The New York-centered manhunt for escaped killers Richard Matt and David Sweat experienced a new breakthrough on Monday with a DNA discovery inside a burglarized cabin upstate 17 days after the pair's disappearance.
Matt, 49, and Sweat, 35, escaped from the maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility on June 6 in a getaway worthy of a Hollywood movie script in which they cut holes through steel cell walls and shimmied along catwalks and through pipes before emerging through a
manhole outside the prison gates, according to CNN.
The two killers have been described by authorities as “very dangerous” and were placed on the U.S. Marshals Service’s list of its 15 most wanted fugitives, according to CNN. As many as 800 law enforcement officers have been deployed to search wooded areas and campgrounds while knocking
door-to-door on houses in the area, according to Fox News.
Investigators with trucks, helicopters, and cruisers had previously descended upon Mountain View in Franklin County late Sunday after an unconfirmed, though credible, reported sighting more than 350 miles from the prison.
The newest DNA evidence comes from boots, bloody socks, and toiletries discovered in the cabin, suggesting that the killers broke into the shack as little as 24 hours before the
discovery, according to Channel NewsAsia. The items were sent to laboratories for testing before the confirmed report was released.
The authorities expressed concern that Matt and Sweat may be monitoring radio communications, according to CNN, and acting Franklin County District Attorney Glenn MacNeill warned nearby residents to stay inside their homes and maintain vigilance with their doors locked.
Amy Pulsifer, the manager of Trailside Bar and Restaurant in Franklin County, said things got “crazy insane” when investigators, helicopters, and state troopers swooped down, set up roadblocks, and questioned her, leading her boss to tell her to close early because of safety concerns.
“I'm kind of excited but nervous at the same time," Pulsifer told CNN. “Now, when it's in your backyard, it's kind of crazy.”
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