Hunt for Escaped Inmates in New York Heats Up in Southern Tier

Law enforcement in New York descended on the Friendship area on June 21 after someone reported they saw two inmates who escaped Clinton Correctional Facility on June 6. Local reports say a witness reported seeing Richard Matt and David Sweat near the railroad tracks that run through the southern tier community. Officials said in a press release the primary focus of the search remains in Dannemora, which is where the prison is located.

This footage shows the police presence in Friendship and officers searching vehicles.

Matt and Sweat used power tools to break through the wall of their cells before climbing through a series of pipes in the prison. They then made their final escape through a manhole near the prison. Prison guards did not discover their escape until hours later because they had left dummies in their cells. Both men were convicted of murder.

There has been an ongoing manhunt with hundreds of leads since the escape. State officials are offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to the capture of one of the inmates, $100,000 for both of them. Credit: Twitter/Aaron Robinson