The Mysterious Crimes of the North Pond Hermit

The small town of North Pond, Maine have a scary secret in their midst. For years, the locals and vacationers lives were unsettled when a mysterious stranger made his way through town, burglarizing homes in the middle of the night while barely leaving a trace. No matter how much investigation or security was set up, the Hermit would still strike and then disappear. It took nearly 30 years for them to catch him, but when they did, they were shocked to hear his side of the story.

Bizarre Noises

The neighbors in the small, quiet town of North Pond would sometimes hear bizarre rumblings in during the night. With so much wildlife around them, the locals didn’t think too much of it. It could be raccoons on the roof, deer in the garbage, or even foxes playing in the yard. No one thought that a person may be the source of the noises… Until things began to go missing. The weirdest part? The objects that were going missing were just… bizarre.

Things Are Going Missing

When things began to go missing, the victim’s noticed that it was just small, invaluable objects. He would take books, magazines, maybe some old t-shirts, and some food. Anything of value was left untouched. The locals were so confused at what would be happening. Many of the vacation families would come back to their homes to notice that those small things were nowhere to be found… Nothing was broken, nothing was left messy. Just small objects around the home were gone. This started happening so often that people began to really get into the mystery…

Who Is Doing It?

In a classic small-town move, many myths and rumors started going around about these bizarre string of burglaries and break-ins. Eventually, locals began to create nicknames for this night bandit. Some popular ones are, “Mountain Main,” “Hungry Man,” and “North Pond Hermit.” The town was on edge about this mysterious man that breaks into homes for some necessities. Soon, the locals began to fight back. Many put forth extra security measures to make sure that the doors and windows were unable to be opened. Residents and local police were on the hunt for this thief. They even set up cameras…

The Cops Got Involved… But Did It Help?

The cops were immediately notified about the break-ins and were involved from the start, but they made very little progress. Copious reports were filed and police investigated each and every case. Nearly three decades went by with more and more break-ins but no face to the crime… Some people even grew up with the Hermit committing his crimes. It was all they knew! That’s why it was such a big deal when he was finally caught. Things only got crazier once he was able to tell his story.

The Summer Camp

During the off-season in 2013, Pine Tree Summer Camp reported a lot of goods were stolen. Sergeant Terry Hughes was one of the people out looking for the Hermit, and now the Hermit is on his grounds! He knew exactly what he wanted to do.

Begin The Search

Sergeant Hughes is a local to the town and knew of the Hermit myth for as long as he could remember. He felt determined to solve the mystery once and for all. He spent his time managing the camp during the day, but any and all free time was dedicated to finding the Hermit. He was finally able to get his hands on some high-end security equipment…

Going High-Tech

Hughes painstakingly armed every nook and cranny of the camp with security devices that were literally military-grade. Since this burglar has been known for decades, he knew exactly where to place the devices because he knew what the Hermit was looking for.

There He Is!

It only took a few weeks before the Hermit was spotted on the footage. On April 4th, 2013, Hughes got the notification that his security tech was triggered. He and state trooper Diane Perkins-Vance immediately went to Pine Tree and apprehended the elusive Hermit. They were shocked to see the type of person this was… He was nothing like they’d imagined.

The Hermit that they apprehended did not resist and even greeted the duo. The two reported that he was extremely nice and polite. All he had was a name, Christopher Thomas Knight… No address, job, or ID. They sat him down and asked him his story. What was he doing in the wilderness, and why has he been stealing things for nearly 30 years?

Early Life

He was born in 1965 and was extremely gifted in school. He graduated high school early and went to Sylvania Tech School in Waltham, Massachusettes to study electronics. Then, he got a job with a tech security company. This ended up being a pretty useful skill!

Knight always relished being alone. As the middle brother of five siblings, he was very much the loner kid sitting in the corner with a book or a game. As he grew older, he was very interested in survival in the wilderness. He even began to look into how to live in the wild. That’s when he began his plan…

The Getaway

He worked with the tech company for long enough to get a car (including a loan from his brother) and bought a Subaru to leave town. He claims he only followed the sun in order to head south. Once he ran out of gas, that is where he would stay. He left the car and the keys and went into the woods…

Forest Living

Adjusting to life in the woods had its ups and downs. He became very accustomed to being along and he loved it… But, he found himself struggling without the daily necessities. He was smart and had researched living in the wild for years, but he quickly learned it was easier said than done, and he already knew how hard it was going to be.  

