Urban Outskirts

Urban Outskirts :

Those areas of the world that are neither in nor out of society.  At the time of this writing, Eric Frein self-styled “survivalist” and killer of Pennsylvania State Trooper Bryon Dickson is still at large.

The man hunt goes on and has been burning through the man hours, equipment hours and tax payer dollars for the last fortnight. Things to consider when searching for or for that matter hiding from full scale search operations. Out of the way places are not that far away or hard to get to.

Being “on the lamb” requires cover and concealment to be sure but unless you have incredible resources, the need to resupply and gather intelligence is almost as important. Watch a homeless person for clues as to where to disappear and you might be surprised just how close out of the way places can be.

Deep forest is by far the best place to hide if you are of the right mind set and have a steely constitution, but the fact is most of us do not. The hardships of being in an escape and evasion scenario are much more stressful then people without training can cope with. Moreover today’s thermal imaging technology makes it very hard to hide in most non developed areas. Just ask Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev about how well this worked for him or Mexican drug mule trains how much they have had to dump because of helicopters so equipped.

Hiding in a crowd is great if you are unknown to others. This makes hiding in a small community impossible. The nice thing about Mayberry was they all knew each other. Trying to stay hidden here is like being the roach on the wedding cake.  Melting into the background of a busy city is very easy indeed if your image is not plastered on every newspaper, side of a bus and TV screen.

So if built up areas are out and wilderness areas are out where does a person dwell to evade detection and not be off the information / resupply grid? Ask a transient, they’ll tell you.…borders, cushions, high speed traffic areas.  These areas are good hiding places for a number of reasons. First they are not in town but are close. People do not spend time there; they pass through and usually at speed.  They are easy to keep under surveillance; a person can glean much information about search operations by observing the goings on in or on these areas and usually from a safe distance. Once searched, cleared and occupied by the search teams the “we cleared this area” mind set sinks in and the area becomes a viable hiding spot. This mind you will not last for long however.  Statistically the odds of someone cutting sign are good, but it might give the search team enough reason to believe the fox has slipped the coop, that would be the time to displace. Teams must keep assets here or patrols in these areas to ensure they are truly clear and stay clear.

Movement at night or during bad weather gives searchers one more obstacle to content with and a heightened awareness is necessary at these times. Areas around bridges, factories, warehouses have hidden places only the vagrants’ and rats know.

Farms and backyard gardens my attract midnight shoppers.  Farmers don’t watch Jimmy Fallon, they go to bed early and rise with the sun.  Dogs and pickup trucks equal guns and are not great places for criminals to venture too close to.  Restaurant and shopping mall dumpsters are a smorgasbord of supplies. Rivers and other waterways are natural hiding places / travel corridors; they provide both concealment and conveyance.  

How long a search will continue is hard to say. It is based on the severity of the circumstance. If you robbed the local Seven Eleven about two hours sounds about right, kill a member of law enforcement and rest assured the hunt never stops. Eric Frein will be found and justice served. It remains to be seen if it will be by a jury of his peers or at terminal velocity.