The Stranger In The Woods

 Michael Finkel was a journalist who enjoyed camping. One day while scanning the news on his phone he came across a story of Christopher Thomas Knight. Christopher Knight was a 20 year old man employed in the business of home security systems when he impulsively quit his job in Maine, drove south to Florida, drove back north to Maine into the woods as deep as he could get. He parked his car, left his keys in the console, and walked into the woods to become a hermit.  He disappeared for 27 years. Christopher grew up in a close-knit family with four older brothers in Maine. His younger sister had Down Syndrome. His family was hard working, quiet, and independent. His family never reported him as missing. Christopher went into the woods to be alone. He found a spot surrounded by huge boulders and a thick tangle of trees. The woman on whose property he stayed never noticed him. To survive he broke into cabins and took food, tents, clothing, propane tanks, camp stoves, books, batteries, sleeping bags, tarps and hand held video games. In 27 years he met only one hiker. He learned how to walk without leaving prints. During the heavy snow of the Maine winters he stayed in his tent where he had enough food to last him until some of the snow melted away. Owners of the local cabins were aware of a burglar and had varying opinions about him. Some didn't mind missing some food. Others were upset because he stole their peace of mind along with their things. Christopher regularly broke into a camp for person with disabilities to steal food and batteries. A local sheriff was bound and determined to catch him in the act. The sheriff installed a motion detector in the camp's kitchen area. Christopher was busted by the sheriff and went to jail. In jail, Michael Finker wrote to him and came to interview him six times and wrote his story as The Stranger In the Woods; The Extraordinary Story Of The Last True Hermit.   Christopher Knight did not have any reasons for his actions. Stealing caused remorse but he kept doing it for 27 years before he got caught. He knew he ought to be punished. The author suggests he might be on the Austism spectrum or perhaps had a schizoid personality. Christopher Knight remains a mystery to me even after I finished the book.