Christopher Thomas Knight

Christopher Thomas Knight (born 7 December 1965), also known as the North Pond Hermit, is a former hermit who lived almost without human contact for 27 years in the woods in Maine.

Knight lived in a crude camp positioned in a particularly dense and unforgiving part of old growth forest in northern Maine, yet was within about a mile of summer cabins throughout his entire hermitage. Because he entered the woods with almost no possessions, his camp was composed entirely of items stolen from nearby cabins and camps. He survived by committing approximately 1,000 burglaries against houses in the area, at a rate of approximately 40 per year.

Apart from the fear and notoriety his many burglaries created in the local area, Knight's unusual life also attracted widespread international media reports upon his capture.

Knight entered the woods in 1986, aged 20, without saying goodbye to anyone. Knight's parents apparently never reported him missing to the police. In an interview, Knight said, "I had good parents", and, "We're not emotionally bleeding all over each other. We're not touchy-feely. Stoicism is expected." The family's next-door neighbor for 14 years hasn't exchanged more than a few words with Knight's mother.

Knight survived the intense Maine winters (with temperatures dipping as low as -25F) by waking up during the coldest part of the night and pacing his camp until warm. Knight regularly took cold sponge baths, shaved and cut his hair, in part to avoid suspicion in the event he was spotted by others.

At the time of his arrest, Knight claimed that there was only one instance during his 27 years of solitude in which he spoke with another human: at some point in the 1990s, he exchanged the word "Hi," with a hiker whom he encountered on a lightly traveled path.

Biographer Michael Finkel later reported that around February 2013, a fisherman named Tony Bellavance (along with his son and grandson) had discovered Knight in his camp. This was a mere two months before he was apprehended by police. Knight later admitted to having been discovered by the fishermen, but hadn't mentioned it to police at the time of his arrest because the group swore a pact to not tell anyone of their meeting (after the hunters learned that Knight simply wanted to be left alone).

Knight was captured by Sergeant Terry Hughes on April 4, 2013, while burglarizing the Pine Tree Camp.

Knight was sentenced to seven months in jail on 28 October 2013, of which he had already served all but a week while awaiting sentencing. In addition to the jail sentence, Knight paid $1,500 in restitution to victims, completed a Co-Occurring Disorders Court Program (designed for people with substance abuse problems and mental health disorders), and completed three years of probation.

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