Escaped NY Killers Added to U.S. Marshals' “15 Most Wanted” Fugitives List

Two killers who used power tools to escape from an upstate New York prison have been added to the U.S. Marshals Service's 15 Most Wanted fugitives list.

The Marshals Service said David Sweat and Richard Matt are violent escapees from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora. It added them to the list Thursday.

Marshals Service Director Stacia Hylton said the list is reserved for "the worst of the worst" and Sweat and Matt qualify.

Sweat was serving a life sentence in the killing of a sheriff's deputy. Matt was serving 25 years to life in the beating death and dismemberment of his former boss.

They cut through their cell walls and a steam pipe to escape. They've been missing since June 6. Hundreds of law enforcement officers are searching for them.

A prison tailor shop instructor, Joyce Mitchell, has been charged with helping them escape. Sources have said that she "thought it was love" with Matt and had been investigated for a sexual incident with Sweat. She was supposed to be the pair's getaway driver, and the trio allegedly plotted to kill her husband and fellow prison employee, Lyle Mitchell.

Meanwhile, officers searching for two killers who escaped from an upstate New York prison say they are checking abandoned buildings, seasonal camps and railroad beds.

State police say Thursday that as they expand their search area, officers have cleared more than 160 unoccupied buildings and seasonal homes. They also have searched 585 miles of railroad beds and trails.

The search continued Friday

Troopers are asking homeowners and hunters in the area who have video surveillance or trail cameras to check their footage for signs of suspicious activity.

Matt and Sweat were discovered missing June 6 after they cut through their cell wall and a steam pipe.

More than 600 law enforcement officers are still involved in the search.

 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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