>> reporter: construction work was being done on the inmate cellblock at clinton correctional facilityissing tools have been reported. authorities tell abc news they have questioned joyce mitchell an industrial training supervisor at the prison. her neighbors to night among those on edge in the small community. >> me and her were scared. i want to find out what is going on. hey, i live here man. >> reporter: police say both men are serving life terms for murder. richard matt for kidnapping and killing his former boss. david sweat for killing sheriff's deputy kevin tarcia. for his fiancee, the escape has been traumatic. >> i was pretty much in shock when i heard that david sweat had escaped from state prison maximum security it was very shocking. it brought back all of the memories and all of the thoughts and the terrible horrific torture that they have inflicted on kevin and it brought all back terrible memories of all of that. >> these guy are dangerous. these guys are two guys as dangerous as you are going to get. >> reporter: martin horn former commissioner of the new york city depa

this is just outside the correctional facility. this is the clintonional facility in upstate new york dannemora, new york. these two fenagled an escape involving a 20-pound saw and apparently able to cut through a wall in their cell and head down some piping in a narrow area and pop out through a manhole, you know cutting through a lock on the other side before leaving. before the break, and we'll have more of that in just a minute we'll move on. before the break you heard part one of my exclusive interview with two police officers in the city of baltimore. they agreed to speak with me without the permission of their department. because of that and in this attempt to allow the officers to speak candidly cnn agreed to not use their names or show their faces and we've also modeified their voices. i played their thoughts on the arrest of freddie gray and the reason for the crime wave and now why they cannot trust the people in power including the state's attorney who charged their fellow officers. do you feel like the community in baltimore respects you?

we're pretty sure they didn't go back into clinton correctional facility. nted they're outside the walls. they have done a thorough search by department of correction community services personnel within the facility to eliminate the fact that it's an that waited facility that may have extensive networks. they've searched the facility. we are outside the facility which is my intent with the state police, and we're going to continue to search wherever it takes us. >> have there been any confirmed sightings of the two men? there have been rumors going around. >> no there have been no confirmed sightings. but we respond to every request for a sighting. >> where did they go after they were arrested? >> depends where they're arrested. they'll be brought back to new york state for justice. >> [ inaudible ] to the escape? >> any contraband introduced into a facility is critical as it provides people who should not have certain and specific items the ability to use those items to avail themselves of escape. this is a complex and elaborate escape as governor cuomo men

. >> speak to the larger investigation of the state at the clinton correctional facility or the manhuntp b regarding our search here. he is leading the manhunt and investigation into the escape along with our state, federal and local partners. now, there has been a lot of police activity in the town of friendship over the last 24 hours and we would like to update the public on where the investigation stands at this time. on saturday at approximately 1:16 p.m. the state police received a call from a witness who spotted two men on a railroad line that runs along county route 20 in the town of friendship. the description given was similar to the description of david sweat and richard matt the two men who escaped from the clinton correctional facility on june 6th. we interviewed the witness at length and the determination was made that this investigation lead should be investigated. approximately 300 members of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies were brought in for the search. a secure perimeter was established around the area of the sighting and roadblocks were set up along

that's where matt and david sweat escaped the clinton correctional facility nearly three weeks ago.ust about three weeks ago today. just hours ago, police intensified their search in this area after more dna evidence was found in a cabin that the two apparently had broken into. nbc's john yang is in that area and explained the scene a few minutes ago. >> we have had a number of state police cars racing through here with lights and sirens going. when i got here yesterday, it seemed like the activity was slacking off, keeping up today rks picked up very, very quickly and cull lynnminated they killed richard matt. >> reporter: they believe they were moving at night, trying to cross the bored near canada. what they don't know is where david sweat is, no reason to believe the two men had slipped up. all the updates for you,

