The Latest on prison escape: No new leads in manhunt
Jun 13, 2015, 6:32 PM
Joyce Mitchell is arraigned in City Court on Friday, June 12, 2015, in Plattsburgh, N.Y. Mitchell is accused of helping two convicted killers escape from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, Pool)
(AP Photo/Mike Groll, Pool)
5:30 p.m. (EDT)
Eight days into the massive manhunt in upstate New York for two convicted killers, state police say they have no new leads.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers blanketed a wooded area Saturday southeast of the maximum-security prison where David Sweat and Richard Matt escaped using power tools and leaving dummies under covers on their prison cots.
By late evening, about 30 officers emerged from the woods along Route 3, a few miles south of the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora. More officers lined up on the shoulder waiting to be picked up to take a break before continuing the search before darkness sets in.
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4:45 p.m. (EDT)
The massive manhunt for the two killers who escaped from a maximum-security prison eight days ago in upstate New York has residents on edge.
Some say they feel like prisoners in their own home.
Shelly St. Denis, a mother of two who lives near the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora says Saturday that having two convicted murderers on the loose is scary.
She adds, “You’re afraid to be in your house and have someone come in at you that has nothing to lose.”
The search forced the cancellation of a fundraiser for the local volunteer fire department at Cadyville. Organizers of the 50th annual Cadyville Field Day say they chose to cancel Saturday’s event in the name of public safety.
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12:15 p.m. (EDT)
The jail worker accused of helping two convicted murders escape an upstate New York prison a week ago has been moved to a lockup in another county.
Rensselaer County Jail officials say Joyce Mitchell was transported there and arrived at 10 a.m. Saturday. Clinton County Sheriff David Favro requested the move.
Prosecutors say the prison tailor shop instructor befriended the men and gave them hacksaw blades, chisels, a punch and a screwdriver bit.
Mitchell is also suspected of agreeing to be a getaway driver but didn’t show up, leaving the men on foot early on June 6.
Hundreds of law enforcement officials are searching the area around the prison for inmates David Sweat and Richard Matt.
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10:15 a.m. (EDT)
A contingent of about 40 police officers entered a heavily wooded area and went door-to-door along a narrow road about 3 miles from the prison where two killers used power tools to cut their way out to freedom a week ago.
After a night of heavy rain, authorities resumed searching the area near the upstate New York prison under blue skies on Saturday. Another group of heavily armed 10 policemen wearing bulletproof vests entered an area adjacent to the Saranac River accompanied by a German shepherd.
State police said there were no new leads and that the search would continue to target a triangular area of heavy woods southeast of the prison walls.
Late Friday, authorities also searched the manhole where the escapees broke free outside the prison walls.
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6:10 a.m. (EDT)
Hundreds of law enforcement personnel have begun an eighth day searching for two killers who used power tools to cut their way out of a prison in far upstate New York.
The searched continued Saturday the morning after a prison worker pleaded not guilty in Plattsburgh to giving contraband to inmates David Sweat and Richard Matt at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora.
Prosecutors say prison tailor shop instructor Joyce Mitchell befriended the men and gave them hacksaw blades, chisels, a punch and a screwdriver bit.
Mitchell is also suspected of agreeing to be a getaway driver but didn’t show up, leaving the men on foot early on June 6.
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1:36 a.m. (EDT)
A northern New York prison worker accused of helping two killers escape last weekend gave the men hacksaw blades, chisels, a punch and a screwdriver bit, according to criminal complaints.
Prison tailor shop instructor Joyce Mitchell is accused of befriending inmates David Sweat and Richard Matt at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora and giving them contraband.
Mitchell’s hands were cuffed in front of her and she stared straight ahead while she was arraigned Friday night in Plattsburgh on charges of felony promoting prison contraband and misdemeanor criminal facilitation. She was ordered jailed on $100,000 cash bail.
Mitchell’s family has said she would not have helped the convicts break out. She pleaded not guilty.
Mitchell has another court appearance scheduled for Monday.
Police say they won’t stop looking for the escaped inmates.
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