Michael Burham, the homicide suspect who used bedsheets to escape from a northwestern Pennsylvania jail, has been captured after a manhunt for more than a week, according to police.
Police received a tip about a suspicious person on Jackson Run Road in Conewango Township Warren County, Pa. just before 4 p.m. Saturday, according to Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police. Police say the homeowner was alerted to Burham’s presence by their barking dog. Officials say Burham was questioned by the homeowner on why he was on the property, with Burham telling the homeowner he was camping. Police say the homeowner recognized Burham, left the scene and notified police.
Burham was taken into custody after being tracked through the woods by 5:50 p.m. As Burham approached Logan Road, police say he was met by police and attempted to hide, but was approached from behind by members of the U.S. Marshals, Border Patrol and Pennsylvania State Police.
“He came out into the open and was spotted by an individual,” Bivens said. “It’s in one of the portions of the area where we have been pushing hard. And that’s been our strategy all along, to push him hard, to have him make a mistake. And he finally did.”
Police say Burham was not armed when he was taken into custody, but crews are searching for any possible firearms hidden in the area. Troopers say they found bags that were linked to Burham through DNA analysis containing ammunition.
“I told you about the bags that were recovered. We did link him to those with DNA and we knew that he had potentially access and survival equipment," Bivens said. "There was ammunition of a couple of different calibers in those bags that we found, [but] not ammunition that would have fit a weapon that he used in the original kidnapping. And so that was one of the things that led us to be concerned that he may very well be armed.”
Officials say Burham was captured while still wearing his prison pants turned inside out.
“He looks tired and worn out, as we thought that he might,” Bivens said.
Burham, 34, fled the Warren County Prison on July 6 by climbing on exercise equipment, climbing through a window and then down a rope fashioned from jail bedding, authorities said.
Burham is being held on $1 million bail and had been previously charged with kidnapping, burglary and other counts. Burham is accused of killing Kala Hodgkin in Jamestown in May and kidnapping an elderly couple in Pennsylvania.
The reward for information leading to Burham’s capture was increased to $22,000 this week. Local, multistate and federal authorities conducted search efforts in the Warren, Penn., area for more than a week.
Numerous residences, abandoned structures and wooded areas were searched using K-9 units and aerial resources such as drones and aircraft, according to authorities.
Burham is currently in custody in the Pennsylvania State Police Warren Station awaiting processing. Officials say it has yet to be determined where he will be housed following arraignment, but he will not be returned to the Warren Jail he escaped from.
Authorities are still investigating how he evaded capture and if anyone assisted him.
The Board of Commissioners of Warren County released a statement expressing their deepest regret for Burham's escape.