. >> to murderers david sweat and richard max escaped from the clinton correctional facilities and upstateew york the woman behind the escape joyce mitchell. >> some real issues and got herself into something she couldn't get out of. >> guilty as hell. >> at 16 accused of stealing a backpack and striking amend the face. inside rikers island and set to appear in court this week. >> beaten to a pulp. a pulp. and now to destroy any young mind. bill: they get there for a reason. a new mom comes home from hospital to find that she has been robbed. >> check out this video of two thieves these entering an apartment in new york city and stealing the packages. only found out the list all the packages from it as crazy. a story that you and the viewers need to pay attention to. the viewers can be a help in a help in bringing justice. pregnant with twins, due in august. in labor for 50 hours. spend the next week in the hospital at mount sinai beth israel. a harrowing week in the hospital. she was discharged but the twins stay for another couple of months. when she and her husband got home to there apa

nbc's miguel almaguer is at the clinton correctional facility. miguel? >> reporter: lester, good evening. tonight, we're learning more about the convicts who may have used power tools to escape the prison behind me. nbc news has learned that they were housed in the so-called honor section, the "a" block of the prison, where they may have had more freedom. the two said to be close friends. this as we also learn prison investigators may be looking into an employee, a woman who worked inside the prison and may have helped the inmates make their daring escape. >> pop the trunk for me, please. >> reporter: tonight, the international dragnet to catch two killers widening across the u.s., mexico, and canada, where border patrol agents are zeroing in and searching tractor-trailers. police, s.w.a.t. teams and the fbi with the largest presence outside the maximum security prison wall. convicts 34-year-old david sweat and 49-year-old richard matt were discovered missing 5:30 a.m. saturday during a routine cell check. tonight, for the first time, we're hearing the e

michael served time at the clinton correctional facility for manslaughter and released last may and joiningus the new york state assemblyman with ex extensionve knowledge of the facility. you served time here and know this as few do when you're in there, how do you pull this off? how do you pull off talking to the guy next door getting the tools, cutting out? >> well the easy part is pulling it off. the hard part is getting the tools. the only way to get tools, there is no way in or out of that facility that doesn't go through an officer or someone so it had to have gone through somebody in the department of corrections. an inmate isn't going to have access. >> so you believe somebody on the inside had access? >> if you mail something in they drop it off in the mail room and it gets picked up from prison staff picks that up. so there is no other way. >> all right. so you just saw stephanie showing how loud it is to slice through the metal soft you've spent a lot of nights in that prison it's very loud. >> at night you think they could do it and people won't hear. >> totally. it's louder tha

we are live at the clinton correctional facility in dannemora with the latest. rick? >> reporter: police have checked out 1500 leads over the last two weeks since the two men escaped from the clinton correctional facility. and most of the leads have turned up nothing or near nothing. so we don't want to get too optimistic about this particular lead although it certainly surrounded promising when a woman according to "the new york times" spotted two men coming out of the woods near some railroad tracks in allegheny county in a town of friendship new york near the pennsylvania border and the southwestern portion of the state. she says one of the men jumped back into the woods and the other pulled a hoodie over his head. we know from our reporting that the men inside this prison these two men, in particular were able to wear street clothes, including hooded sweatshirts and used hooded sweatshirts to pretend -- they stuffed them and put them in their beds to look like they were in their beds when they were breaking out by cutting through walls and pipes and making their wa

they're searching homes near the clinton correctional facility looking for two escaped prisoners.e been two possible sightings of richard matt and david sweat. investigators think a woman who worked with the paur at the prison planned to pick up the convicted killers after they broke out of the maximum security prison but then changed her mind. that's what a source at least, is telling cnn. another source says joyce mitchell went to the hospital because of panic attacks. mitchell supervised both inmates when they worked in the tailoring shop within the facility. the public information officer for the new york state department of directions tells cnn prisoners use sew magazines and other sewing tools and that any inmate could apply for a job in the tailor shop. meanwhile, the son of richard matt is speaking out about his father's prison escape. comprehend at first. just shocking. nobody would really expect that. it's in his nature. he escaped from attica before too. so i don't know. >> our national correspondent polo sand valueoval is joining us from dannemora dannemora. how is the

matt and sweat escaped from clinton correctional facility in dannemora dannemora dannemora, new yorkune 6. authorities say the two men had help fa sill tagtcilitateing their escape. joyce mitchell arrested and charged with helping them break free. >> matt groomed her to the point of assisting them in escape. >> reporter: mitchell pleaded not guilty. but officials say escape may not have been the only thing on their minds. >> they would kill mitchell's husband and then get in the car and drive on the theory that mitchell was in love with one or both of them. >> sweat and matt plotting for five months. mitchell allegedly smuggling them tools in hamburger meat. >> she advised us she placed them into hamburger. the correction officer was come collect that and bring that into inmate matt. >> reporter: police say the menuedmenu ed men used power tools to drill and shimmying through pipes after cat walks and pipes they walked 300 to 400 yard done a tunnel coming to a man health that they sawed open with their tools. the manhole they surfaced was one block from the prison walls. according to

