Police Capture 32-Year-Old Thomas Ryan in Father's Killing and Arson Case

Q: How did surveillance footage of chopped wood help investigators track the fleeing suspect to his Schoharie County hideout?

It did not directly lead police to the Schoharie County hideout. The chopped-wood footage was important because it helped establish Thomas Ryan as the likely arson and homicide suspect and fixed a key timeline of his movements at the Greenville home. According to investigators, surveillance video showed Ryan carrying a garbage can filled with chopped wood toward his father’s house and then running from the area shortly before the fire started. That gave police evidence that the blaze was intentionally set and supported the theory that he fled immediately afterward, likely in his father’s gray Toyota Prius. From there, the search appears to have widened through other investigative steps rather than from the wood footage alone. State police said they conducted an extensive video canvass outward from the crime scene, reviewed surveillance from homes and businesses, tracked leads involving the Prius, checked shelters Ryan had used across New York, and coordinated with rail and law-enforcement partners because he was known to travel by train and had ties to the Plattsburgh area. Police have not publicly explained the precise lead that placed Ryan in Gilboa, Schoharie County. What is clear is that the chopped-wood video helped identify his actions before the fire and launch the broader manhunt, but authorities have not said it specifically traced him to the hideout where he was ultimately captured.

3 articles · Updated · WABC-TV · Aug 9

Gilboa officers captured Thomas David Ryan early Sunday after a tip led police to an unoccupied Toyota Prius in a parking lot on State Route 990V and then to the surrounding area.
The 32-year-old is suspected of killing his father, Robert Ryan, 70, and setting his Greenville home on fire Thursday night; firefighters found the elder Ryan dead inside the burning house.
Ring camera footage appears to show Ryan running from the home, and police said he did not live with his father and had no other known current ties to the Greenville community.
Stephanie Coiro, the victim's daughter and suspect's sister, said the family had long feared such an outcome, describing her brother as severely mentally ill, off medication and repeatedly failed by treatment and legal systems.
Police said Ryan has seven prior New York City arrests and remains on probation until April 2028, adding to scrutiny of how authorities handled his history before the killing.