Police dogs searching for a 73-year-old man in connection with the fatal shooting of his daughter-in-law have tracked his scent to a campfire in New York's Harriman State Park.
Police immediately launched helicopters with infrared sensors to search for Palmer after the discovery, believing he could not have traveled far from the fire.
But by Wednesday night, Palmer remained at large.
"I don't know how fresh it was," said Haverstraw Police Chief Tom Miller of the campfire. "The ashes weren't hot, so it wasn't like we just spooked him, so he could spent the night before there or it could have been from someone three days before."
The development comes a day after Palmer's truck was found abandoned in the park.
The truck, with the keys in the ignition, was found Tuesday about a half-mile from where Tammy Palmer of Haverstraw was killed Monday morning. She was the mother of two who was estranged from her husband. The couple had a home on Eugene Palmer's property.
Family members said Tammy and Eugene Palmer frequently argued.
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Dozens of police officers from eight agencies are combing the dense woods for the man, believed to be armed.
A general sweep of the area is nearly impossible because of the sheer size of the park, which is more than 45,000 acres and straddles two counties.
While police say Palmer is well-trained in wilderness survival, his family said he's diabetic and suffered a heart attack last year. They aren't sure if he had his medicine, so it's not clear how long he can hide out for.
The search is expected to resume Thursday.
