A couple checking out a barking dog on their north-western Pennsylvania property over the weekend led to the capture of a homicide suspect who had used bed sheets to escape from jail, authorities have said.
Michael Burham, 34, was captured nine days after he fled the Warren county jail in the late evening hours of 6 July by climbing on exercise equipment, going through a window and scaling down a rope fashioned from jail bedding, authorities said.
The couple who facilitated Burham’s arrest identified themselves in an interview with NBC News as Cindy and Ron Ecklund. The Ecklunds asserted their belief that they may be eligible for a $22,000 reward which officials had offered for information about Burham’s whereabouts.
Investigators received the tip about Burhan from the Ecklunds in Conewango Township just before 4pm Saturday, and Burham was arrested about two hours later, said Lt Col George Bivens, the deputy commissioner of operations for the Pennsylvania state police.
The pair went out in a golf cart to see why their dog was barking and encountered Burham in the rear of their property.
“Gentleman stands up and I asked him, ‘So, what are you doing?’” Ron Ecklund told NBC. “He said, ‘I’m camping.’”
Ron Ecklund said he soon recognized Burham from news coverage of his escape. He told his wife to get back on the golf cart so they could return to their house, according to NBC.
“We weren’t halfway up the yard and I’m like: ‘Dial 911. I know exactly who that is,’” Ecklund said. “I’ve seen his picture enough. He’s been all over the news.”
Burham, tracked through the woods after that by searchers with the help of two dogs, encountered troopers on a road who were part of a perimeter set up, Bivens said. He went prone and tried to hide but was approached from behind by federal marshals, border patrol and state police and arrested at gunpoint, Bivens said.
Burham was being held on arson and burglary charges and was a suspect in a homicide investigation, police said. He was also associated with a prior carjacking and kidnapping of a local couple, police said.
Investigators had notified the public that Burham was also known for outdoor survival skills, was very familiar with the region and its terrain and was considered capable of harming residents and law enforcement officers during his escape.
Helicopters, drones and several law enforcement agencies were involved in the hunt, which led to the blocking off of several local streets.
Bivens thanked residents of the area for their patience during the manhunt.
“I know they were nervous, I know they were scared, but they remained gracious to all of our people,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
