The hermit who hid in the remote Maine woods for nearly 30 years retained a sweet tooth and a liking for processed food according to the stash he was found with on the night he was arrested.
Known as the 'North Pond Hermit', Christopher Knight, 47, survived by stealing food, clothes and provisions from campers who came to the scenic forest. He is suspected of carrying out more than 1,000 burglaries since 1986 and was caught by police on April 4.
A police affidavit states that Hormel bacon, Sweet Tart candies, tubs of Folger’s coffee, potato chips, corn syrup, a large amount of cheese, marshmallows and $395 in cash when he was seized.
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No friends, but lots of stuff: A coffee pot was one of the many items removed from the camp used by Christopher Knight. Other items found included Nintendo Game Boys and high-end sleeping bags
Christopher Knight, 47, is shown in this Kennebec County Jail booking photo following his arrest on April 4, 2013. After almost three decades of living like a hermit near a pond in central Maine
A HERMIT'S HAUL
A full list of the items found in Christopher Knight's backpack and a gym bag when he was arrested on April 4 according to new documents:
two sets of keys
an Armitron watch
a roll of Hormel bacon
two MorningStar vegetable meals
two bags of tortellini shells
a new roll of electrical tape
10 candy items
a Stearns poncho
a brown baseball hat
blue pliers
four bottles of Poland Spring water
corn syrup
two Folgers coffee tubs
a block of American cheese
three-quarters of a pound of Imperial provolone cheese
Kraft marshmallows
a bag of Humpty Dumpty chips
two partial bags of chicken nuggets
a bag of hamburger patties
a partial bag of sausage links
a box of Special K chips
Source: Search warrant request affidavit by Trooper Diane Perkins-Vance reported by the Kennebec Journal
The documents, obtained by the Kennebec Journal, list the items Knight possessed when he was arrested on charges he stole food from a camp for children with special needs.
The collection also includes keys, pliers, electrical tape, a watch, a baseball hat, hamburger patties, chicken nuggets and vegetable meals.
Since his arrest, Knight has attracted a telephoned marriage proposal and a stranger's offer to bail him out.
Knight rejected the bail offer and remains jailed.
As officers dismantled Christopher Knight's camp they discovered goods including Nintendo Game Boys, wristwatches, high-end L.L. Bean sleeping bags and a new tent.
The 47-year-old was wearing brand-new shoes and gloves, all thought to be stolen, when he was caught after tripping a surveillance sensor at a camp last week.
Long suspected of thievery, Knight was apprehended by a Maine State Trooper stealing from the camp used by disabled children after an elaborate laser sensor system was set up to catch him in the act.
Held on $5,000 bail on charges of burglary and theft in Kennebec County Jail, Knight is having to reacquaint himself with being around people after having simply left his home on 26th April, 1986, to live in the woods of North Pond, near Rome.
Constructing a carefully concealed camp, it was initially thought Knight might have been a veteran due to his outdoor living skills.
Going to great lengths to make the camp invisible from the air, Knight told Maine State Trooper Diane Perkins-Vance that he never lit a fire, even on the coldest nights, in case he was detected.
He would cover shiny surfaces such as his metal trash cans with moss and dirt and painted green a clear plastic sheet that covered his tent.
Perkins-Vance said that his campsite faced east and west to make the best use of the sun and Knight told wardens that he had been watching one particular mushroom grow for the past four years.
Finding evidence of a rudimentary radio mast, Knight told lawofficers that he did listen and that Rush Limbaugh was a favorite of his.
'He said he just came into the woods one day in 1986,' said Perkins-Vance to the Morning Sentinel.
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'He claims he hadn't had a conversation with another human being since the mid-1990s, when he encountered someone on a trail.
'I was the first person he talked to since the 1990s. People are like, 'No way!' But yeah, it's true.'
He would have needed it: An L.L. Bean sleeping bag found in Knight's camp. He has told investigators he never lit fires to avoid being detected by the authorities
Maine State Police photo shows the makeshift camp site of Christopher Knight for 27 years in Rome, Maine taken following his arrest on April 4, 2013
Residents of the town with a year-round population of about 1,000 say they've been aware of the hermit for years, often in connection with break-ins that have occurred.
