Maine hermit gets offers of marriage, bail

Rob Quinn, Newser | USATODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Hermit arrested: Campsite had mattress, Game Boy Police say Christopher Knight, known as the "North Pond Hermit," had lots of luxuries in his campsite. They hauled out barrel after barrel of allegedly stolen goods, including a mattress, kitchen supplies and a Game Boy.

For a guy who spent 27 years living in the woods with no human contact, Christopher Knight seems pretty popular. Authorities in Maine, where the "North Pond Hermit" is being held on burglary charges, say he has received a marriage proposal from a woman on the other side of the country and an offer to pay his $5,000 bail from a stranger from out of state, the Kennebec Journal reports.

He's even got his own folk song tribute, adds the Chronicle. Knight's bail was hiked to $250,000 as two more burglary charges were laid. He initially told police he was behind more than a thousand burglaries over the years.

Authorities say the bail was increased so dramatically partly out of fear that Knight may be exploited by strangers.

"I will remain concerned for Mr. Knight until he has an attorney helping him to navigate what is a new world to him," the district attorney says.

Despite the decades of solitude, Knight is doing well in jail and is in with the general population, the lead police investigator on the case says. "He's smiling, pleasant," she says. "He's a very humble man."