have freer reign there than in France.

Second, there's the French government's belief that its security forces wounded Chekatt in at least one of the two firefights he engaged in on Tuesday. If true, that would lend to the idea that Chekatt is either dead or being hidden/treated by a supporter. But if Chekatt is dead, why hasn't he been found in a ditch? We must also note here that Salafi jihadists like to die in action rather than die in hiding. The alarming exception to this rule is when an operative believes he or she must evade detection to prevent themselves from being interrogated into surrendering other members of a network.

As I believe, however, the clearest element in favor of Chekatt having a support network is the most basic: He hasn't been caught (yet).