Close To Starvation

It only took a few weeks for the hunger pains to break Knight. He spent a lot of his time and energy perfecting his shelter so that he wouldn’t have to focus on how hungry he was. Every time he went out for food, he couldn’t find much. He even says he was so hungry, he had a dead bird… Raw. Things were getting out of hand, but he wasn’t going to give up and head back to civilization anytime soon.

Turning to Crime

In the night, he snuck into people’s gardens to steal some fruit and vegetables, but that wasn’t enough for actual nutrients. After foraging through the forest and finding a new place to set up camp, he ended up coming across some cabins. As he looked through the cabins, he noticed that one was completely empty and off to the side. One stormy and miserable night, he decided to break in and sleep inside. This was the beginning of how things changed for him…

Finding Cabins

He knew that it was risky and wasn’t about to take any more chances with sleeping in that cabin. Despite the fact that it was empty, he was smart enough to realize that the owners could come back at any time. He ended up using this experience to learn how to get into people’s houses undetected but refused to sleep inside further. Things are starting to all play out…

New Homestead

Knight knew that this new location was absolutely perfect. It was a popular vacation town, so many homes would be unoccupied during the week and during the off-season. Plus, camping was huge, meaning that people will probably litter and leave things behind. Since this was more civilization than he was used to, he ended up going extremely deep into the forest, far beyond where any camper would go. That is how he would live his life for the next 30 years.

He found the most perfect spot, secluded and hidden away by heavy overgrowth and big boulders. If someone were able to journey deep into the forest, they wouldn’t be able to detect him. He was an expert outdoorsman at this point and knew exactly how to conceal himself. Plus, this area had more food options, from things in the forest to other people’s supplies. Things were looking up!

Can’t Find Him

Knight was able to construct his new settlement to make sure it was hard to get in and out of. He was soon learning how to make it more liveable as well, such as installing water-absorbing magazine floors to keep it try and to get water! Despite these incredible accomplishments, he was still struggling int he most important aspect of survival.

Need Food To Survive

The more he was immersed in this peaceful wilderness, the more he found himself one with it. He became a natural at roaming around without anyone knowing… Even in the winter when the snow threatened to reveal his homestead. He began to sneak into people’s unoccupied homes to take food and used his skills of a security installer to the max. He finally felt content with his solution to near-starvation. Hunger wasn’t fun, but was it worth the risk of getting caught?

Knight realized that he was technically committing crimes, but he truly meant no harm. He had a bizarre desire to live on his own without any contact with the outside world, but that ended up leading him to this life of petty crimes. He realized he had to be even smarter with this to avoid getting caught, but to also avoid any confrontations with locals. He didn’t want to scare them, but he had to be sneaky.

One More Step

His final step was possibly the dirtiest of them all. He needed to physically alter people’s security systems so he could make sure he could bypass them when he needed to. It didn’t take Knight long to figure out the security systems for a few homes, and he was finally able to begin to burglarize. He made a point of only taking little things that he needed and things that people wouldn’t notice were gone. His goal was never to harm or scare the people, and he tried his best to make it as undetected as possible.

The Man, The Myth

Knight was able to time out his conquests perfectly. With the knowledge of North Pond being a primary vacation destination spot, he quickly learned who were the locals and who were the vacationers. So, during the week, he would sneak around in the middle of the night to get supplies. He did his best to be as harmless as possible…

Warmer Months

The spring and summer months are super popular in Maine. Knight wasn’t worried about surviving in those pleasant seasons. It was usually dry, easy to make fires, and full of growth and nature. Since the leaves were in abundance, it was easier to stay hidden and he didn’t need to cover his tracks. The fall and winter seasons were the ones that threatened his life…

Frigid Environment

He needed his body to adapt to the cold. He would go to sleep at 7:30 pm and then wake up at 2 am just to try and evade the no-sun hours. He would also gather tons of blankets so he could fight against the harsh and cold temperatures. Knight would sometimes have to deal with mild cases of frostbite all on his own… But, he persisted and continued to dedicate his life to anti-civilization.

Learning To Live Alone

It didn’t take just one year to get used to the changing seasons, hunger pains, and illnesses. In fact, it took many, many years before his body could get used to the hard life that he chose for himself. He realized that he was making brutal sacrifices, but he was more than ready to continue his life of isolation.

