NYPD Divers Search Central Park Lake for Clues in Manhunt for UnitedHealthcare CEO’s Shooter. NEW YORK — In an effort to find evidence connected to the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan last week, the NYPD conducted another search of the lake in Central Park on Sunday.
Officials announced on Sunday that they are expanding their search as the manhunt for the shooter continues.
Investigators from the NYPD and U.S. Marshals Service have been sent to Atlanta and the Greyhound bus route stops between Atlanta and New York City, according to police sources. The location where the person of interest got on the bus that brought him to the Port Authority Bus Terminal on November 24 is what they are looking for. In an attempt to determine exactly when he boarded the bus, they are also searching the Greyhound stations and analyzing security footage.
The most recent pictures of the person of interest show him wearing a mask in the backseat of a taxi and in another picture outside the car. A banner advertising a $50,000 reward for information that results in an arrest was released by the FBI.
“The net is tightening and we’re going to bring this person to justice,” stated Mayor Eric Adams.
Police sources said that the person of interest had a flirtatious contact with the front desk receptionist at an Upper West Side hostel, where security cameras recorded the only photographs thought to show him without a mask.
“The event was obviously well planned out, but everyone makes mistakes and I think his mistake was probably putting his mask down so the whole world can see who he is,” Tom Walsh, a retired police officer, said.
NYPD divers return to Central Park lake on Sunday
After sources told CBS News New York that Saturday’s search was unsuccessful, NYPD divers searched the lake in Central Park on Sunday.
Despite seeing the dive teams in the water on Saturday, a woman told CBS News New York she didn’t see them emerge with anything.
“This corner was blocked off with probably five policemen, one van and we saw scuba gear and a couple divers getting in, just kind of splashing around, looking in this area,” the eyewitness stated.
The latest on the backpack found in the park
Investigators discovered what is thought to be the person of interest’s backpack on Friday. According to individuals involved with the inquiry, it contained a jacket that he did not wear on Wednesday, the day of what authorities have described as Thompson’s targeted killing, along with some fictitious Monopoly money, but no firearm, CBS News said. Police tape is still in place to shut off that section of the park.
Because it allows investigators to determine its owner and place of purchase, the weapon used to kill Thompson is essential to the inquiry. According to police, they keep referring to the man they are searching for as a person of interest because there isn’t any hard proof.
“They found the backpack here in Central Park, so it only make sense that that’s a good dumping ground for a gun,” said Walsh.
Before establishing if the backpack is connected to the gunman, the results of forensic testing must be received.
Law enforcement knows the name of the person of interest
On Saturday, the mayor stated that although police enforcement is aware of the person they are searching for, they do not want to give him away by making his name public too soon.
“We don’t want to make that public just now. We do not want to give the person we are looking for any advantage, and if you do, you are essentially giving him a tip. Adams advised him to keep thinking that he could conceal himself behind the mask.
