New York Police Search Allegany County for Possible Sighting of 2 Escaped Convicts

DANNEMORA, N.Y. -- Investigators tracking two murder convicts who escaped from a northern New York prison scoured a rural area Sunday near the Pennsylvania border after possible sightings shifted the search across the state.

Officers continued searching an area in Allegany County, in New York's southern tier, a day after someone reported spotting two men near a railroad line that runs along Route 20 in the town of Friendship, state police spokesman Beau Duffy said.

Police concentrated the search in the area along the route and Interstate 86, some 350 miles from the prison that David Sweat and Richard Matt fled near the Canadian border. The two broke out of the maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora on June 6 using power tools and leaving behind dummies under bedcovers in their adjoining cells.

Until Saturday, the search was concentrated in a several-mile radius around the prison in the Adirondacks. Up to 800 law enforcement officers combed woods, went door-to-door and set up roadblocks.

State police moved the search command post from the prison Saturday to nearby Cadyville and focused attention on the other side of the state. They advised the public to report any suspicious activity and asked residents who live in the Friendship area along the New York-Pennsylvania border to be on alert.

The two men are "very dangerous" and should not be approached, state police said. Several roads around Friendship were blocked off, and police used helicopters and search dogs

"I was a little concerned. You have these guys running around. You don't know where they are," resident Darryl Ross told The Leader newspaper. "I have a house with a big cellar and a big garage. I cleared the house. I had firearm protection."

Authorities said Friday that two men fitting the descriptions of Sweat and Matt had been seen a week ago in Steuben County, east of Allegany County. Two men were seen walking near a rail yard in Erwin on June 13, and then seen the next day in Lindley, heading toward the Pennsylvania border.

Investigators conducted interviews in both communities and sent surveillance video to Albany for further analysis.

Railroads in Steuben and Allegany Counties referred inquiries Sunday to the state police.

Sweat, 35, was serving a life sentence without parole for killing a sheriff's deputy. Matt, 48, was doing 25 years to life for the 1997 kidnap, torture and hacksaw dismemberment of his former boss.

Prison worker Joyce Mitchell remained in custody Saturday on charges she helped the two men escape by providing them hacksaw blades, chisels and other tools. She has pleaded not guilty.

Officials said a corrections officer also has been placed on administrative leave as part of the investigation into the men's escape. The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said no additional information was available.

Authorities have said Mitchell, who got close to the men while working with them in the prison tailor shop, discussed killing her husband.

"Joyce Mitchell tells us that was discussed between her and Matt and that upon their escape, they were going to return back to Joyce Mitchell's home at which time Matt and Sweat were going to kill her husband," said Andrew Wylie, Clinton County district attorney.

Lyle Mitchell's lawyer, Peter Dumas, said his client was shocked by word of the plot and that Joyce Mitchell had told her husband that she couldn't go through with it.

"Toward the end, Joyce had told Lyle - and we have no reason to doubt it - that she told Sweat and Matt that she wasn't going to go through with it," he said. "At that point, they threatened her by threatening Lyle, saying they were going to have someone on the outside do something to him or someone on the inside when he was back at work do something to him so I think it was a point of control."

Lyle Mitchell is cooperating with authorities and isn't facing charges. "He's still in love with her, but I don't know that he is going to be very supportive," Dumas said.

Joyce Mitchell has pleaded not guilty.

Sweat, 35, was serving a life sentence without parole in the killing of a sheriff's deputy. Matt, 48, was doing 25 years to life for the kidnap, torture and hacksaw dismemberment of his former boss.

Wylie on Thursday also offered a new detail on the relationship between Matt and Joyce Mitchell, saying the inmate painted a picture of her children after Mitchell gave him boxing gloves.

"She provided him the speed boxing gloves for the picture of her children. So she gave it to her husband, Lyle, for their anniversary," Wylie said.

Sweat is described by authorities as is described as being 5-foot-10, 165 pounds, brown hair and green eyes. He has tattoos on his left bicep and his right fingers. Matt, 48, is 5-foot-10, 210 pounds, with black hair and hazel eyes. He has tattoos on back "Mexico Forever", a heart on his chest and left shoulder, and a Marine Corps insignia on his right shoulder.

Both are considered to be a danger to the public. Authorities say if you see them, DO NOT approach them. Contact 911 immediately.

Authorities are also asking people to report any suspicious activity; that includes any sign of a trespass, burglary or vehicle larceny. Contact 911, your local law enforcement agency, or the New York State Police to report any information related to this investigation at (518) 897-2000 or 1-800-GIVETIP. Tips can also be sent by email to crimetip@troopers.ny.gov.