Three decades of sylvan solitude
haven't done any harm to Christopher Knight's mojo. The North Pond
Hermit has already received one marriage proposal since his arrest for
robbery earlier this month.
Despite spending 27 years in the woods of Maine with virtually no contact with other people, he's had plenty trying to get close to him since bursting onto the headlines, officials said.
The offers Knight has received from total strangers have prompted authorities to hike his bail by 5,000 per cent, out of fears unscrupulous characters may try to exploit him.
Someone called the jail where he's being held with a marriage proposal while a man Knight didn't know showed up on Saturday night offering to pay his $5,000 bail, The Kennebec Journal reported.
Worried Knight could be the target of someone looking to capitalise on his notoriety, authorities charged him with two additional counts of burglary and theft and increased his bail to $250,000.
Maine State Trooper Diane Perkins-Vance told the Journal: 'My job is to ensure he does appear in court. But there's a lot of people out there trying to exploit him.'
District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said the big bail increase is unusual, but then this is an unusual case.
'The first concern is he might be a flight risk,' she said. 'The second concern is the group of people who are interested in posting bail for Mr Knight who are not from our state and not members of his family.
'I will remain concerned for Mr Knight until he has an attorney helping him to navigate what is a new world to him.'
Police said Knight may have been responsible for as many as 1,000 burglaries over the years, raiding cottages and campsites for food, cooking gear, sleeping bags, tents and other goods to help him survive.
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The 47-year-old was wearing brand-new
shoes and gloves, all thought to be stolen, when he was caught and as
officers dismantled his camp they discovered goods including high-end
L.L. Bean sleeping bags and a new tent.
Officers filled two pickup trucks as they took apart Knight's camp last week, later displaying what they were calling evidence for locals to sort through to try to recover their stolen goods.
There were several Nintendo Game Boys and a wristwatch, along with shovels, rakes, coolers, cooking gear, a coffee pot and even toilet paper.
Authorities said Knight used logs on
the ground as a makeshift commode and, at one point, attached an antenna
to a treetop so he could get better reception on his battery-powered
TV.
His tarp-covered camp was so well constructed that it was initially thought Knight might have been a military veteran due to his outdoor living skills.
Going to great lengths to make the camp invisible from the air, Knight told 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.
Trooper Perkins-Vance said that his
camp faced east and west to make best use of the sun and Knight told
wardens that he had been watching one particular mushroom grow for the
past four years.
Many locals said they were relieved by Knight's arrest after years of break-ins. Before the camp's dismantling, some hiked about a mile into the woods with police to try to get a look at the hermit's camp.
Knight was arrested after tripping a surveillance sensor set up by a game warden while stealing food from a camp for people with special needs, authorities said.
In his police mug shot, Knight is clean-shaven, has short-cropped hair and is sporting Eighties-style glasses.
It's a different look than in his photo from the 1984 yearbook from Lawrence High School in Fairfield, Maine. In that, Knight is wearing horn-rimmed glasses and has long, thick dark hair as he leans against a tree.
The caption accompanying the picture says Knight's plans were to become a computer technician. But authorities said by the time he was about 19, he'd disappeared into the woods.
Authorities say Knight doesn't show signs of mental illness and they've uncovered no other motive for his seclusion except that he wanted to be alone.
Knight is now in the general jail population and is said to be doing well despite his years of isolation.
'He's smiling, pleasant,' said Trooper Perkins-Vance. 'He's a very humble man.'
Despite spending 27 years in the woods of Maine with virtually no contact with other people, he's had plenty trying to get close to him since bursting onto the headlines, officials said.
The offers Knight has received from total strangers have prompted authorities to hike his bail by 5,000 per cent, out of fears unscrupulous characters may try to exploit him.
Someone called the jail where he's being held with a marriage proposal while a man Knight didn't know showed up on Saturday night offering to pay his $5,000 bail, The Kennebec Journal reported.
Worried Knight could be the target of someone looking to capitalise on his notoriety, authorities charged him with two additional counts of burglary and theft and increased his bail to $250,000.
Maine State Trooper Diane Perkins-Vance told the Journal: 'My job is to ensure he does appear in court. But there's a lot of people out there trying to exploit him.'
District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said the big bail increase is unusual, but then this is an unusual case.
'The first concern is he might be a flight risk,' she said. 'The second concern is the group of people who are interested in posting bail for Mr Knight who are not from our state and not members of his family.
'I will remain concerned for Mr Knight until he has an attorney helping him to navigate what is a new world to him.'
Police said Knight may have been responsible for as many as 1,000 burglaries over the years, raiding cottages and campsites for food, cooking gear, sleeping bags, tents and other goods to help him survive.
Scroll down for video
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
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
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
Survival tools: Items allegedly used by Knight,
known as the North Pond Hermit, are displayed by Maine Department of
Public Safety
Officers filled two pickup trucks as they took apart Knight's camp last week, later displaying what they were calling evidence for locals to sort through to try to recover their stolen goods.
There were several Nintendo Game Boys and a wristwatch, along with shovels, rakes, coolers, cooking gear, a coffee pot and even toilet paper.
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
Well-camouflaged: His tarpaulin-covered camp was
so well constructed that it was initially thought Knight might have
been a veteran due to his outdoor living skills
His tarp-covered camp was so well constructed that it was initially thought Knight might have been a military veteran due to his outdoor living skills.
Going to great lengths to make the camp invisible from the air, Knight told 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.
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
Many locals said they were relieved by Knight's arrest after years of break-ins. Before the camp's dismantling, some hiked about a mile into the woods with police to try to get a look at the hermit's camp.
Knight was arrested after tripping a surveillance sensor set up by a game warden while stealing food from a camp for people with special needs, authorities said.
Knight pictured in his 1984 school yearbook: Authorities said by the time he was about 19, he'd disappeared into the woods.
It's a different look than in his photo from the 1984 yearbook from Lawrence High School in Fairfield, Maine. In that, Knight is wearing horn-rimmed glasses and has long, thick dark hair as he leans against a tree.
The caption accompanying the picture says Knight's plans were to become a computer technician. But authorities said by the time he was about 19, he'd disappeared into the woods.
Authorities say Knight doesn't show signs of mental illness and they've uncovered no other motive for his seclusion except that he wanted to be alone.
Knight is now in the general jail population and is said to be doing well despite his years of isolation.
'He's smiling, pleasant,' said Trooper Perkins-Vance. 'He's a very humble man.'