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bluedigger

(17,077 posts)
Wed Apr 10, 2013, 11:35 AM Apr 2013

'North Pond Hermit,' suspect in more than 1,000 Maine burglaries, captured

[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#dcdcdc; padding-bottom:5px; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom:none; border-radius:0.4615em 0.4615em 0em 0em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]'North Pond Hermit,' suspect in more than 1,000 Maine burglaries, captured
Christopher Knight, 47, committed burglaries to survive solitary life in the woods of Rome, Maine, for 27 years.
[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#f0f0f0; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top:none; border-radius:0em 0em 0.4615em 0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]By Craig Crosby Kennebec Journal
ROME — Christopher Knight went into the central Maine wilderness 27 years ago.

He built a hut on a slope in the woods, where he spent his days reading books and meditating.

There he lived: re-entering civilization only to steal supplies from camps under the cover of darkness. During those nearly three decades, he spoke just once to another person — until he was arrested during a burglary last week.

In between, Knight told police, he committed more than 1,000 burglaries, always taking only what he needed to survive. He became so familiar for his thievery and elusiveness that he spawned the local legend of the North Pond Hermit, who for years confounded both locals and police investigating the break-ins.

In June 2005, the Morning Sentinel published a story about the "hermit of North Pond," who, it said, "for the last 15 years has been picking his way through dozens of the 300 or so camps around North Pond."
http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/North-Pond-Hermit-suspect-in-more-than-1000-burglaries-captured.html?pagenum=1

This story is on a par with those of the last Japanese WWII holdouts in the Pacific. I have no idea how he survived so many Maine winters without a fire, even. Much more, including photos at the link.

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'North Pond Hermit,' suspect in more than 1,000 Maine burglaries, captured (Original Post) bluedigger Apr 2013 OP
Twenty-seven years with only a single 'heya'... Scuba Apr 2013 #1
Heh. bluedigger Apr 2013 #2
Well, we have Lakes Michigan and Superior, but seem to enjoy naming every mud puddle a "lake". Scuba Apr 2013 #7
There's really no rhyme or reason to it in Maine. bluedigger Apr 2013 #8
We have "creeks", but half the population calls them "cricks". Scuba Apr 2013 #9
I would admire what he did if he had....... Bonhomme Richard Apr 2013 #3
WBLM was the first FM classic rock station in Maine. bluedigger Apr 2013 #4
Was he ever reported missing? Are his parents still alive? Any relatives left? Boy, news reporting Nay Apr 2013 #5
That is curious, isn't it. bluedigger Apr 2013 #6
Aside from the larceny, what an absolutely intriguing story... Earth_First Apr 2013 #10
Someday it will make a good book. bluedigger Apr 2013 #11
Update bluedigger Apr 2013 #12
I hope they get this guy some help Marrah_G Apr 2013 #13
I think they will. bluedigger Apr 2013 #14
Updates 4/15/13 bluedigger Apr 2013 #15
 

Scuba

(53,475 posts)
1. Twenty-seven years with only a single 'heya'...
Wed Apr 10, 2013, 11:53 AM
Apr 2013
Christopher Thomas Knight's first contact with another human being in 27 years — outside of that hiker with whom he exchanged a greeting in the mid-1990s — came around 1:15 a.m. Thursday.

Hughes said he arrested Knight as he carried meat and other food from Pine Tree Camp in Rome, which serves children and adults with disabilities.




The story aside, I love how Mainers use the word "pond" to describe any body of water smaller than an ocean. North Pond, for instance, is about three miles long. Here in Wisconsin, if you can't throw a stone all the way across, it's too big to be a "pond".

bluedigger

(17,077 posts)
2. Heh.
Wed Apr 10, 2013, 12:00 PM
Apr 2013

Yeah, I've canoed across North Pond. Or rather the length of it. Took a while.

I guess it's because we actually have an ocean for reference.

 

Scuba

(53,475 posts)
7. Well, we have Lakes Michigan and Superior, but seem to enjoy naming every mud puddle a "lake".
Wed Apr 10, 2013, 01:05 PM
Apr 2013

bluedigger

(17,077 posts)
8. There's really no rhyme or reason to it in Maine.
Wed Apr 10, 2013, 01:08 PM
Apr 2013

Completely interchangeable, as are "stream" and "brook". No "creeks", though.