. >> scott :sweat and fellow inmate richard matt escaped from clinton correctional facility more than three weeks ago. matt was shot and killed by police friday. sunday, residents were relieved both men are once again off the streets. >> : "i'm just glad it's over, and i'm happy they got him alive so that they can get some answers." >> : "i wanna know who else helped him in the jail. i think that's the most important thing right now is to find out who else may have had a hand in their escape." >> scott :prosecutors say two prison employees provided matt and sweat with tools to help them escape. the capture of sweat brings this prison break drama.witch is the first in clinton correctional facility's history.to a close. no officers were injured in the operation. according to hospital officials, sweat is in the albany medical center listed in critical condition >> vicki : with the massive.more than 3-week man hunt for david sweat ending. people in the state of new york can rest easy. knowing sweat is in police custody. as for david sweat's mother.she says she has not been watching the ex

state investigators have been at the clinton correctional facility since last week as you may know. the fbi launched a probe of its own. details on that now from our justice correspondent evan perez who joins us from washington. so the fbi probe, what do we know about it? >> anderson it does appear this prison was a dysfunctional place. the fbi is investigating possible criminal activity inside the clinton correctional facility including heroin trafficking. now, investigators want to know whether the two former fugitives, richard matt and david sweat were working with guards as part of the drug ring. now law enforcement officials tell cnn that some of the prison employees who have been interviewed have described widespread availability of heroin at the prison and the role of employees in getting the drugs inside. now we know that matt and sweat had a lot of freedom inside this prison. and the question now is was their alleged involvement in some of the criminal activity part of the reason for the freedom, anderson. >> do we know if either joyce mitchell or gene palmer are suspected

this is a hundred-year facility. 1845 is when clinton correctional was built. in a hundred years, they never had a breakout like this and now they did. >> my father worked at clinton correctional. he retired there after 37 years. he was very proud of the heritage that they never had an escape. so for this to have happened and under, you know our watch is very upsetting for the law enforcement community. >> people clearly relieved now that these two convicted murderers are no longer on the run in their community. let's talk about it. we have full coverage from law enforcement analyst. we have rich swine with us a former fbi special agent that led the search for the olympic park bomber. eric rue doll f is with us. also former fbi agent jonathan gilliam. rick as we've been covering this now for weeks, what is your reaction to the way that this capture of david sweat went down the fact that they were able to apprehend him and keep him alive? >> i think it's fantastic poppy. and really goes to the dedication of the many different law enforcement organizations that w

let's go now to our complete team coverage outside of clinton correctional facility.e with me here in new york tom fuentes, with me former atf agent matthew horace and on scape, we have a former fbi special agent. let me begin with you. given this credible sighting has been called in what is going on in this manhunt? >> law enforcement has to establish a good perimeter. they also have to have paramount in their concerns is the safety of the public that lives within that perimeter, it's a difficult to thing to do it requires a lot of manpower and coordination, because you're going to have a response from numerous state, local and federal agencies. additionally, as my atf colleague indicated, it can be good news and bad news. it allows people cover so they can move unobserved. but certainly law enforcement has technology they can utilize to their advantage during periods of darkness. >> rick thank you, stay with me let's talk about some of the technology tom. >> main technology would be infrared and helicopters. you see the helicopters circling a human body or an animal

