BLOOMING GROVE TOWNSHIP — Fugitive Eric Frein is making mistakes, says one of the police officers hunting him, and he's more confident than ever the alleged cop killer will be brought to justice.



But as the dragnet wound through its 21st day Friday, the chase Lt. Col. George Bivens described at his daily news conference continued to resemble a high-stakes search for Bigfoot.



Unconfirmed sightings have been reported — three this week and one as recently as Thursday. Police have found clothing, food, ammunition and even soiled diapers they say he's left behind.



But three weeks in, there has been no direct contact with the 31-year-old survivalist, who police say ambushed and killed a state trooper and wounded another outside the Blooming Grove state police barracks in Pike County on Sept. 12.



"I'm more confident than ever that he's stressed and we're pushing him hard," Bivens said, "and it's only a matter of time. He's made a number of significant mistakes in the course of this manhunt."



Mistakes include a campsite Frein may have left for police to discover Tuesday, where more than 90 rounds of .308 caliber bullets were found, along with pipe bombs, food and other gear. Bivens said Frein might have had to run from the camp when he heard police coming. A "thorough analysis" proved the items were his.



"We have submitted many items to the laboratories," Bivens said. "The vast majority that have come back that we received results for came back positive for DNA. A few have not, but based on those results we're confident that overall the items we're collecting are indicative of him being in the area."



Media coverage Friday suggested that tests on the adult diapers widely reported to be found in the search area were inconclusive.



Pennsylvania State Police spokesman Tom Kelly emailed a statement to media outlets after the story broke: "We will not be commenting on the DNA collected from the soiled diapers found in the woods. If media outlets are reporting on the diapers based on unnamed 'sources,' that is not an official PSP comment and we will not confirm reports based on that style of reporting."



Bivens initially declined to comment at the news conference about the adult undergarments. Asked moments later if they remained a part of the investigation, Bivens replied, "Yes."



Investigators are also finding food. Though there's been some indication that Frein has attempted to live off the land, for the most part he seems to be eating food he's carrying with him or keeping in caches in the woods. Bivens said police are seizing Frein's food.



Maybe, that's how they'll catch him, Bivens said. Cutting off Frein's supplies will force him to have to forage for food. He could dig through local garbage bins and trash or seek shelter in a vacant cabin.



Hundreds of law enforcement officers have poured into the forested corner of northeastern Pennsylvania, where motorists can drive for miles on woodland-lined highways before encountering an outdoorsman's resort or a pocket of summer homes.



The terrain offers Frein effective cover, Bivens said. Frein could hide anywhere in the underbrush. In some cases searchers have carried ski poles, he said, so they can poke through fern and leaf litter to possibly make contact with a man hiding under it.



"You could literally walk right past someone in some of this terrain and not see them," Bivens said.



It's also possible that Frein is slipping in and out of the roughly 5-square-mile radius in which investigators say he's hiding. Keeping the perimeter completely sealed is impossible, Bivens said, even with the hundreds of officers patrolling into the night with flood lights and heat sensing equipment.



Hunters return to the region this weekend for the start of the fall season. The state police and Pennsylvania Game Commission closed a swath of territory around the search region, which has shifted over the past three weeks, but remains roughly 5 square miles.



Officers have been largely been rotating to cover the long shifts. A core group of searchers has remained behind for the duration of the hunt, Bivens said.



They believe they've gotten close. Recently, they came within 75 to 100 yards of a person they feel confident was their man, but couldn't confirm it was Frein, Bivens said.



The most recent sighting Thursday was considered to be of medium-level probability, Bivens said, and it was made by a local resident.



"The only way to confirm it is to have him in custody and ensure that, yes, that is Eric Frein," Bivens said.



blandauer@mcall.com



610-820-6533



