It was a manhunt like no other in Chautauqua County.

Consuming and equally captivating, the five-month-long search for Ralph “Bucky” Phillips, the then 43-year-old Stockton man who escaped from an Erie County prison, was enough to garner national attention in 2006.

And for good reason, too.

Phillips, in addition to leading police on a multi-county search, was linked to the shooting of three New York State Troopers, one of whom died of his injuries.

Instantly, the long-haired, 240-pound fugitive, who was seen by some as a folk hero and the inspiration of such things as the “Bucky Burger,” became Public Enemy No. 1.

On Sept. 8, 2006 – exactly 10 years ago today – Phillips was captured in Warren County, Pa., a day after the FBI listed him as the 483rd fugitive on its Ten Most Wanted List.

Charged with aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder, Phillips is currently serving a life sentence at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora.

For some, Phillips’ escape, while unprecedented in terms of the ensuing manhunt, may not have been surprising, considering Phillips’ long checkered past with the law.

Phillips was a career criminal and had been previously convicted of burglary, grand larceny and a host of other crimes for more than 20 years.

His fateful escape occurred in the early morning of April 2, 2006, when Phillips, who was being held at the Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden on a parole violation, was on a work detail.

Using a can opener to break out of the facility, Phillips quickly ditched his orange jumpsuit and fled the area, precipitating an extensive ground and air search by the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office and State Police.

Phillips, who was well-known for stealing vehicles and breaking into homes and cabins, was said to be spotted in various parts of the region, including Sinclairville, Stockton, Randolph, Great Valley and Bradford, Pa.

In a 2006 interview, Maj. Michael T. Manning, commander of the State Police Troop A in Western New York, said Phillips was likely being helped by members of the community.

“He has a very large base of individuals throughout the Western New York area, friends and family, loved ones,” Manning said. “His criminal background gives him a lot of contact with a lot of people who have served time in prison with him, so it is possible he is being assisted by (those) individuals.”

In the early morning of June 10, however, then 30-year-old Trooper Sean Brown was shot in the abdomen after pulling over a suspicious Ford Mustang on Route 13 near Horseheads. Brown was treated for his injury and later released from the hospital.

Phillips was named a “person-of-interest” in connection to the shooting and alleged to have stolen the Mustang shortly before the incident. A $25,000 reward was offered by State Police for information leading to his capture.

Over the next few weeks, Phillips was reportedly spotted in other parts of the state and blamed for a slew of burglaries, including the theft of weapons and a Dodge Caravan in Hancock.

In July, State Police doubled their reward to $50,000 as more burglaries were reported in Cattaraugus County. In August, Phillips was spotted near the Tuscarora Indian Reservation, shifting the manhunt to Niagara County. Police would return to Chautauqua County after Phillips was spotted on a motorcycle on Route 60 outside Cassadaga.

On Aug. 31, two State Troopers – Donald Baker Jr., 38, and Joseph Longobardo, 32 – were shot by Phillips outside a Pomfret home in a sniper-like fashion. Two residents of the home were reportedly being questioned by police for harboring Phillips.

Trooper Longobardo died a few days after the shooting.

The reward for Phillips jumped to $225,000 and later to nearly half a million dollars as State Troopers amplified their search.

The U.S. Marshals even named Phillips to their 15 Most Wanted list.

The manhunt came to an end on Sept. 8, when Phillips surrendered to police after Pennsylvania law enforcement officials cornered him in Warren County, Pa.

Phillips admitted to shooting all three State Troopers.

In December, he was sentenced in Chautauqua County Court to life without parole for the shootings in Pomfret. He was later sentenced in Chemung County Court to 40 years to life for the shooting of Trooper Brown.

In 2008, an appeals court in Rochester turned down a bid by Phillips to withdraw his guilty pleas and go to trial.

To this date, the five-month search of Phillips is believed to be one of the most expensive manhunts in New York State history, although a final cost was never released to the public.