He wasn’t traced there though?

He was traced through the use of his fake ID and through security camera footage along the route he traveled. There were also plenty of sightings (some less reliable than others) that were coming into the police nationally. The tip off in Altoona was almost certainly not the only one made. He was observed on a cab security camera. He was sighted at a bus depot. And there were a few other data points police alluded to that weren’t made public. That rapidly narrowed down where he could have gone to next.

Not enough people wearing a mask in New York or Pennsylvania that it didn’t make him stand out. That, and he was tall, and the upper part of his face was all over the news for days straight.

That he had all his shit on him was unfortunate. But even if he’d dumped it, if it was on an observed route it would have just been one more data point for police to follow. Guy fought the law and the law won.