Some have spotted him walking along the side of the lake known as Great Pond and others have seen his living quarters, which include a tent covered by tarps suspended between trees, a bed, propane cooking stoves and a battery-run radio.
While Knight has not told law enforcement why he left society, he has admitted his favorite book is Robinson Crusoe, which is, of course, the tale of one man stranded on a tropical island for decades.
Incredibly he says he hasn't seen his own reflection in 20-years.
Admitting to having had a good childhood, Knight has said he withdrew to the woods after the April 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Russia - but said to Perkins-Vance he remembers that date only to mark his departure, not as a reason.
Taken away: State Trooper Sean Kinney carries a trash can containing one of the tents used by Christopher Knight. Authorities filled two pickups trucks with things as they took apart Knight's camp
Creature comforts: Maine State Police photo shows the makeshift camp site of Christopher Knight where he lived for almost three decades as a hermit near a pond in central Maine
'He didn't give a reason,' Perkins-Vance said to the Morning Sentinel. 'He said he frequently asks himself that same question.'
Knight's second encounter with a human being in 27-years came at 1.15 a.m. on Thursday when he was arrested at Pine Tree Camp, which was set up for children and adults with disabilities.
Having already suspected Knight as being behind hundreds of late night robberies at the camp - stealing goods worth thousands of dollars - Sgt. Terry Hughes of the Maine Warden Service set up surveillance equipment and laser detectors to catch Knight.
'I was extremely confident he would be apprehended,' Hughes said. 'I knew sooner or later he was going to trip that camera.'
Tripping the lasers, which recorded him stealing, Hughes identified himself to Knight and state troopers arrested him carrying around $280 worth of food.
Describing Knight as clean-shaven and balding, Hughes said the hermit was wearing clean jeans and a clean shirt.
'You could walk into a store and walk by him and never know,' Hughes said.
Surveillance: Hermit caught after 27 years of burglaries
Christopher Knight is shown in this 2012 surveillance photo from a private dwelling break-in released by Maine State Police on April 10, 2013
Caught in the Act: Christopher Knight is shown in this 2012 surveillance photo released by Maine State Police on April 10, 2013
Law enforcement officials added that Knight was carrying molding money on him that dated back to the 1990s, 'in case he needed to go to the store one day'.
He admitted to 40 burglaries carried out over 27-years, but Perkins-Vance believes the actual figure to be nearer 1,000.
'I would say it's well over 1,000 burglaries,' Perkins-Vance said to the Morning Sentinel. 'He did it to survive. Everything he stole was to survive.'
Indeed, on his arrest, Knight admitted that everything he was wearing and owned was stolen - apart from his aviator sunglasses which he has owned since 1986.
Despite his solitude, Knight's conversational skills had not diminished.
'He was very intelligent,' Perkins-Vance said.
Caught in the Act: Christopher Knight is shown in this 2012 surveillance photo released by Maine State Police on April 10, 2013
'He thought about what he wanted to say before he said it and was very articulate,' said Hughes.
Graduating from Lawrence High School in 1984, Knight's yearbook entry listed no clubs or activities aside from an interest in computers.
He admitted to police that despite his survival skills he couldn't hunt and everything that he ate was stolen.
'He doesn't hunt,' Hughes said. 'He tried fishing a few times but it was too much work.'
Spending his days reading and meditating, Knight even admitted to stealing his books.
Shaving without the aid of a mirror, Knight told police that he used a nearby pond to get his reflection.
'He hasn't seen himself in the mirror for well over 20 years,' Hughes said to the Morning Sentinel. 'It's a very unusual situation.'
However, now in custody, Knight has expressed shame and remorse for his three decades of thefts.
'He owned up to it and understood it was wrong,' Hughes said. 'He immediately identifies things as being stolen. He connected the dots of his actions being wrong. I was very surprised by that.'
And as a tragic footnote, Knight admitted that his solitude brought him close to suicide and was no glad that his seclusion was over.
'I think he's been alone for so many years that a part of him wanted to give up,' Hughes said. 'But the other part that wanted to stay was stronger.'