REVEALED: How ‘dangerous self-taught’ survivalist Michael Burham used bed sheets to rappel himself out of Pennsylvania jail – as authorities investigate if he had inside help to escape
- Burham escaped from the Warren County Jail near Lake Erie last Thursday
- He is wanted for charges including rape, murder, arson and kidnapping
“Dangerous,” self-taught survivalist Michael Burham abseiled in bed sheets from the Pennsylvania jail where he was being held on murder and rape charges last week after using a hoisting machine to gain access to the building’s roof.
Burham, 34, has been on the run since last Thursday when he fled The Warren County. The prison is located in a remote part of the state just 70 miles southeast of Lake Erie, adjacent to the Allegheny National Forest.
Around 150 police officers are searching for Burham, who has been held on a range of charges and is the prime suspect in the shooting death of a woman in May.
Earlier this week, investigators found mini-campsites near the jail where they thought he could have stayed.
Now the Pennsylvania State Police are investigating whether Burham had help from someone who worked at the prison.
Burham has an extensive military background, having spent more than ten years in the Army Reserve as a water treatment specialist.
Michael Burham escaped from Warren County Jail in Pennsylvania last Thursday
The criminal abseiled from this building (pictured) with sheets tied together after heaving himself onto a roof by climbing on a pull-up machine
The prison is located in a remote part of the state just 70 miles southeast of Lake Erie, adjacent to the Allegheny National Forest
Fox News cites military sources as saying that although he was never deployed, he undertook additional firearms training while in reserve.
Authorities say he’s a “self-trained survivalist” who may now be hiding out in the Allegheny National Forest — which covers more than half a million acres of rural Pennsylvania on the New York border.
District Attorney Jason Schmidt of Chautauqua County, New York, said last month that Burham was the prime suspect in the May 11 murder of Kala Hodgkin, 34, and a related arson attack in Jamestown, New York.
At the time of her death, he was wanted on a separate charge of rape.
After allegedly shooting her dead, he went on the run for two weeks and hijacked an elderly couple’s car.
Burham was arrested in May after two weeks on the run. He was wanted for rape and murder, among other things
Authorities say he is best recognized by his distinctive tiger tattoos
On May 24, he was finally arrested and taken into custody.
Burham is the “prime suspect” in the shooting of 34-year-old Kala Hodgkin in May
The young mother was found dead at her home after an 911 call reported shots had been fired.
Authorities also allege that he kidnapped an elderly couple in Pennsylvania while trying to evade capture prior to his arrest in South Carolina.
Warren City Police said Burham is “considered to be very dangerous” – but he is leaving “breadcrumbs” behind that are helping authorities.
“You’re chasing a ghost.” But he drops breadcrumbs. That’s a good thing – these are mistakes on his part.
“He might be a survivor, but so are the US Marshals. “Once the noose tightens and they make that mistake, it’s all over,” Lenny DePaul, a retired US Marshals Service commander, told the New York Post.
The US Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $7,500 for information leading to Burham’s capture. Warren County Crime Stoppers is offering an additional $2,000.
Warren County Police are concerned Burham “may be getting help from someone.”
Local, state and federal investigators are on the ground and in the air searching for the alleged killer