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| Murderers who escaped New York prison left note saying: 'Have a nice day' | Murderers who escaped New York prison left note saying: 'Have a nice day' |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Two convicted murderers who cut their way out of a steel-walled maximum security facility in northern New York state were on the run on Sunday, sparking an international alert and a desperate manhunt involving helicopters, bloodhounds and hundreds of armed officers. | Two convicted murderers who cut their way out of a steel-walled maximum security facility in northern New York state were on the run on Sunday, sparking an international alert and a desperate manhunt involving helicopters, bloodhounds and hundreds of armed officers. |
| The inmates, Richard Matt and David Sweat, were described as dangerous and their escape plan “extraordinary”, after they cut neat holes in pipes in the prison’s heating system and had the time and nerve to leave a note bearing a smiley face and the words “Have a nice day”. | The inmates, Richard Matt and David Sweat, were described as dangerous and their escape plan “extraordinary”, after they cut neat holes in pipes in the prison’s heating system and had the time and nerve to leave a note bearing a smiley face and the words “Have a nice day”. |
| They escaped in the early hours of Saturday morning from Clinton correctional facility, about 20 miles south of the border with Canada. More than 24 hours later, there was still no information about their whereabouts. | They escaped in the early hours of Saturday morning from Clinton correctional facility, about 20 miles south of the border with Canada. More than 24 hours later, there was still no information about their whereabouts. |
| New York governor Andrew Cuomo asked for the public’s help in tracking the men down, while warning people not to approach them. | New York governor Andrew Cuomo asked for the public’s help in tracking the men down, while warning people not to approach them. |
| “They were heard; they had to be heard,” Cuomo told ABC, about the men’s use of power tools to break through the walls of their adjoining cells. “I chatted with a couple of inmates myself and said ‘You must be a very heavy sleeper’.” | |
| Cuomo added that the escape “could have been a plot from a movie”. | |
| One more close up of the note left on pipe that 2 inmates used to escape Clinton Correctional in #Dannemora pic.twitter.com/GFYqFOOE8e | |
| Authorities were trying to establish how the men acquired power tools, cut through the walls of their cells and shimmied through a series of pipes and tunnels until they emerged to freedom through a manhole cover on a public street. | Authorities were trying to establish how the men acquired power tools, cut through the walls of their cells and shimmied through a series of pipes and tunnels until they emerged to freedom through a manhole cover on a public street. |
| The Clinton correctional facility is based in the small town of Dannemora. Although the intense search was focused in the vicinity of the town, authorities in Canada were on the alert. Ontario provincial police officers were ordered to patrol with “heightened vigilance”. | The Clinton correctional facility is based in the small town of Dannemora. Although the intense search was focused in the vicinity of the town, authorities in Canada were on the alert. Ontario provincial police officers were ordered to patrol with “heightened vigilance”. |
| Cuomo repeatedly emphasized that this was the first escape from the maximum security wing at Clinton since the facility was built in 1865. | Cuomo repeatedly emphasized that this was the first escape from the maximum security wing at Clinton since the facility was built in 1865. |
| New York state police were joined in the manhunt by investigators from the FBI, heavily armed Swat teams, forest rangers and local police. K-9 teams searched with bloodhounds and other trained dogs. Three helicopters made aerial sweeps, one of them from the federal Department of Homeland Security. | New York state police were joined in the manhunt by investigators from the FBI, heavily armed Swat teams, forest rangers and local police. K-9 teams searched with bloodhounds and other trained dogs. Three helicopters made aerial sweeps, one of them from the federal Department of Homeland Security. |
| “It was an elaborate plot,” Cuomo said. “We went back and pieced together what they did. It was sophisticated, involving drilling through steel walls and steel pipes, so it was not easy to accomplish.” | “It was an elaborate plot,” Cuomo said. “We went back and pieced together what they did. It was sophisticated, involving drilling through steel walls and steel pipes, so it was not easy to accomplish.” |