Getting Fancy With It

The one measure that Knight took was to be extra careful and to not actually break-in. His last desire was to harm anything of the people’s belongings, especially their actual homes. There were some points where he found a spare set of keys and would take them just to further exhibit his ghost-like presence. He would even borrow items and return them right back where he found them. The biggest item he took was insane… But it somehow worked.

Knight came across a canoe one night that he borrowed to help him get around the area. He was able to save his time and energy, as well as being able to bring more things along with him! Once he was done with it, he returned it exactly the way it was… No trace of him anywhere.

What He Ate

Knight lived this way for 27 years before being caught. He had his entire plan down and perfect. Of course, people did notice that he was doing it, hence his nicknames. But it was never too many crimes where he got caught. He made sure to bring foods that were good staying outside, which was mainly just snacks. It worked!

Where He Was Living

For his outdoor shelter, he would also take tarps, blankets, and old outerwear from the homes in order to stay warm and dry. After a while, he ended up taking some books to read while he was out there. There’s not much to do in the deep woods!

People Were Getting Suspicious

He continued his raids and people caught on, hence the myth and rumors about him. He wasn’t aware that people were on his tail (totally disconnected!) so he continued his path. People were just curious. Who was entering their homes? There wasn’t anything destroyed and there was no evidence of a typical burglary, but what was really going on? People were becoming worried.

Getting Clues

Despite all of this, Knight was still human, and he did leave behind some clues to what he was doing. Of course, residents noticed that some belongings were being taken. Some residents even began contacting the police once they noticed someone was entering their home more than once. They were worried and their sense of security was diminishing.

He’s Been Caught

30 years after making the decision to go off the grid, he was finally caught by police. After the intensive and long investigation, including interviews with the people whose homes got burglarized. Officials came to the conclusion that Knight ended up committing over 1,000 burglaries over the past 30 years. Many think he could have the biggest case of this type of crime in history. How do you sentence someone like this?

What Will Become Of Him?

Knight was arrested as per the law. In October of 2013, he went to trial at Kennebec County Superior Court. Knight pled guilty to 13 counts of theft and burglary… And was charged with seven months in jail with a catch. In order to obtain the short jail sentence, he was to get a job after his sentence was over and have weekly meetings with the judge. It was back to reality…

Judge Mills

Due to his bizarre case, he was able to get a less intense punishment. Judge Mills truly believed that Knight was not living for the crime, but for the isolation that he desired. She was under the impression that he wouldn’t go back to burglarizing homes, mainly because he won’t be living in nature anymore. He was sentenced to three years of probation so he had to stay sober, pay $1,500 in restitution and attend a mental health program.

No More Hermit-Life

Knight agreed to the terms and carried out his punishments. He was sober, attended his programs, and meetings. The most impressive thing was that he ended up reconnecting with his family. Despite the past, they were extremely excited to see him. His brother even helped him get a job.

Gone For So Long

His family knew him better than anyone. Knight was such an introvert and such a lover of his alone-time that his family always believed he would go off and disappear like he did. They never doubted that he was alive, and they knew he would come back when he was ready. They were relieved to see that he was okay.

The Stranger In The Woods

Word spread fast about Knight and his extraordinary life. Michael Finkel, an American journalist, heard about it and knew he needed to write this story. He got in-depth and personal interviews with Knight where he relayed some incredible information! Knight even said that he had only said one word to another person in the 27 years he was out in the wilderness. He ran into a random hiker, greeted him with a quick, “Hi,’ and kept walking. Being alone never got old for him.

Living Life In Civilization

Knight claimed that he hadn’t seen his own reflection in that time, either. He would only look when curious, and that was usually in bodies of water. He regretted committing the crimes and scaring people, but he didn’t regret living in the wilderness like that. Then, he learned of all of the stories people told about him… Something that he had no idea about until he was in jail.

The North Pond Hermit

Christopher Thomas Knight, also known as the North Pond Hermit, is still a story in the North Pond community. Now, they just have an ending to his antics. He is no longer a myth, legend, or rumor, but a man who was living on his own in complete isolation for 27 years, and it was exactly the way he liked it! Many people could say that the hermit went through their home, which was probably the best case scenario, they thought. They’d rather a kind hermit who just wanted to be alone in their home than anyone else!