The police of the city of Rome in the American state of Maine, after years of fruitless attempts, on April 4 managed to detain the mysterious Hermit from the North Pond, the existence of which local residents could only guess. Christopher Knight lived in the forest for 27 years, with virtually no contact with people. The hermit's visits to populated areas amounted to thefts - in holiday camps, shops, private houses and other places he obtained food and things needed in everyday life. Police suspect 47-year-old Knight of involvement in more than a thousand similar crimes.

While studying at school, Knight, who, in his own words, grew up in a prosperous family, planned to become a computer specialist (as evidenced by a photo dated 1984), but in 1986 he left civilization and settled in the forest. Knight said that this decision was made shortly after the Chernobyl accident, but the hermit did not directly link his action with the disaster, simply stating that he wanted to be alone.

Christopher equipped his camp in full accordance with military historical science: the tent had its exits facing west and east to receive maximum sun, and a green awning was stretched over it for camouflage purposes. In addition, during the 27 years of his stay in the forest, Knight never lit a fire, and disguised shiny metal objects with earth and moss - he was afraid that the camp might be noticed from the air.

On the coldest nights (in winter the temperature in those places drops below minus 10 degrees), the forest dweller had to wrap himself in several sleeping bags. To cook, he used a gas stove, the cylinders for which he stole from nearby recreation centers, such as Bear Spring Camps and Pine Tree Camp. The last camp, according to its administrators, generally became for Knight “the supermarket closest to home” - the hermit visited there regularly and carried out mainly provisions. Moreover, as the victims report, Knight was very picky about his spoils - he never took products that could quickly spoil or were, from his point of view, packaged questionably.

Local residents, naturally, could not help but notice the raids on their properties. Some even began to deliberately leave food for the mysterious tramp in unprotected places to avoid break-ins. Others initiated raids on him, combing the forest together with the police, but everything was useless. The precautions taken by Christopher were fully justified. As the owner of the Bear Spring Camps stated, many hunted near the hermit’s habitat, but no one could suspect that a human dwelling was hidden behind a pile of windfall and stones.

During one of his forays for food, Knight was almost caught by Dave Proulx, the owner of a house nearby. After about a dozen raids, Prolx decided to waylay the thief and caught him in the act on a moonless and, moreover, rainy night. Grabbing a spotlight, the owner rushed in pursuit of the burglar, but he managed to run to the shore of the Northern Pond and escape in a canoe that had been prepared in advance.

Gamekeeper Terry Hughes, who works at Pine Tree Camp, the same one that Knight used to use as a supermarket, managed to catch the Hermit from the North Pond. Hughes spent several years trying to track down the infiltrator and eventually installed motion-sensor cameras at the recreation center. When the cameras detected a suspicious (that is, moving) object, the signal went straight to Hughes' home. One night, it was this alarm that allowed a game warden to catch Christopher Knight red-handed, in whose shoulder bag there was stolen food worth $238.

Christopher Knight in a burglarized private home
Shot: CCTV video / Reuters

Knight told the police that the only verbal contact he had with a person in 27 years was around the mid-1990s, when he accidentally ran into a stranger on a path and exchanged greetings with him. Christopher brightened up his loneliness with the help of a battery-powered radio, on which he especially liked to listen to the show of Rush Limbaugh, a radio host and conservative politician. Knight's favorites also included a rock radio station.

Psychologists and other experts who discussed the story of the Hermit from the Northern Pond agreed that Knight, although he fled from civilization, did not stop enjoying the benefits of this very civilization. When he was detained, he was clean-shaven and had his hair cut short—both procedures were performed by the hermit himself by touch. In addition, Knight was dressed quite decently - in appearance he could not be mistaken for a man who had lived in the forest for 27 years. He was even wearing glasses - old-fashioned ones, obviously borrowed from him back in the 1980s.

Christopher Knight initially asked the police not to contact his relatives, but after the story of the Hermit of North Pond was picked up by the press and television, he agreed for the police to alert his mother Joyce, who lives nearby, about the incident. The detainee also asked the state to provide him with a lawyer. Shortly after his arrest, Knight was charged with several thefts from Pine Tree Camp, but in the future he will have to answer in court for many more episodes.

27 Years of Solitude Maine State Police Capture Forest Hermit