N.Y. Investigators Expand Search for Escaped Inmates to Vermont
New York investigators have announced that they have expanded their search for two escaped inmates from a maximum security prison to Vermont on Wednesday.
Entering day five of the search for escaped inmates David Sweat, 34, and Richard Matt, 48, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin said during a press conference that investigators received a tip that the two criminals may be hiding at a remote campsite in Vermont.
"We have information that suggests they thought New York was going to be hot. Vermont would be cooler, in terms of law enforcement," Shumlin said regarding the search for Matt and Sweat. "And that a camp in Vermont might be a better place to be. We do not."
The two inmates reportedly escaped the Clinton Correctional Facility this past Saturday by using power tools to cut through steel, break down bricks and crawl through a steam pipe to escape the maximum security prison.
Investigators have said that they are reportedly questioning a woman who worked in the prison's shop who had befriended the two criminals. Investigators have said that they are questioning how the two inmates obtained access to power tools.
"She befriended the inmates and she may have had some role in assisting them but I'm not going to go into any further details," New York State Police Superintendent Joseph D'Amico said in a statement.
Vermont residents are being warned to be on alert for any suspicious behavior or sightings of two men who match the description of Sweat and Matt.
