That Sunday, Prince said, the team spent from 6 a.m. until 4 or 5 p.m. in about 37 acres of woods surrounding the suspect&39;s home.

Caldwell County is in the Hickory and Lenoir area.

The search involved approximately 200 tactical officers from surrounding counties, Prince said.

Polk officers also participated in cadaver searches once reports were received that the suspect may have killed himself.

Prince said it was the Hickory SWAT team who located the suspect&squo;s body.

Several people raised concerns during the week that Polk County might not be properly covered because ranking officers were out of the county. Prince also said even though several ranking officers attended the manhunt, Polk County was completely covered.&bsp; He said Capt. Tim Spencer and Lt. Tracy Aldridge were the lead ranking officers in Polk County, and Sheriff Chris Abril stayed in close contact by phone throughout the week. Prince also said many officers volunteered their time to make sure Polk County was covered at all times during the SERT team&squo;s absence. Some SERT officers alternated going to Caldwell County as well, Prince said, to ensure Polk operations were handled properly.

&dquo;Everybody here pitched in and made sure the roads were covered,&dquo; said Prince. &dquo;Officers here worked as much as needed and a lot of it was volunteer time.&dquo;

The Lenoir Police Department donated gasoline to Polk County for its assistance, Prince added.

The Hickory branch of the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation sent the Polk County Sheriff&squo;s Office a letter of thanks and appreciation for Polk&squo;s help in the situation.

&dquo;On behalf of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation&squo;s Northwestern District and the Caldwell County Sheriff&squo;s Office, I would like to thank you for allowing your personnel to assist us in the operations of searching for fugitive Skip Brinkley following the homicide of Caldwell County Deputy Adam Klutz on September 19, 2008,&dquo; said David H. Call, special agent in charge of the Northwestern District Field Office. &dquo;The dedication and professionalism of those who responded to assist is commendable. The cooperation of your agency and personnel has always been exceptional and very much appreciated. If we can be of assistance to you or your agency, please do not hesitate to call.&dquo;

The Polk County SERT team consists of Dep. Derrick Twitty, Sgt. Andrew Durham, Lt. Trent Carswell, Sgt. Josh Denton, Chief Deputy Tony Roberson, Dep. Clay Price, Sheriff Chris Abril, Sgt. Jerad McFalls, Dep. Nancy McKaig, Dep. Chris Ruff, Dep. Jesse Durham, Sgt. Jason Case, Lt. Matt Prince, Lt. Brent Jackson, Dep. Reid Crummie and Prince&squo;s K-9, Armor.