The Stranger in the Woods_ The - Michael Finkel

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The ice fishermen did not believe that Knight deserved to be jailed. “If I had a million dollars,” said the
grandfather, Tony Bellavance, “I’d buy a hundred acres, two hundred acres, and I’d put him right in the
middle, and put posted signs around, and let him live like he wants.” Bellavance, who is in his seventies,
owns a home in the area, but he was never a victim of Knight’s crimes.
Harvey Chesley, the facilities director of the Pine Tree Camp, which suffered by far the most losses, had
similar feelings. “I always thought that if I caught him in the act, I might let him go,” said Chesley. “It was
frozen lasagna and a can of beans—not earth-shattering. He was a thief of necessity. He has my respect.”
Lisa Fitzgerald, the owner of the property where Knight camped, said the discovery that a stranger had
lived on her land for decades was “nothing to be upset about.” If she’d found him, she said, she might not
have called the police, or even evicted him.
Locals who recognized Knight’s story as truth tended to have gentle reactions. They said that Knight’s feat
stirred the imagination. At the end of a serene weekend on North Pond, you can’t help but envision quitting
your job and remaining there for life. Everyone dreams of dropping out of the world once in a while. Then
you get in the car and drive back home.
Knight stayed. Yes, he repeatedly broke the law to sustain his escape, but he was never violent. He did not
carry a weapon. He didn’t even want to see anybody. He was a compulsive introvert, not a hardened
criminal. He followed a very strange calling and held true to himself more fully than most of us will ever
dare to. He clearly had no desire to be a part of our world.
A couple of residents pledged to provide Knight with land to live on. Let’s hold a fund-raiser, others
suggested, and give him enough cash to purchase several years’ worth of groceries, so he won’t need to steal.
He should immediately be released from jail and allowed back into the woods. He never harmed anyone.
Physically, that is. Other locals were enraged by Knight’s actions. The actual items he stole might be
minor, but he also took people’s peace of mind. Their sense of security. Some said they were afraid to sleep
in their own cabins, afraid for decades.
“I felt violated, over and over and over again,” said Debbie Baker, who has owned a place on North Pond
with her husband for more than twenty years. “I lost count how many times he broke in.” Her two sons,
when they were young, were terrified of the hermit. They had nightmares about him. The family installed
security lights and dead bolts and even had a police officer spend much of the night, but nothing worked. “I
hate what this man did to us,” Baker said.
Martha Patterson, whose cabin was a frequent target, said that Knight stole some of the silverware she’d