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Police now believe video released Friday is not Burham

Investigators have stressed that the search for jail escapee Michael Burham is a fluid situation.

That proved true again on Saturday.

On Friday, Pennsylvania State Police released video from a doorbell camera that investigators believed to include Burham. “(We) had someone come forward and assist us with identifying the person that it likely is,” Lt. Col. George Bivens said Saturday. “We no longer believe that that video is likely Burham.”

Police had other supporting information that had informed the conclusion on the video and Bivens said they believe that supporting information to be accurate. Investigators continue to believe that Burham is in the general area and “still believe that is likely” that he has a limp from an injury sustained during the escape.

Bivens again asked the public to notify them of any abandoned campsites or supplies found in the wood as people hike “this weekend and beyond.”

He also asked people to pay attention to small items that they might find missing as well as continue to lock vehicles, sheds and homes to limit access to things that might assist Burham.

Bivens said investigators responded to “several tips in and around the Warren area” in the past 24 hours that involved searches, use of dogs and clearing structures.

“At least one was promising,” he said, but “none are conclusive at this point.”

Burham is the prime suspect in the May 11 shooting death of 34-year-old Kala Hodgkin inside her William Street home in Jamestown. Afterward, the former Chautauqua County resident is accused of setting fire to another woman’s car in Jamestown.

More than a week after Hodgkin’s death, Burham allegedly kidnapped a Warren County couple from their Sheffield home at gunpoint. Using their vehicle, he drove the pair to South Carolina.The couple was found safe, and Burham was eventually taken into custody after eluding police for days by running through the woods. In June, he was extradited back to New York state where he went before a federal judge in Buffalo.

Burham had been moved to Warren County on June 19. He escaped Warren County Jail late July 6.

As the search continues into a second week, it’s fair to ask whether the 200 law enforcement officers involved in the search are discouraged.

“No, not at all,” Bivens said. “Morale is very high. We’ve been down this road before. Our people know that it sometimes takes time to find somebody…. “(I’m) very pleased with the way morale is, the spirit with which they go out every day and every night.”

It’s also impossible to know whether the search is closer to the end than the beginning. “Until you actually capture him you never quite know,” Bivens said. “You have your ups and downs.”

It might be trying to find a needle in a haystack. “It is a matter of time. It is a big area,” Bivens said. “We’ve found needles before. We’ll find them again.”

The collective reward for information leading to an arrest has increased to $22,000 and the tip line to the command center in Youngsville is (717) 265-9650.

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