. >> reporter: we now know the two men had help inside the clinton correctional facility to help them escape. joyce tillie mitchell a supervisor was arrested and charged with assisting the two break free. >> what did she give them? >> hacksaw blades. drill bits. a p tool. and a couple pairs of eyeglasses that have lights on them. she later provided batteries. >> joyce pleaded not guilty to her arraignment. prosecutors say mitchell and convicts alleged leap discussed a plot to kill her husband of 14 years and that sweat and matt planned the escape for five months. mitchell allegedly smuggling in tools and hamburger meat into the two convicts. according to authorities, she was supposed to be the driver of the getaway car on the outside but was hospitalized instead due to panic attacks. >> she advised us she had taken the hacksaw blade, some of the other tool the screwdriver bit, placed them into hamburger and then a correction officer would come and collect it and then bring it into inmate matt. in a block. >> reporter: then another officer gene palmer, first suspended then arrested. >>

joys mitchell has pleaded not guilty to providing tools so the inmates could break out of clinton correctional facility. you're looking at pictures of her inside the courtroom where her hearing got under way. she was going to meet the men with a getaway car but she got cold feet at the last minute because she said she still loves her husband. >> joyce mitchell was criminal of richard matt and david sweat's escape from the clinton correctional facility in new york. she allegedly provided them with tools, including hacksaw blades. >> one of the things he asked her for was to provide her with gloves and per her statements to law enforcement she went out and bought those speed bag gloves and brought them into the facility and gave those to him. he asked her to bring in a set of glasses with lights on them and she bought those and provided those to him as well. >> prosecutors say that mitchell agreed to provide a getaway car. the plan was that she had drive them seven hours away. but mitchell checked herself into the hospital instead potentially leaving the prisoners to find their way on foot. >> we don't k

year-old, david sweat and 48- year-old, richard matt escaped from the maximum security clinton correctional facility. clinton is new york's largest maximum security prison. the two inmates were discovered missing during a bed check early this morning. instead, guards found a hole cut through a prison cell wall and an uncovered manhole outside. >> no doubt that it was an extraordinary act. you have a facility that opened in 1865, just think about it. this is the first escape from the maximum security portion of the institution ever. >> wow. authorities also notified the royal canadian police because the clinton correctional facility is 25 miles from the canadian border. seven people are recovering from gun shot wounds for a violent friday night in the district of columbia. d.c. police say an attempted robbery may be the motive for a triple shooting in the 100 block of irvington street southwest. police also reported shootings overnight in the 300 block of upshire street northwest. the 3800 block of 8th street southeast and in had the 800 block of chesapeake street southeast. we spoke with d.c. police

the men broke out of the clinton correctional facility in dannemora, new york over the weekend. police in vermont have sent out fliers with pictures of the fugitives and new york police have closed off a state highway near the maximum security prison, urging people to stay in their homes. >>> there is a huge effort to find them. 400 officers and canine units are going house to house. they want to make sure they haven't missed a thing. matt was serving 25 years to life for murder, kidnapping and robbery. sweat was sentenced to life without parole for killing a sheriff's deputy. >> they are also searching for the killers by air. cnn's randy kaye went along for the ride. >> reporter: from the air, what authorities are up against is clear. so many place first the escapees to hide. >> what would you be looking for to help with the search? >> if there is particular intelligence we'll go take a look. other times we will use the camera, we can do a wide area search. you can see the guys hawaiiing behind rocks or buildings or under shelters. >> reporter: law enforcement made it clear the

hello, i'm randy kaye, in new york, from the clinton correctional facility, it's the first time anybody escaped from this facility since it opened back in the mid-1800s. that bold escape was just the beginning of a story that is almost too twisted to believe, involving murder, manipulation and sex. before the sun even began to rise over the small town of dannemora, new york, they were gone. an escape plan worthy of a screenplay carried out by two very dangerous men. >> on a scale of one to ten, they're a ten, dangerous, wild animal. >> prisoners, richard matt and david sweat, had joining cells here at the facility. the two were last seen around friday night, june 5th, around 10:30 p.m., during a search, where matt and sweat showed themselves standing inside their cells. but just hours later, a shocking discovery. it would leave prison guards shaking their heads, law enforcement on high alert. and this small upstate new york community terrified. >> this is a very elaborate plan. but we are only at the very preliminary stages of determining exactly what happened. >> reporter: what happene

