Sunday marked the 35th birthday of David Sweat, the younger of the two convicted killers who broke out of Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora by cutting through a steel wall and slithering through a steam pipe to a manhole on the street outside the prison’s walls.
According to a report by the Times Union, prison worker Joyce Mitchell allegedly “told investigators she had agreed to a plan with two convicted murderers that she would pick them up after they broke out of prison, they would kill her husband and flee to Vermont.
During two lengthy interviews with State Police, Mitchell, 51, allegedly said David Sweat and Richard Matt planned to flee to a cabin at an undisclosed location in Vermont.”
Mitchell’s husband, Lyle, is a maintenance worker at the prison, the source said.
Mitchell backed out of the plan and eventually turned herself into police, according to Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie: “They were going to meet down by the power plant, drive, I’m not going to say into the sunset, because it was after midnight and it was dark out, but they were going to drive … potentially to an area that was about seven hours away.” — “Joyce Mitchell ditched the plan to pick up the two inmates partly because she loves her husband and she didn’t want to do this to him.”
The New York State Police continue to search for escapees David Sweat and Richard Matt along State Route 374 in the Town of Plattsburgh. Route 374 will remain closed between General Leroy Manor Road and Rand Hill Road until the search has been completed.
As of Saturday, more than 800 law enforcement officers from state, local and federal agencies are assisting in this search. Investigators will continue to search door to door to remind residents to be vigilant. The search area will expand tomorrow towards the east side of Trudeau Road. Officers and Forest Rangers from the Department of Environmental Conservation, as well as officers from the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, FBI, U.S. Marshals, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Clinton and Essex County Sheriff Departments and the Plattsburgh Police Department are all providing assistance in the search. All available assets are being deployed around the clock, including K9 and aviation units. More than 700 leads have been developed at this point in the investigation.
