Notorious Cabin Bandit Caught after Six Years in Utah Mountains
OutdoorHub Reporters 04.03.13
For over half a decade, 45-year-old Troy James Knapp pillaged cabins in Utah for food, firearms, and other supplies. According to Fox News, the self-proclaimed “Mountain Man” and survivalist was captured by law enforcement after a short confrontation on Tuesday. Acting on a tip from two hunters who had sighted Knapp late last week, authorities cornered the man just outside the town of Ferron, Utah. He had on him a rifle, handgun, and camouflage clothing.
When a police helicopter arrived at the remote cabin Knapp had been hiding out in, he took a few errant shots at it with his rifle. As officers closed in on him with snowmobiles, Knapp attempted to flee the cabin on snowshoes but was quickly stopped. Knapp reportedly gave little resistance, throwing his rifle down into the snow and saying, “You got me.” The capture involved several dozen officers from four counties and multiple agencies.
While Knapp’s six-year spree could hardly be called a reign of terror, the man is believed to have broken into numerous cabins both to restock on supplies and sometimes to seek shelter during the winter. The “Mountain Man” would often leave notes and scrawl mocking letters to law enforcement inside the cabins, much to the irritation of the hunters and anglers who owned the properties. Knapp has become something of a local legend due to trail cameras snapping infrequent pictures of the bandit as he roamed deep in the forest. Wardens would sometimes find well-stocked camps filled with stolen outdoor gear and stacks of firearms, leading officials to believe that Knapp was responsible for a rash of robberies near Zion National Park and Manti-LaSal National Forest.
Although looking downcast in his prison clothes, Knapp was more than happy to recount his adventures and the extent of his crimes, even going so far as to show officers maps of the locations he previously burglarized. Knapp faces multiple felony charges, including firing at police. Thankfully, his capture did not end violently.
“We’re extremely happy and relieved,” Sanpete County Sheriff Brian Neilson told CBS News. “All of us are safer because he’s in custody at this point.”
