The Eric Frein manhunt displaced a Halloween celebration in Pennsylvania's Barrett Township on Sunday, just a day before police received a "blimp in a box" to use in the search.
"My son would have not gone trick-or-treating in Barrett Township," said Jessica Romeo, whose son was one of hundreds who participated in the "Trunk-or-Treat" event held at Monsignor McHugh School.
According to PA Live, the annual Halloween parade and trick-or-treat had to be cancelled because of the manhunt, but community members banded together to hand out candy from the trunks of their cars in the high school parking lot. Roughly 70 cars turned out for the event, and M&M's helped out by donating candy. Gov. Tom Corbett's wife, Susan, also attended and handed out treats.
"As a community everyone came together to enjoy Halloween," Romeo said.
"It shows that we are a proud community and that everybody looks out for each other and wants everyone to have fun," said another local resident, James Bonafacio.
The next day, state police got their own treat in the form a $180,000 surveillance balloon, donated for use by the Ohio Department of Transportation.
NBC News tweeted out pictures of the blimp's launch, which carried the "blimp in a box" 1,000 feet into the air to survey the heavily wooded area on the border of Pike and Monroe Counties.
"It can stay up for several days at a time," said Dan Erdberg, COO of Drone Aviation Corp., which developed the balloon. "It looks anywhere you want," he added, noting that it uses infrared cameras to survey at night.
Frein, 31, has been eluding authorities in the woods since September 12, when he allegedly killed one state trooper and wounded another during a surprise attack on the Blooming Grove state police barracks.
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