he will be charged with breaking out of the clinton correctional facility. he will be charged with other things whether it's burglary or theft along the way, because he clearly got other clothes and other belongings as they moved along. and then he will face charges for that. and then he will eventually be moved to another facility probably not clinton though it sounds like. it would be hard to believe he would be moved back to the same facility. >> thank you very much. the fbi investigating that facility now and david sweat and richard matt in terms of a drug ring. >>> we have new details about their final days. here is what we know. the new york coroner who inspected richard malttt's body is telling cnn his face was splattered with blood. he is dressed to blend in with the woods. dark brown pants and a green jacket. clothing similar to what sweat was seen wearing at the time of his arrest. alexandra field is "out front" with new details on sweat's capture. >> reporter: david sweat captured close to clean shaven and in good shape before taking two bullets.

she helped assist these killers escape from the clinton correctional facility.aiting a new york city police presser. perhaps any moment, tammy, this story has captured the nation's imagination for many, many years. >> yeah. charles: just the way it was broken out. like if you wrote a script and handed it to someone in hollywood, they would have said, no, it's unbelievable. >> yeah, and her role in this is interesting. there's already been gospel and discussions about her previous jobs. being a home wrecker. having affairs. yet, then she gets a job where she's effectively alone in a men's prison with men. (?) one of these guys who escaped tried to escape before. but they were on the honor block. you have this human condition framework. almost like a perfect storm ready to happen. then them leaving the little sticky note on the pie tin. have a nice day. they've already escaped. clearly they are dangerous. they're violent people. i think that this might be part of a plea -- in a way kind of a bargain with the police and mitchell, in that she gave them a lot of info

but the road that led escaped inmate richard matt to clinton correctional facility is a long one.'ll show you the video from the 2008 trial when he was found guilty of the murder and dismembership of businessman william rickerson. the trial was full of details of terror tur, previous escape attempts and witness testimony about how matt snapped ricker son's neck with his bare hands. joining me now, lou ha remski, the prosecutor in the trial seven years ago. lou, great to have you on. >> thank you, brooke. >> transparency sake for our viewers, we called you a couple of weeks ago to talk to you about matt and you said no fearing the possibility that he would track you down. we now know his fate so now we'll talk to you. and i appreciate you coming on. you say you are not surprised he was killed upon capture. i want you to tell me why. >> well when we were prepare forge the trial, there was evidence that the sheriff's department had received from another inmate that he was planning an escape. and with that part of that was that a statement to the inmate that he would not be taken aliv

it also includes nine members of the security staff at the clinton correctional facility. let's discuss what's going on with evan perez and jeff dumas who worked at the clinton facility. jeff, 12 people put on leave, three garpds.uards: this is a huge deal which seems to suggest there were major blunders there. >> it is a huge deal. however this is a move that is kind of expected from the government in albany. we kind of expected it. none? of these people are going to have anything do with aiding in the escape. they are going to suspend these people just because of where they worked. probably the officers in the block that evening even though they did their rounds and their job correctly because of the escape they'll probably be suspended. so it's going to be suspending and pending the investigation. >> but there's a separate investigation under way right now is of the facility allegations of drug use, heroin use. >> it sounds dysfunctional, with all due respect. it appears the state government has decided to move quickly here because they know not only is their an ongoing

placed on administrative leaf as part of the on going investigation into the escape at clinton correctional facility. department of correction officials said no additional information was available. >>> why are police releasing information of this possible sighting a week later? why wait before making it public? i will speak with a former investigator with the u.s. marshals service and ask that question. >>> let's go from there now to the weather. rough start to this weekend for many parts of the country. near ft. worth tropical depression bill dumped rain. central florida, a thunderstorm tore down trees and damaged homes. in fact, this is what it looked like in a town dot of orlando. one homeowner had her pool roof heavily damaged. >> it was like a dinosaur coming across the street. >> wow. orlando tied a heat record friday when temperatures reached 100 degrees for the first time in 17 years. the weather channel's reynolds wolf is here with the forecast. good morning, reynolds. >> well, alex, we're keeping a sharp eye on parts of the midwest where we have a chance of strong storms today. may actual

