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Workers at New York jail break prison warned of charges US prison worker 'provided tools to fugitives'
(about 4 hours later)
A female prison worker smuggled tools to two New York inmates before they escaped, according to prosecutors.
Joyce Mitchell, 51, "provided some form of equipment or tools" to convicted killers David Sweat and Richard Matt, prosecutor Andrew Wylie told CNN.
She worked as a workshop instructor at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, northern New York.
A huge manhunt using hundreds of officers is now in its seventh day, stretching to Vermont and Canada.
Mr Wylie would not say what kind of items Mrs Mitchell is accused of providing to the men, but did say they were not power tools.
"We continue to obtain information from her to try to get the understanding from her of why she helped these two individuals".
She also planned to be the pair's getaway driver, but changed her mind at the last minute, investigators say.
Friday began the seventh day of the search for Matt, 48, and Sweat, 34, who broke out of 170-year-old prison with power tools.
The convicted murderers cut through brick and steel to crawl through an underground pipe on Friday night, and emerge from a manhole outside of the prison's 40-foot walls.
New York's governor has said any prison workers found to have helped two killers escape a week ago will find themselves being convicted.New York's governor has said any prison workers found to have helped two killers escape a week ago will find themselves being convicted.
Andrew Cuomo said investigators were "talking to several people". Andrew Cuomo said: "If you do it, you will be convicted, and then you'll be on the other side of the prison that you've been policing, and that is not a pleasant place to be."
Police have interviewed a female prison worker who it is believed agreed to be a getaway driver but did not appear as arranged, US media reports. Mrs Mitchell's son Tobey told NBC she checked herself into a hospital with chest pains on Saturday and would not have helped the inmates escape.
Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, broke out of Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora with power tools. Mr Wylie, a district attorney, said that within the past 12 months Mrs Mitchell had been investigated for a suspected relationship with prisoner David Sweat.
Referring to prison workers, Mr Cuomo said: "If you do it, you will be convicted, and then you'll be on the other side of the prison that you've been policing, and that is not a pleasant place to be."
US media identified the prison worker as Joyce Mitchell, an instructor at the prison tailoring workshop where the two convicts worked.
Associated Press reported a source close to the investigation as saying she had befriended the men and was supposed to pick them up Saturday morning, but did not.
She has not been charged.
Her son Tobey Mitchell told NBC she checked herself into a hospital with chest pains on Saturday and would not have helped the inmates escape.
Spt Joseph D'Amico from the state police said at a news conference: "She befriended the inmates and may have had some sort of role in assisting them."
Meanwhile, 50 extra officers have been drafted in to hunt for the men, bringing the total number to 500.
On Thursday, police using dogs and helicopters blocked off a main road and focused on a swampy area just a couple of miles from the prison.
Schools were closed and residents received automated calls warning them to keep their doors locked and windows closed and to leave their lights on outside.
Mr Cuomo said tip offs were received that the convicts were in the area and police dogs had picked up a scent on Thursday morning.
He added: "Look, they could either be four miles from the prison or they could be in Mexico. Right? So you just don't know."
Matt and Sweat broke out on Friday night using power tools to cut through the steel walls of their cell before clambering along a catwalk to reach a series of pipes and tunnels.
They cut their way through again, before climbing out of a manhole.
The manhunt in northern New York and surrounding areas has included campsites and boat slipways in neighbouring Vermont.
Hundreds of employees and construction contractors have been investigated to determine if they provided the power tools.Hundreds of employees and construction contractors have been investigated to determine if they provided the power tools.
Matt was serving 25 years to life for the 1997 kidnap, torture and dismemberment of his former boss, whose body was found in pieces in a river. Over 500 police officers are searching swampland nearby where the prisoners are thought to have spent a night.
Sweat was serving life without parole for his part in the 2002 killing of a sheriff's deputy who was shot 15 times and run over after witnessing stolen guns being handled. Police dogs picked up a scent on Thursday, providing authorities with their strongest lead so far.
Food wrappers and a footprint were discovered several miles from the prison.
The manhunt in northern New York and surrounding areas has included campsites and boat slipways in neighbouring Vermont.
Homeowners are being asked to remain at home with doors and windows locked, and to leave outdoor lights on overnight to aid investigators with the search.
Schools and roads remain closed.
Matt was convicted of the kidnap, torture and dismemberment of his former boss, whose body was found in pieces in a river.
Sweat was serving life for his part in the killing of a sheriff's deputy who witnessed stolen guns being handled.