Progression images show what escaped inmates David Sweat, left, and Richard Matt might look like.(Photo: New York State Police)
Officials are investigating possible sightings of men who may fit the description of the two convicted killers who escaped from a New York prison this month.
On June 13, witnesses spotted two men walking near a rail yard in Erwin, N.Y., New York State Police said in a statement. The next day, men who matched that description were seen walking along a road in Lindley, N.Y., heading toward the New York-Pennsylvania border.
The sightings came a week after two killers, Richard Matt and David Sweat, cut their way out of a jail cell at Clinton Correctional Facility. They were discovered to be missing on June 7, and authorities since have conducted a massive manhunt.
Police interviewed people in both towns about the sightings and reviewed surveillance footage. They emphasized that the investigations are so far inconclusive.
Still, New York State Police urged communities along the state border to be vigilant. People should call 911 if they see anything, police said.
"Do not approach, as both are considered to be very dangerous," police said in a statement.
Earlier this week, authorities said they were scaling back on the manhunt near the prison.
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Sweat, 34, was serving a life sentence without parole for killing a Broome County, N.Y., sheriff's deputy who had confronted him and others about a suspected 2002 burglary.
Matt, 48, was serving a 25-year-to-life sentence for murder, kidnapping and robbery of William Rickerson. Rickerson was Matt's boss at a food warehouse; around the time that Matt was fired, Rickerson's dismembered body was found floating in the Niagara River.
The two men allegedly escaped with the help of Joyce "Tillie" Mitchell, who worked as a tailor shop instructor in the prison. She faces charges for supplying Matt and Sweat with hacksaw blades and other tools. She also has been accused of agreeing to be the pair's getaway driver, though authorities said she had second thoughts and failed to follow through.
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