. >>> take escaped prisoner david sweat alive opens a new chapter in the story of the clinton correctional facility. the fbi has has launched a probe into a drug ring behind bars. joining me is a former inmate of the clinton correctional facility, and back with me, criminalologist casey major danilo. lou, thank you for joining the program. tonight david sweat sits in a hospital bed waiting to head back to prison. what will prison be like for him now? >> there is a couple of different twanss he will get from the prisoners. one is he would normally be a hero. what he did is big within that system. first all, he killed a cop. to begin with he was sort of like a hero because that's the enemy to the people in prison. that's the first thing. but now, having escaped in this great, like mysterious alcatraz escape, and leading cops around on wild goose chase like bonnie and clyde, he would be welcomed back with open arms. but the fact that i found out he is a rat, he was ratsing on other prisoners, leading up to that escape, that's going to do him harm inside the prison. where typically they would be like w

>> 48-year-old richard matt and 34-year-old david sweat made a daring escape from the clinton correctional facility in upstate new york near the canadian border. >> no doubt that it was an extraordinary act. you have a facility that opened in 1865, just think about it. this is the first escape from the maximum security portion of the institution ever. >> the pair left makeshift dummies in their beds made out of hooded sweat shirts and carved a hole through a steel wall at the rear of their cells. >> this morning we noticed during the standing count at 5:30 a.m. of this facility the two cells which were adjoining each other were empty. >> reporter: officials say the inmates crawled through tunnels and down a six-story cat walk and used power tools to cut through steel pipes, eventually escaping through a manhole outside the prison perimeter. officials say the brazen pair even left a note for prison officials. it read have a nice day. >> we went back and pieced together what they did. it was elaborate. it was sophisticated. >> reporter: sweat is serving a sentence of life without parole after he was

the extent of the action we've seen here just outside the clinton correctional facility which is wherearted, we've noticed transport vehicles van, buses come and go a couple of those vehicles carrying some of those correctional officers wearing body armor which is really what we've seen the last several days so we can only assume they could potential will i be heading out there to backup some of the officers that are looking for -- at least following up on this potential lead. again, at least two suspicious individuals spotted in the nearby town of willsboro p spotted by one citizen there. of course those reports being followed up on at this hour wolf. >> what about -- what do we know polo about this female prison worker being questioned by authorities? she's give an statement to investigators, is that right? >> that's right, wolf. money of the investigation also focusing on this individual a female prison worker who basically worked in the tailor shop in the facility you see behind me. our sources telling us she knew pretty well these two individuals and so now they're calling into qu

this is not far from the clinton correctional facility where the men escaped.reeted with cheers and applause for applause. for first time in more than three weeks residents no longer have to worry if a desperate fugitive its lurking nearby. steve loans a marketowns a market just across the prison. welcome back. >> thank you. >> did you sleep well last night? >> i did. thank you. >> what do you think of this sergeant who managed to take out david sweat with two shots? >> it's great. we are all very thankful and just relieved this is over hopefully. >> how has your business been in light of all that's been happening? >> well the business has been -- we've been doing twice as much as we normally do and things have been calming down a little bit when the search moved to malone a little bit away from here but it's still been crazy. we're enjoying it. >> does this whole thing -- did this whole thing ever make you reconsider living and working near a prison? >> oh absolutely not. i mean my wife and i were talking about it last night. now that it's another, you can ref

investigators from the new york state inspector general's office at the clinton correctional facility scrutinizing security protester comes. while this is happening, the manhunt for the two men continues. we're learning more from an interview gene palmer gave police. cnn national correspondent alexander field is in oulsz head new york. what can you tell us? >> reporter: gene is filling in some of the details about what happened behind bars telling police he didn't intentionally help the inmates and says whatever assistance he gave them he had no idea it would make their escape easier. >> we're learning new details on how david sweat and richard matt were aided in their escape. an official close to the investigation tells cnn gene palmer a prison guard, gave at least one of the inmates a screw driver and needle-nosed pliers supposedly to help fix electrical breakers in the catwalk area behind their cells so they could use hot plates in those cells to cook. the tools were later found at palmer's home after police executed a search warrant. palmer gave access and supervised matt and swea

