© 2024 KPCW

KPCW
Spencer F. Eccles Broadcast Center
PO Box 1372 | 460 Swede Alley
Park City | UT | 84060
Office: (435) 649-9004 | Studio: (435) 655-8255

Music & Artist Inquiries: music@kpcw.org
News Tips & Press Releases: news@kpcw.org
Volunteer Opportunities
General Inquiries: info@kpcw.org
Listen Like a Local Park City & Heber City Summit & Wasatch counties, Utah
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

'Some Indication' That N.Y. Escapees Might Have Headed To Vermont

"There is some indication" that two convicted killers who escaped from a maximum security prison in New York "might have planned to head to Vermont" after escaping, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin says.

He spoke at a news conference held near the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y., where inmates David Sweat and Richard Matt escaped this past weekend.

Shumlin said the authorities have information suggesting the two men might have considered New York "too hot" and that they might instead head to a camp in Vermont.

The news follows reports Tuesday about one police theory that suggests the pair might have remained on foot after their escape.

Shumlin was joined by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who said, "We need to find these escapees." Cuomo added that there's no reason to think the two inmates would not kill again.

"Trust me, these men are nothing to be trifled with," he said.

Saying that prison employees are being interviewed, Cuomo confirmed reports that the authorities are speaking to a woman who works at the prison. He added that officials are conducting other interviews, as well.

The two governors said they were in close communication to ensure that their police agencies were sharing information and working together to try to find the escapees.

Sweat and Matt have been headline news since they successfully carried out a complex escape plan this past weekend. As Scott reported for the Two-Way Sunday, they got out of the prison by "shimmying through a steam pipe and emerging from a manhole on the outside."

The search for them now involves more than 450 personnel who are going door-to-door, conducting car searches and gathering information.

"Do not try to approach these men," the New York State Police's Joseph D'Amico said Wednesday. "They are extremely dangerous."

D'Amico added that there is a $100,000 reward for any information that leads to the men's capture.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Bill Chappell is a writer and editor on the News Desk in the heart of NPR's newsroom in Washington, D.C.