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Manhunt Keeps Students Home from School Again

POCONO TOWNSHIP — The Swiftwater area is on high alert as the search continues for alleged cop killer Eric Frein. Bloodhounds and state troopers converged...

POCONO TOWNSHIP -- The Swiftwater area is on high alert as the search continues for alleged cop killer Eric Frein.

Bloodhounds and state troopers converged off Route 611 Tuesday morning, checking a clothing donation bin.

Extra security has been added at the Swiftwater barracks, too, about a quarter mile up the road.

Students from Monsignor McHugh School, Evergreen Community Charter School stayed home again. Pocono Mountain schools closed as well, for the fifth time since the manhunt began.

"I was still supposed to be at work, but I asked my supervisor could I leave because my son was home. They closed the school again, so I had to leave work early," said parent Tammy Ricks.

Tammy Ricks' son James came with her to drop off some recycling and instead ran right into the police activity.

The ninth grader said they've practiced emergency drills in school just in case Frein might appear.

"Lock the doors, turn the lights out so they don`t know that we`re in there, and make sure no one can get in and out of the doors," James Ricks said.

Instead of holding class, Pocono Mountain's Swiftwater campus was filled with FBI and teams of troopers, searching for signs of Frein. After several possible sightings in that area the school district released a statement.

"Having law enforcement take the time to go through our schools to make sure they are secure is very reassuring to me and should also be reassuring to the parents of our students," Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Robison said in a statement.

"I have mixed feelings about it because a bullet don`t have no name.  So if they find this guy in and around the school and the kids are out, it could be dangerous," Tammy Ricks said.

The search continues to disrupt more than school schedules. James Tully of Price Township said he can't walk to work in the Canadensis area without being mistaken for Frein. He now wears his ID badge and a bright reflective vest on his five mile trek.

"The one they`re hunting for, he`s not going to stand out. He`s going to try and blend in.  I want to stand out so I can let them know, I`m not the one they`re looking for.  Just let me go on my way," Tully said.

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