the two men who escaped from the clinton correctional facility on june 6th. we interviewed the witness at length and the determination was made that this lead should be investigated. >> and the search has intensified over the last 24 hours following that third possible sighting of the two along the new york pennsylvania border in a town called friendship new york 300 miles south of the prison. it has become the new hot spot with 300 members of law enforcement now concentrating there. cnn has talked to the lawyer for the corrections officer who has been on leave, paid leave as part of the investigation. he says -- the attorney says that palmer will cooperate with the investigation. at that news conference, police said the latest sighting along some railroad tracks is indeed credible and they continue to look intensively there. an alexandria field is live for us in friendship. they did say they were concentrating their efforts, there was a great omission about what kind of resources are being poured into that area. have we learned anymore about how they're sear

tells cnn that police have found dna from richard matt and david sweat in a cabin near the clinton correctional facilityjason carroll has our report. >> reporter: tests being run on materials found inside a cabin located in a wooded area 20 miles west of the clinton county correctional facility. the dna matches that of escaped cons richard matt and david sweat. state police are still cautious about the findings. >> we have recovered specific items from the cabin and forwarded them to the appropriate laboratories but we are not ready to release the evidence at this time. >> reporter: alerts put out warning residents to be vigilant. and on saturday nearly 300 miles away, word of another possible sighting of fugitives near the town of friendship. >> we conducted a search that has ended. we have declared that area clear. >> reporter: also becoming more clear how the men gathered materials to make their escape. investigators are looking at whether tools or other contraband was hidden inside frozen hamburger meat. that meat did not pass through a metal detector. officials are looking into whether joyce mitche

more than 1100 officers have been involved in the search since the pair escaped from the clinton correctional facility june 6. nbc news got a look at this cabin some 15 miles from the prils. police got their first break in the search there when police found dna evidence a match to both convicts. let's bring in chris in malone new york for us. good morning. a little after daybreak there. what are you seeing? >> reporter: good morning, alex. once police shot and killed richard matt they immediately moved in to set up a perimeter on the banks of the salmon river south of malone new york. they believe that this perimeter they are manning now is choking off any means of escape for david sweat. a swarm of police cars the first indication that the three-week-long manhunt could be nearing an end. escaped murderer richard matt shot and killed in the woods after a driver reported his camper had been fired upon. >> the team came upon matt who was an escaped prisoner engaged mr. matt who was armed and mr. matt was shot and killed. >> reporter: this comes during a concentrated search two days after finding evidenc

how much time did you do at the clinton correctional facility? >> between a year and year and a half. >> you were there for drug and weapons charges? >> i was. >> how did you -- how did you consider the security there? was it lax, as we have recently begun to hear they have gotten complacent there because they haven't had had a escape in 100 years? >> it's a maximum security prison in any case. however, there are times when the security can be lax. people are, you know, just human beings and there are other people considering the possibilities for the escape all they did is consider it. >> so you worked in the same tailor shop. did you know joyce mitchell? >> no. i initially thought i did but she came about a year after i left. >> what is that experience like when prisoners are allowed to work in the shop. are you supervised all the time or a pretty free experience where you're allowed to interact with the civilian workers? >> the inmates are basically supervised. it is kind of lax from my experience. as i said it is lax so you can interact with

paolo sandoval is live at the clinton correctional facility 30 miles down the road helicopters in the sky looking for the guys potentially these two. tell me about the search that's under way. >> reporter: you know, brooke i can tell you at this point there are dozens of police officers searching through that very small town of willsboro, new york. in the last hour we heard from law enforcement telling us they do believe these two individuals likely weren't picked up after they emerged from the manhole not far from where i'm standing which could lead authorities to believe they were on foot. it is a real possibility they could still be in the area. we've heard so many theories the two individuals, david sweat and richard matt could have fled north to canada or down south to mexico since it's been four days since this prison break happened. again this is still a very real possibility. i want to sort of set the scene for you here what's happening about 30 miles from here we know that local, state and federal officials are in the air, on the ground searching this small really farming com

