"Suspicious person" at center of massive Cranberry Township search found dead

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) -- A man is dead after a massive search in Cranberry Township prompted a shelter-in-place order for all residents on Tuesday afternoon, police said. 

The police chief said Cranberry Highlands Golf Course employees called police after they saw a broken down car with weapons inside and a man who wasn't quite coherent on Turfgrass Drive off of Freshcorn Road.

Around 1:30 p.m., Cranberry Township police asked all residents to shelter in place and lock their doors as officers searched for a "suspicious person." 

Police said the man had concerning notes that indicated he wanted to hurt himself or others. He took off, so officers covered the area. There was a massive police presence, and officers with guns drawn could be seen covering the area around the golf course.

The shelter-in-place was lifted around 3:30 p.m. when police said there was no longer an active threat. The man at the center of the search was found dead in the woods, but police aren't saying how he died. State police have been called in to investigate how he died. 

Police first posted an alert to social media on Tuesday shortly before 1 p.m. asking people to avoid the area of Glen Eden, Freshcorn, Powell and Unionville roads until further notice. In an update about 30 minutes later, police said they were looking for a person wearing a Washington football shirt and/or hat. At that time, they told all residents to shelter in place and lock their doors.

"We appreciate the community's support and patience as we went through this," Cranberry Township Police Chief Kevin Meyer. "Hopefully they understand that this was a law enforcement event that required the necessary shutdowns and closures and street closures, park closures, golf closures, so everything's back open now, the community's safe." 

Stay with KDKA-TV and KDKA.com for updates to this developing story as they become available.