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| Christopher Knight: inside the Maine hermit's lair | Christopher Knight: inside the Maine hermit's lair |
| (25 days later) | |
| He would meditate on an overturned bucket while staring up at the sky and knew all the eagles that nested nearby. And in his 27 years of seclusion in the woods, Christopher Knight also refined his tastes in the food and gear he stole to survive, authorities said on Thursday after dismantling the hermit's lair in the far north-eastern state of Maine. | He would meditate on an overturned bucket while staring up at the sky and knew all the eagles that nested nearby. And in his 27 years of seclusion in the woods, Christopher Knight also refined his tastes in the food and gear he stole to survive, authorities said on Thursday after dismantling the hermit's lair in the far north-eastern state of Maine. |
| In the 47-year-old's camp they recovered goods that included high-end LL Bean sleeping bags and a new tent. | In the 47-year-old's camp they recovered goods that included high-end LL Bean sleeping bags and a new tent. |
| He was wearing brand-new shoes and gloves, all believed stolen, when authorities arrested him after he tripped a surveillance sensor at a camp last week. They believe Knight may be responsible for more than 1,000 burglaries of food and other staples during the nearly three decades he hid in the woods. | He was wearing brand-new shoes and gloves, all believed stolen, when authorities arrested him after he tripped a surveillance sensor at a camp last week. They believe Knight may be responsible for more than 1,000 burglaries of food and other staples during the nearly three decades he hid in the woods. |
| Game warden Sergeant Terry Hughes said on Thursday that authorities believed Knight broke into cottages and stole quality products because they would last longer and help perpetuate his life of solitude. And the hermit apparently didn't steal fridge leftovers either. | Game warden Sergeant Terry Hughes said on Thursday that authorities believed Knight broke into cottages and stole quality products because they would last longer and help perpetuate his life of solitude. And the hermit apparently didn't steal fridge leftovers either. |
| "He was a fussy eater," said Dave Proulx, a nearby cottage owner who tried to capture the hermit six or seven years ago after falling victim to more than a dozen break-ins. | "He was a fussy eater," said Dave Proulx, a nearby cottage owner who tried to capture the hermit six or seven years ago after falling victim to more than a dozen break-ins. |
| Proulx, who said he came face to face with Knight while staking out his own cottage, said the hermit never made off with meat that wasn't in its original packaging. On the rainy, cloudy night of their encounter the hermit escaped by canoe after Proulx threw on a floodlight and chased him to a dock, Proulx said. | Proulx, who said he came face to face with Knight while staking out his own cottage, said the hermit never made off with meat that wasn't in its original packaging. On the rainy, cloudy night of their encounter the hermit escaped by canoe after Proulx threw on a floodlight and chased him to a dock, Proulx said. |
| Authorities filled two pickup trucks on Thursday as they took apart Knight's camp, later displaying what they were calling evidence for local folks to sort through to try to recover their stolen goods. There were several Nintendo Game Boys and a wristwatch, along with shovels, rakes, coolers, cooking gear, a coffee pot and toilet paper. | Authorities filled two pickup trucks on Thursday as they took apart Knight's camp, later displaying what they were calling evidence for local folks to sort through to try to recover their stolen goods. There were several Nintendo Game Boys and a wristwatch, along with shovels, rakes, coolers, cooking gear, a coffee pot and toilet paper. |
| Authorities said Knight used logs on the ground as a makeshift commode, and at one point attached an antenna to a treetop so he could get reception on a battery-powered TV in his tarp-covered camp. | Authorities said Knight used logs on the ground as a makeshift commode, and at one point attached an antenna to a treetop so he could get reception on a battery-powered TV in his tarp-covered camp. |
| Many locals said they were relieved by Knight's arrest after enduring years of break-ins. Frank Ten Broeck, a retired New Jersey police official who has a cottage nearby, marvelled at Knight's fortitude. "To me this is mind-boggling. I just can't believe this guy was here 27 years," Ten Broeck said. "This is some of the most severe weather you can go through." | Many locals said they were relieved by Knight's arrest after enduring years of break-ins. Frank Ten Broeck, a retired New Jersey police official who has a cottage nearby, marvelled at Knight's fortitude. "To me this is mind-boggling. I just can't believe this guy was here 27 years," Ten Broeck said. "This is some of the most severe weather you can go through." |
| A corrections officer at Kennebec county jail in Augusta said Knight was refusing requests for interviews. He had applied for a court-appointed lawyer and had not entered a plea to the burglary and theft charges stemming from the break-in at Pine Tree Camp, a facility for special needs people. | A corrections officer at Kennebec county jail in Augusta said Knight was refusing requests for interviews. He had applied for a court-appointed lawyer and had not entered a plea to the burglary and theft charges stemming from the break-in at Pine Tree Camp, a facility for special needs people. |
| Authorities said they caught Knight with $283 in goods in his backpack after he fell into a trap set by Hughes, who has been trying to capture the elusive woodsman for years. | Authorities said they caught Knight with $283 in goods in his backpack after he fell into a trap set by Hughes, who has been trying to capture the elusive woodsman for years. |
| In his police mugshot Knight is clean-shaven and wears a style of spectacles from the 1980s. It's a contrast with his photo out of the 1984 yearbook of Lawrence high school in Fairfield, Maine. In it Knight is wearing horn-rimmed glasses and has long, thick dark hair as he leans against a tree. | In his police mugshot Knight is clean-shaven and wears a style of spectacles from the 1980s. It's a contrast with his photo out of the 1984 yearbook of Lawrence high school in Fairfield, Maine. In it Knight is wearing horn-rimmed glasses and has long, thick dark hair as he leans against a tree. |
| The blurb accompanying the picture says he plans to become a computer technician. But authorities said by the time he was about 19 he had disappeared into the woods. | The blurb accompanying the picture says he plans to become a computer technician. But authorities said by the time he was about 19 he had disappeared into the woods. |
| Authorities say Knight does not show signs of mental illness and they have uncovered no other motive for his seclusion except that he wanted to be alone. | Authorities say Knight does not show signs of mental illness and they have uncovered no other motive for his seclusion except that he wanted to be alone. |
| Knight's arrest came a little more than a week after the capture of a self-styled mountain man in Utah who shared some of the same traits. For six years Troy James Knapp ransacked cabins on national forest land for guns, food and high-end camping gear, authorities said. | Knight's arrest came a little more than a week after the capture of a self-styled mountain man in Utah who shared some of the same traits. For six years Troy James Knapp ransacked cabins on national forest land for guns, food and high-end camping gear, authorities said. |
| Knapp, a 45-year-old California parolee who went on the run in 2004, faces 29 burglary-related felony and misdemeanour charges in Utah that could keep him in prison for life. | Knapp, a 45-year-old California parolee who went on the run in 2004, faces 29 burglary-related felony and misdemeanour charges in Utah that could keep him in prison for life. |
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