Forensic tests show that a black Porsche Cayman found abandoned on a country road in the Delaware County town of Bovina on Oct. 22 has no connection to wanted fugitive Eric Matthew Frein, who is accused of shooting two state police officers, one of them fatally, in Pennsylvania in September.
"Nothing ties the vehicle to Frein," Nathan Riegal, a spokesman for the New York State Police, told the Watershed Post on Monday, Oct. 27.
Riegal said that DNA and fingerprint tests were conducted on the Porsche by the New York State Police's forensics lab. The results of the tests showed that there is no evidence that the Porsche was used by Frein, Riegal said.
Police initially suspected that Frein used the car to escape Pennsylvania, where he has been the subject of a manhunt since Sept. 12. The Porsche was stolen on Oct. 18 about 15 miles from the epicenter of the manhunt.
The discovery of the car last week prompted a large all-night police investigation in the rural woods of Bovina. The Delaware County Sheriff's Office ran the car's plates and discovered that it had been reported as stolen from the Pocono Mountain region in Pennsylvania, not far from where Frein is believed to be hiding out in the woods from police.
About 50 police officers, including SWAT team members, descended on Bovina to look for Frein on the night of Oct. 22. Delaware County Sheriff Tom Mills later explained that his department was taking no chances.
"We just wanted to err on the side of caution," Mills said.
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Abandoned car sparks search for Pennsylvania shooter in Bovina