| The governor published pictures of the suspects and warnings to the public on his Twitter account. Both inmates are from towns in upstate New York and were serving long sentences for brutal killings. | The governor published pictures of the suspects and warnings to the public on his Twitter account. Both inmates are from towns in upstate New York and were serving long sentences for brutal killings. |
| Matt, 48, was serving 25 years to life for beating to death and then dismembering his former boss, William Rickerson of North Tonawanda, New York, in 1997. Matt had worked for Rickerson at a food warehouse but had been fired. He kidnapped the 67-year-old, whose torso and legs were found floating in the Niagara River. | Matt, 48, was serving 25 years to life for beating to death and then dismembering his former boss, William Rickerson of North Tonawanda, New York, in 1997. Matt had worked for Rickerson at a food warehouse but had been fired. He kidnapped the 67-year-old, whose torso and legs were found floating in the Niagara River. |
| Matt fled to Mexico in 1998 and there stabbed a man to death outside a bar. He was extradited to the US in 2007 to stand trial for Rickerson’s murder and was convicted in 2008. | Matt fled to Mexico in 1998 and there stabbed a man to death outside a bar. He was extradited to the US in 2007 to stand trial for Rickerson’s murder and was convicted in 2008. |
| He has a history of jailbreak. In 1986 he escaped from the Erie county jail by scaling a fence. He was recaptured – it was not immediately clear on Sunday what crime he had been imprisoned for. | He has a history of jailbreak. In 1986 he escaped from the Erie county jail by scaling a fence. He was recaptured – it was not immediately clear on Sunday what crime he had been imprisoned for. |
| Sweat, 34, was serving life without parole for the murder of a deputy sheriff on 4 July 2002. | Sweat, 34, was serving life without parole for the murder of a deputy sheriff on 4 July 2002. |
| Broome County deputy Kevin Tarsia was driving alone in the early hours when he spotted two men acting suspiciously in a park near the border with Pennsylvania. It was Sweat and another man, dividing the spoils of a burglary. When Tarsia challenged the men they shot him dead, hitting him with 22 bullets. | Broome County deputy Kevin Tarsia was driving alone in the early hours when he spotted two men acting suspiciously in a park near the border with Pennsylvania. It was Sweat and another man, dividing the spoils of a burglary. When Tarsia challenged the men they shot him dead, hitting him with 22 bullets. |
| At Clinton prison on Friday night, the inmates had had their last “standing count” for the night at 10.30pm. Prisoners are checked every two hours during the night, but it is a simple, visual check to see they are in their cells. Cuomo said the two inmates had made replicas of themselves with clothing to make it look as if they were sleeping with sweatshirts with the hoods pulled up, “a usual” sleeping style for many inmates. | At Clinton prison on Friday night, the inmates had had their last “standing count” for the night at 10.30pm. Prisoners are checked every two hours during the night, but it is a simple, visual check to see they are in their cells. Cuomo said the two inmates had made replicas of themselves with clothing to make it look as if they were sleeping with sweatshirts with the hoods pulled up, “a usual” sleeping style for many inmates. |
| Their disappearance was not discovered until the next full standing head count, at 5.30am on Saturday. | Their disappearance was not discovered until the next full standing head count, at 5.30am on Saturday. |
| Many residents of Dannemora and surrounding settlements were reportedly staying inside and locking their doors, although others ran their businesses and let their children play outside as normal, according to Dannemora mayor Michael Bennett. | Many residents of Dannemora and surrounding settlements were reportedly staying inside and locking their doors, although others ran their businesses and let their children play outside as normal, according to Dannemora mayor Michael Bennett. |
| Investigators were searching in dense forest and farmland with abandoned buildings, as well as using road blocks and conducting house-to-house checks. | Investigators were searching in dense forest and farmland with abandoned buildings, as well as using road blocks and conducting house-to-house checks. |