That is when the FBI’s high-tech two week stakeout began. The FBI’s elite
Hostage rescue team was immediately called in. They are experienced in survival
training and can live for long periods in the wild; agents were prepared to live
outdoors in subzero temperatures. They employed infrared and satellite
surveillance of Kaczynski’s meager home (Douglas, 108). Finally after getting a
warrant to search Kaczynski’s cabin, agents posing as Forest Service employees
arrested the Unabomber suspect.
Federal investigators arrived at Kaczynski’s dark, tiny cabin with some
of the most sophisticated technology ever developed to detect and defuse bombs.
Looking for evidence that Kaczynski was the anti-technology Unabomber, the FBI
and the ATF brought in such devices as a remote-controlled robot and portable
X-ray equipment to help search for bombs and booby traps. They came with new
scientific techniques specifically designed during the Unabomber investigation
to detect, analyze and defuse bombs made in the unique hand-crafted style of the
elusive serial bomber. “Technology was developed just for this case because of
the way he made his bombs” (Paddock, 23). With the detailed preparation, new
detection methods and painstaking search, agents were able to discover and
preserve one of the most crucial pieces of evidence in the case: a completed
bomb that was ready for mailing. Given that the hunt for the Unabomber is one
of the FBI’s highest priorities, the agency would be sure to use every technique
at its command to carry out the search.
Before entering the cabin, FBI agents bombarded the small structure with
electro-magnetic energy to create a picture of its entire contents, much like an
X-ray. This gave the FBI a three-dimensional view of the landscape of the room
(Paddock, 24). Also before entering, agents inserted highly sensitive acoustic
devices to sort out all of the sounds in the cabin and determine whether there
were any electronically operated booby traps, because these devices make their
own noise. One of the most important techniques used in the search was the use
of highly sophisticated chemical sensors that can detect possible bomb
components. Such “sniffers” can test for small amounts of a chemical in the air.
Much of the high-tech equipment used by law enforcement in such searches was
developed during the drug war for entering booby trapped lairs of suspected drug
dealers. When suspicious material was located in Kaczynski’s cabin, for example,
the FBI used a robot to enter the structure and retrieve it. Agents feared it
could have been set off if it was picked up. Once items were removed from the
cabin, they were moved to a work area outside the house where they were X-rayed
on a portable machine much like the ones used at airports. After the cabin was
deemed safe, the of the physical evidence was collected, bagged, and tagged.
This slow and meticulous process lasted almost a month.
The Unabomber case is set for November 12, 1997. Kaczynski’s defense
lawyer needs the year to review the tons of damning physical evidence that was
collected. The bulk of the prosecution’s case can rest on the physical evidence
itself, and it appears that in this case there will be a mountain of it,
including the documents found on the subject’s premises, the equipment he had,
the notebooks, the partially completed bombs, and the writings that describe
bomb making. The prosecution will bring in explosives experts to match up the
bomb-making signature with the remnants of devices recovered from the crime
scenes (Douglas, 149). A typewriter analysis will also be implemented to see if
the typewriters found at the cabin match the printed documents like the letters
and the manifesto. DNA tests will be done to try to match the saliva remnants
on stamps to Kaczynski’s own DNA. Tools like wire cutters, wood files, and
drill bits; that leave trademark almost fingerprint like markings, will be
analyzed and compared to similar marks on bomb remnants. The prosecution will
also try to trace Kaczynski’s past to correlate it with Unabomber attacks. The
outcome of the trial will be based on how much of the physical evidence found at
Kaczynski’s home matches up with the Unabomber’s physical evidence. The pending
trial will prove to be very interesting to say the least.