(NECN: Marnie MacLean) - Police in Maine provided a closer look at some of the items the man known as the "North Pond Hermit" used to survive in the woods of central Maine over the past 27 years.
Forty-seven-year-old Christopher Knight was arrested last week after game wardens caught him burglarizing a summer camp in Rome. It was a satisfying capture for law enforcement. They suspect Knight in up to 1,000 camp burglaries over the years. He had become local legend, a mystery man who stole from camps but only took items someone would need to survive.
Louise Proulx says her camp has been robbed 15 times.
She suspects the hermit took food, batteries and other basic survival items.
"Of course you feel somewhat violated that someone has been in your locked house, camp," Proulx said.
But she also says they were never afraid because the hermit didn't damage the homes he stole from.
For now, there's no clear answer to explain why Knight walked into the woods when he was 19 and never looked back. His elderly mother lives in Albion about 45 minutes away from the campsite. Police say the family never filed a missing person report.
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Even his alleged victims say they feel some sympathy for Knight. They wonder how someone could live so alone for so many years.
That's a question only Christopher Knight can answer. His campsite is now evidence, his home is now the Kennebec County jail and the life he tried so hard to hide is now on public view.
