Brian Hagberg
YOUNGSVILLE, Pa. – While they have relocated their command post and created a new tip line, officials didn’t have much new information to share Tuesday in the search for Michael Burham.
Also see: Additional $10,000 reward offered for information leading to Burham’s capture
During a media conference Tuesday at the Youngsville Fire Department, Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens, Deputy Commissioner of Operations for the Pennsylvania State Police, announced that a new tip line has been established for information regarding Burham.
Anyone with information is asked to call 717-265-9650. Previous numbers for tips PSP-Warren at 814-728-3600 and Warren County Crime Stoppers 1-800-83-CRIME (27463) will still be answered.
Burham is considered armed and dangerous by the Pennsylvania State Police, and anyone who sees him is cautioned not to approach him but instead to dial 911.
“He is a dangerous individual,” Bivens said. “People should be alert to that.”
See the full media conference:
Bivens said police are receiving tips regularly and are following every lead.
“We are getting tips on a very regular basis,” Bivens said. “The coverage (of his escape) has generated additional leads, and we follow up on each tip.”
The Youngsville Fire Hall is now serving as the command post for the manhunt, which involves more than 15 law enforcement agencies and 200 officers.
While he wouldn’t get into details on Monday, Bivens did offer a glimpse into the technology being used to track Burham during Tuesday’s media conference.
“One of the things that we have done throughout this is, when we have a sighting that appears to have some possible legitimacy when we can, we will do something like DNA testing,” Bivens said. “We will use rapid DNA technology that allows us to either include or exclude. To this point, I do not have a case where we have included him in one of those sightings.”
Bivens also elaborated a bit more about various break-ins that have been reported since Burham escaped on July 6.
“We’re covering a lot of ground out there,” Bivens said. “There are many public and private cabins there are structures associated with oil and gas wells, just a variety of structures out in the (Allegheny) National Forest and on private property as well. As we’ve covered that ground, we’re finding out that in some cases, places have been just allowed to be unlocked or otherwise unsecured. We’re finding some that it appears that there may have been entry at some point in time in the past. And one of the things that I think are some of the structures that are not checked on very often. And so the fact that we find one that it appears someone may have been in there doesn’t necessarily mean it was Burham. That’s where we use additional steps to try and determine whether may have been or not. Normal crime continues to go on.”
Bivens added that police have not “conclusively” connected Burham to any of those break-ins.
While not providing specifics, Bivens said items police have found so far lead them to believe Burham is still in the general area.
“I also look at the absence of proof that he has gone anywhere else,” Bivens said.
Again, without giving specific parameters, Bivens said the general area includes Northwestern Pennsylvania and Southwestern New York and “would include an area that he’s familiar with.”
Bivens again said police believe Burham is receiving assistance and that anyone who is found to have aided Burham will face prosecution.
“That (Burham receiving assistance) certainly makes it challenging, but I will tell you that that’s not an unusual thing to occur in an investigation like this,” Bivens said. “So we adjust for that and, again, I caution anyone that is currently giving help or has contemplated it, we will prosecute you for it.”
Burham, 34, was being held in the Warren County Jail on accusations of kidnapping and burglary, charges he was arraigned for on June 19. He is also a person of interest in the murder of a New York woman in May. He originally fled the Jamestown, N.Y. area before allegedly kidnapping a Sheffield couple before being arrested in South Carolina and extradited back to Pennsylvania.
Andy Close contributed to this report.
