Hunt for Prison Escapees in NY Town a Dead End

Authorities in Willsboro come up empty in search for David Sweat, Richard Matt
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 10, 2015 6:55 AM CDT
Updated Jun 10, 2015 7:04 AM CDT
Hunt for Prison Escapees in NY Town a Dead End
A heavily armed law enforcement officer patrols the edge of a road during a search for two escaped killers in Boquet, NY, June 9, 2015.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

"Please lock house and car doors tonight. Avoid walking around town if possible." That was part of the directive yesterday tweeted by the town of Willsboro, NY, to residents as the hunt continues for Richard Matt and David Sweat. The focus of the manhunt for the two convicts who broke out of the Clinton Correctional Facility last week moved to Willsboro, about 40 miles southeast of the prison, after someone said they spotted two men matching the prisoners' descriptions in Willsboro late Monday during a "driving rainstorm" and that they ran off when the witness's car approached, CNN reports. But "scores" of FBI agents, state troopers, and other authorities came up with nothing, and as of early this morning, only about 20 officers remained to search, NBC News reports.

Meanwhile, a source familiar with the case tells CNN that a prison employee being questioned by authorities may have been designated as the driver who would pick up Sweat and Matt after they busted out. Instead, Joyce Mitchell may have gotten cold feet and instead drove herself to the hospital after suffering panic attacks, CNN notes. But Tobey Mitchell, Mitchell's son, says his mom "is not the kind of person that's going to risk her life or other people's lives to let these guys escape from prison," he tells NBC News. He adds that he hasn't talked to Joyce or his dad, Lyle, who also works for the prison, since Saturday and that she was hospitalized with "severe chest pains." "She's a very nervous person," he notes. (Sweat and Matt left behind a taunting note.)

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