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Pennsylvania police have deployed a
$180,000 "blimp in a box" — a tethered helium balloon equipped with
cameras — to search dense woods for suspected cop-killed Eric Frein, who
has been on the run for six weeks. The experimental gizmo is on loan
from the Ohio Department of Transportation, which bought it over the
summer. Police say it could be useful in the search for Frein because
it's silent, while helicopters are noisy, and it's much less expensive
to use.
Drone Aviation Corp.,
which developed the blimp, said it's designed to fly up to 1,000 feet in
the air, though federal aviation authorities must be notified if it
goes higher than 500 feet. "It can stay up for several days at a time,"
said Dan Erdberg, the company's chief operating officer. It's equipped
with two cameras — one for day, and infrared for night. "It looks
anywhere you want," Erdberg said.
Ohio sent two employees
to Pennsylvania with the balloon, "Maneuvering the system itself can be
tricky," said spokesman Steve Faulkner. "It works great under great
conditions. When it gets to be windy, there are some drift issues that
make it tricky to operate."
Investigators believe
Frein is hiding out in the woods on the border of Pike and Monroe
Counties, where they found a campsite and a diary in which he recounted
shooting two state troopers at the Blooming Grove barracks on Sept. 12.
Frein, who is on the FBI's most wanted list, is a self-taught
survivalist who allegedly prepped for the ambush and his escape for
months. He allegedly booby-trapped one of his hideouts with homemade
pipe bombs.
Drone Aviation Corporation
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