Bonhomme Richard

(8,992 posts)
3. I would admire what he did if he had.......
Wed Apr 10, 2013, 12:11 PM
Apr 2013

done it without the stealing.
My God, sitting alone all those years and listening to Limbaugh? I can't imagine.
One lesson for the "survivalist" crowd. This is how you would have to live, walking on rocks so you don't leave tracks in the snow, limited fires because someone may see or smell the smoke, forget about shooting game with all your guns...you better be proficient with a bow because someone will hear the shots and unless the food is air dried you are back to fires again.
And always, always on edge that you will be found, or worse, ambushed by someone just a little smarter.
Not much of an existence once you get past the fantasy of it.

bluedigger

(17,077 posts)
4. WBLM was the first FM classic rock station in Maine.
Wed Apr 10, 2013, 12:23 PM
Apr 2013

It introduced me to everything.

I'm going to cut him some slack on the Limbaugh. He probably didn't have too many choices for reception in that neck of the woods using a transistor radio, even with an antenna up a tree...

Nay

(12,051 posts)
5. Was he ever reported missing? Are his parents still alive? Any relatives left? Boy, news reporting
Wed Apr 10, 2013, 12:49 PM
Apr 2013

sure has fallen down on the job.

bluedigger

(17,077 posts)
6. That is curious, isn't it.
Wed Apr 10, 2013, 01:03 PM
Apr 2013

But I'm not very surprised they had difficulty contacting any family after such a long time, or finding any records.

"Knight graduated from Lawrence High School in 1984. His senior photo in the yearbook shows him standing with his arms crossed and no hint of a smile on his face. Knight listed no clubs or activities and, for future plans, said he would be a computer technician."

A guy nobody missed.

Earth_First

(14,910 posts)
10. Aside from the larceny, what an absolutely intriguing story...
Wed Apr 10, 2013, 07:55 PM
Apr 2013

So many unanswered questions.

I almost wish I could call this man up and just listen to him divulge his story.

Thanks for the OP.

bluedigger

(17,077 posts)
11. Someday it will make a good book.
Wed Apr 10, 2013, 08:02 PM
Apr 2013

I bet he serves a short sentence, with some psychiatric treatment mandated.

bluedigger

(17,077 posts)
12. Update
Sat Apr 13, 2013, 02:06 PM
Apr 2013

ROME — Kitchen gadgets, Old Spice deodorant, an L.L. Bean sleeping bag and handheld electronics — now stuffed in plastic bins — were among the items that Christopher Knight allegedly had taken in more than 1,000 burglaries to nearby camps in order to survive more than a quarter century in the Rome woods.

Bins holding the contents of Knight’s last 27 years were piled in the middle of Pine Tree Camp’s dining hall Thursday.

Law enforcement dismantled the encampment Thursday where Knight, 47, is believed to have lived for nearly three decades.

Members of the media were supposed to visit the site believed to have belonged to the “North Pond Hermit” on Thursday morning, but were ordered by police to leave the property just as they reached the edge of the encampment.

http://www.sunjournal.com/news/maine/2013/04/12/north-pond-hermit-camp-dismantled/1347342

bluedigger

(17,077 posts)
14. I think they will.
Sat Apr 13, 2013, 07:43 PM
Apr 2013

I don't get the sense that they are looking to punish him so much as to protect the public, and rehabilitate him back into society. They will charge him with enough to get him a lengthy supervised probation where they can ensure that he gets the help he needs.

bluedigger

(17,077 posts)
15. Updates 4/15/13
Mon Apr 15, 2013, 02:20 PM
Apr 2013
AUGUSTA (AP) — The man who spent nearly three decades in the woods of Maine before his high-profile arrest earlier this month has attracted a marriage proposal and a stranger's offer to bail him out, prompting authorities to dramatically increase his bail Sunday amid fears he could be targeted for exploitation.

Christopher Knight, known as the North Pond Hermit to locals, spent 27 years in the woods with virtually no contact with other people. But in the short time since his arrest he's had a lot of people trying to get close to him, officials said.

Someone called the jail where he's being held with a marriage proposal while a man Knight didn't know showed up Saturday night offering to pay his $5,000 bail, The Kennebec Journal reported.

Worried Knight could be the target of someone looking to capitalize on his notoriety, authorities charged him with two additional counts of burglary and theft and increased his bail to $250,000. http://www.sunjournal.com/news/maine/2013/04/15/authorities-maine-hermit-attracts-marriage-offer/1348390


I guess he's quite a catch.
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