BLAINE, Minn. -- The people who live along Waconia Street Northeast in Blaine are used to things being pretty calm. Even the small airplanes that take off and land at the Anoka County Blaine Airport that borders the neighborhood don't create much of a problem.
"It's quiet, really quiet," Jason Shipman told KARE
His neighbor Barb Hegvik agreed.
"Most families have been here a long time, and there are a lot of kids, lots of kids, lots of dogs," Hegvik added.
But the past two days they've seen the skies above their neighborhood transformed by a full-fledged manhunt around the Anoka County Blaine Airport.
"The helicopters have been constant, you know, three four at a time all day long," Hegvik remarked.
Officers in SWAT gear combed the wooded area and bogs near the airport, looking for murder suspect Ty Hoffman, who has been a fugitive since the day he allegedly shot his former partner Kelly Phillips at a gas station in Arden Hills.
"I mean last night was one of the few nights I actually closed my doors and made sure everything was locked," Shipman said.
Hegvik said she had stopped thinking about Hoffman until he became a suspect in the robbery of a TCF Bank Sunday, which led to the first round of searches on Monday.
"I mean I'm sure they've done the dogs and the heat sensors and stuff, but it's just, you'd think if he was there they would've caught him by now," she said.
"Everyone was excited about the first day of school today, but at the same time they're looking for a murderer just a few hundred yards away from our block."
The second day of searching began when a Blaine Police officer saw someone matching Hoffman's description near the airport's perimeter fence.
"And when you have officers in tactical gear, you have to be able to swap them out, and so we need have a number of officers there from a number of different tactical teams work the area," Blaine Police Chief Chris Olson told reporters Tuesday.
Officers also searched the school buses at a nearby transportation company, after finding signs that someone had tried to break into the office building. But by the end of the day Tuesday, there was still no sign of the fugitive
Ramsey County Chief Deputy John Kirkwood urged Twin Cities residents to remain vigilant, and reminded them it's a felony to harbor a fugitive.
"Our safest bet is he's getting help. It's very difficult to stay hidden for a long time when your picture's out there, and you know your picture's out there," Deputy Kirkwood explained.
Back on Waconia Street, the end can't come soon enough..
"It's creepy to think he's back here, or maybe never left," Shipman said.
Hegvik added, "We'll have a real sense of relief when he's caught. I just don't know if he's going to go down easily."
