This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/07/new-york-prison-escape-search-widens-murderers-power-tools

The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 8 Version 9
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. The state of New York on Sunday offered a reward of $50,000 per inmate for information leading to the arrest of two convicted murderers who escaped from a maximum security prison close to the Canadian border.
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”. Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a “crisis situation”, as the two men were still on the run more than 24 hours after their escape.
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. At a media briefing, Cuomo warned that Richard Matt and David Sweat could be in Canada, anywhere in New York state or in a neighboring state such as Vermont – or even further afield if they had access to a car or assistance.
New York governor Andrew Cuomo asked for the public’s help in tracking the men down, while warning people not to approach them. “The truth is we have a number of leads but nothing that would lead us to a specific conclusion about where they are,” he said.
“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’.” He also said that the complicated escape operation, in which the two men cut holes in a long network of pipes leading out of the prison to a manhole cover in a public street, could have taken days to accomplish.
Cuomo added that the escape “could have been a plot from a movie”. Matt and Sweat escaped from adjoining cells by cutting 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 Canadian border.
“This is a crisis situation for the state,” Cuomo said. “These are dangerous individuals and they are capable of committing grave crimes once again.”
Cuomo said authorities still did not know how the pair acquired the power tools they would have needed to cut holes in the steel walls of their cells and the steel pipes of the heating system. It was confirmed that the prison’s inventory of tools was intact and the focus was on outside contractors doing refurbishment work at the prison, which houses 3,000 inmates in the village of Dannemora, and was built in 1865.
Officials think the men cut their way out from the inside, and were not reached by outsiders. Cuomo said the manhole cover through which the two men emerged in a street in Dannemora was secured with a steel lock and chains from underneath.
“I would not put it past them whatsoever that they could have acquired an automobile or have had a rendezvous with someone on the outside,” he said
One more close up of the note left on pipe that 2 inmates used to escape Clinton Correctional in #Dannemora pic.twitter.com/GFYqFOOE8eOne 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. Appearing on ABC on Sunday morning, Cuomo had said the escape “could have been a plot from a movie”.
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”. New York state police were joined in a 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.
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.
“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 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 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. 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 them they shot him dead, hitting him with 22 bullets.
Sweat, 34, was serving life without parole for the murder of a deputy sheriff on 4 July 2002. At Clinton prison on Friday night, the inmates had had their last “standing count” 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 sweatshirt hoods pulled up, “a usual” sleeping style for many inmates.
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.
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 on Sunday, 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.