often times whether it as the clinton correctional facility or in california at l.a. county -- you know, i have heard abutout this before guard relying on inmates to try to get information abut other inmates that will cause trouble. the unwritten rule if you will. the way that prisons operate. it is just a reality. officers and prison guards who are there have to be able to get information about other inmates there who are going to be cause trouble, who might be trying to cause a fight, who might be trying to eliminate someone, if there are rival gang members working inside prisons and you are gig truetrying to get information. it's not unusual to try to get sourced information. not something written on the books. something that happens. something really a part of prison culture. andersen. >> jason. i appreciate the update. continue checking with you. as the story develops. there is a whole new dimension. joining us jeffrey toobin senior legal analyst. jeff what do you make of this? how serious are the charges against gene palmer? >> it is very serious. and you interv

investigators believe she helped richard matt and david sweat escape the clinton correctional facility last weekend. our miguel marquez is on this story. >> reporter: well, it only took minutes, but joyce mitchell is now formally arraigned, two charges, a felony and a misdemeanor. the felony is promoting prison contraband. the misdemeanor is a criminal facilitation in the fourth degree, all of this for what authorities tell cnn is her hand in helping two convicted murderers escape from the clinton correctional facility, a maximum-security prison, giving them drill bits, hacksaws and goggles with lights on them, perhaps providing other information and help to them. she had been assisting authorities all week after having second thoughts, she said, and then came the charges. she was in court for only a few minutes. she only spoke a few words. she looked absolutely terrified as she stood before the judge here in plattsburgh, new york, and only whispering the word "yes," as the judge asked her her name. her lawyer entered the plea of not guilty, at least provisionally. all of this now kick

how they did it how they cut and crawled their way out of the clinton correctional facility in dannemora is look something straight out of the movies. we are following this all night. >> reporter: they were supposed to be in their beds in adjoining cells but instead before dawn saturday a routine check turned up something else. >> they weren't actual dummies, but they were -- they had clothing on and it looked like people were sleeping in the bunks with a sweat shirt hoodie on. >> reporter: one of a handful of clever moves by this crime duo, richard matt and david sweat, both convicted killers. they were last seen around 10:30 friday night in their cells during a standing count. their bunks were also checked every two hours during the night but it wasn't until 5:30 a.m. saturday morning that a guard sounded the alarm. >> the search revealed that there was a hole cut out of the back of the cell through which mees inmates escape these inmates escaped. >> reporter: they tutd cut their way using power tools that still no one knows how they got. the escapees followed a catwalk that's six stor

a wooded area in owl's head new york today just 22 miles west of the maximum security clinton correctional facility. >> we have developed evidence that the suspects may have spent time in a cabin in this area. >> reporter: dna from richard matt and david sweat was found on personal items inside the cabin. that coincides with an eyewitness account of a person running from the cabin into the woods on saturday. >> it's a confirmed lead for us. it has generated a massive law enforcement response as you can see. and we're going to run this to grund. >> reporter: the discovery shifts the hunt for the killers back to an area not far from where they escaped on june 6th. saturday afternoon, a possible sighting of the two fugitives 300 miles away near the pennsylvania border have residents of friendship, new york on high alert. police swarmed the region with helicopters and search dogs but nothing was found. sources tell cnn there's no evidence the escaped killers have the support network needed to get away from the prison once they broke out. joyce mitchell a prison employee is in jail accused of helping th

no police officers were hurt, and no civilian officers were hurt and i am such the clinton correctional facility is glad no one got hurt. i know that law enforcement feels good. >> especially if he survives and he survives long enough to talk and give any kind of information because this investigation will now blow up. now they finally have their guy the amount of questions are going to go through the entire correctional facility and through every correctional facility in the country because this case has spelled out so many loopholes, too many to count and too many correctional facilities officers that could have been involved. we know of two alleged accomplices here inside the correctional facility. i imagine there are more. >> you when you do something like this you need help and who is going to help you. the corrections or someone working there or someone to get you the tools. it is not only the clinton correctional institute but every institution will be aware of the security. >> gil there were reports that the buffalo news said he was wearing hunting camouflage and a dark coat so he may ha