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New York Assisting In Hunt For Pennsylvania State Trooper Shooting Suspect

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - New York State Crime Stoppers is pitching in to help solicit information on where the suspect is in an ambush killing of a Pennsylvania state trooper.

Cpl. Bryon Dickson was gunned down late Friday outside a rural barracks in the Pocono Mountains. His fellow trooper Alex Douglas was wounded.

Police named Eric Frein, 31, the suspect after finding his abandoned SUV nearby. They said it contained his driver's license and spent shell casings matching those at the crime scene.

Frein is 165 pounds, 6'1" with blue eyes and brown hair. There is a $75,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

Anyone with any information is urged to call the Pennsylvania State Police Tips Line at 1-866-326-7256 or Pennsyvania Crime Stoppers at 1-800-472-8477. Anyone calling the New York State Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-866-313-8477 with information about the incident will be immediately referred to those numbers.  For more information, you can also click here.

On Wednesday, authorities chased down several false sightings in their hunt for Frein, who had shaved his head in a wide Mohawk sometime before the shooting as "part of the mental preparation to commit this cowardly act,'' Lt. Col. George Bivens said Wednesday afternoon.

Frein belonged to a military simulation unit based in eastern Pennsylvania whose members play the role of soldiers from Cold War-era eastern Europe, Bivens told reporters.

"In his current frame of mind, Frein appears to have assumed that role in real life,'' Bivens said.

State police have warned the public that Frein, of Canadensis, Pa.  is considered armed and extremely dangerous, calling him an anti-law enforcement survivalist who has talked about committing mass murder.

Bivens said residents should remain "alert and vigilant,'' report suspicious activity, lock doors and keep house exteriors well lit. But he said he is "convinced Frein is engaged in a personal battle with law enforcement, particularly the Pennsylvania State Police, and likely will stay focused on that fight.''

Meanwhile, hundreds of law enforcement officers from around the country waited silently outside a northeastern Pennsylvania cathedral Thursday ahead of the funeral for Dickson.

Troopers lined up 10 deep as they waited for the funeral procession that will bring the body of Dickson, 38, to St. Peter's Cathedral in Scranton. Two gigantic American flags were strung between the crossed ladders of fire trucks parked at each end of the block, and a bell tolled for many minutes.

Dickson, a Marine Corps veteran who joined the state police in 2007 and had worked as a patrol unit supervisor in the Blooming Grove barracks since June, is survived by his wife of 10 years and two young sons.

Randy Millhouse, owner of the Promised Land Inn with his wife, put up a sign outside that said "RIP CRPL BRYON DICKSON," one of many such public displays of honor, respect and grief for the fallen lawman.

"I was devastated because I have troopers that come in here for dinner and lunch," Millhouse said. "I was pretty well shook up, and still am until they catch him," he said, referring to the gunman who police believe is hiding somewhere in the dense forest punctuated by private communities, vacation homes and hunting cabins.

Click here for additional coverage from our colleagues at CBS Philadelphia.

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