An ongoing manhunt for Erin Frein, who shot and killed Pennsylvania state trooper Bryon Dickson on Sept. 12, has prompted the Pennsylvania town of Barrett to cancel Halloween activities. Believing it would give Frein a place and time to strike as well as a means of escape, the town has canceled its annual Halloween Parade and 5K Scarecrow Race.

“This parade is probably one of the biggest events that the town has every year,” Ralph Megliola, chairman of the township’s Board of Supervisors, said to ABC News on Oct. 10. “Everyone looks forward to the parade. Myself and my family personally have been away and cut our vacation short to get home in time for the parade. Thousands of people line the streets.”

This year marked the parade’s 50th anniversary, making its cancellation even more devastating to the Barrett community. As Halloween approaches, the town is making plans to have a “trunk-or-treat” in the parking lot of a Catholic church.

Frein is a “highly dangerous survivalist” who has formerly been a part of the Cold-War era military reenactments. A “gun-enthusiast,” Frein seems to imagine this manhunt as a cat-and-mouse chase, leaving taunting clues such as two bombs and an appalling journal describing the murder of Dickson. With no less than 1000 policemen on the job, the manhunt has become a weary and daily sight for the townspeople of Barrett.

Last Tuesday a witness reported seeing Frein at the post office, a sight which prompted the Pocono Mountain School District to close down all of its campuses. As the manhunt gets closer to its seventh week, each week costing authorities about $1.1 million, the sleepy Pennsylvania town is on high alert, with low hopes for a traditional Halloween.

Info for article found at:

http://abcnews.go.com, http://articles.philly.com