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Search Turns Sights on Vermont: Northern New York Prison Escapees Still at Large

NY State Police

  The search for the escaped inmates from a Northern New York prison has turned some of its attention towards Vermont.  Governor Cuomo contacted his counterpart Peter Shumlin to coordinate state law enforcement forces alongside FBI in tracking down and capturing the escapees.  

Vermont Governor Shumlin heard his state and it’s residents might be involved in locating Richard Matt and David Sweat. 

“Governor Cuomo called me this morning and informed me that although we don’t know where they are or where they have gone, that there is some indication that one of their destinations might have been the state of Vermont.  We have taken a number of actions together to ensure that our law enforcement community have no obstacles to apprehending these two criminals.”

Shumlin address the fact that the Intel received from the on-going investigation of all parties involved including inmates, correctional officers, and contract employees  has led law enforcement agents to focus on Vermont 

“ We have information that suggests that they thought NY was going to be hot and Vermont was going to be cooler in terms of law enforcement. A camp in Vermont might be a better place to be than New York."

He ordered his state police agencies to work together with New York and share intelligence.  Shumlin also says the state has mobilized marine patrols on Lake Champlain and other lakes as well as begun extensive shoreline searches.  He noted vacation camps and wilderness areas are difficult to monitor and is launching a public awareness campaign to alert anyone in those areas to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity.  

The public impact and ramifications of the prison escape has not gone unnoticed by Governor Cuomo. He plans on focusing state resources on both the cause and the capture of the escapees.

escapee_cuomo.mp3
Governor Cuomo address the continuing investigation into how prisoners were able to escape

Meanwhile New York state police say they’ve received more than 500 leads, but admit none has helped them zero in on the escapees’ whereabouts. NYS implores that anyone with any information of their whereabouts should call 1-800-Give-Tip and NYS has placed a $100,000 reward for the capture of the two men.

Chris Bolt, Ed.D. has proudly been covering the Central New York community and mentoring students for more than 30 years. His career in public media started as a student volunteer, then as a reporter/producer. He has been the news director for WAER since 1995. Dedicated to keeping local news coverage alive, Chris also has a passion for education, having trained, mentored and provided a platform for growth to more than a thousand students. Career highlights include having work appear on NPR, CBS, ABC and other news networks, winning numerous local and state journalism awards.