Menodcino County law enforcement officials don't know where Aaron Bassler is. But they know where Bassler -- the transient suspected of murdering two people in August, including a former Fort Bragg city councilman -- was, and recently, at that.
Images of Bassler were caught on videotape, on surveillance cameras placed specifically to locate him, according to Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman, who released a still image from the video cameras on Monday. He would not reveal the exact location of the camera, but said it showed Bassler holding a high-caliber rifle, vandalizing a vacation cabin.
Bassler is believed to be hiding in the woods somewhere between Fort Bragg, on the coast, and Willits, on Highway 101.
Bassler is suspected of shooting Fort Bragg City Councilman Jere Melo, 69, and Mendocino Land Trust land manager Matthew Coleman, 45, of Albion, according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
Authorities now have DNA evidence that places Bassler at the scene of Coleman's death, the newspaper reported. Bassler was last seen about three weeks ago at his mother's house. A search dog "made contact" with him, but he is "unharmed and healthy," Allman said.
