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Progression images show what escaped inmates David Sweat, left, and Richard Matt might look like.(Photo: New York State Police)
Law enforcement agencies from around New York<span style="color: Red;">*</span>state continued Sunday to investigate a possible sighting of two men in Allegany County who escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility.
Investigators said a witness spotted David Sweat and Richard Matt<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Saturday near a railroad line that runs along Route 20 in the Town of Friendship, about 70 miles west of Corning, matching the description of the escapees. Troopers said it was a credible, although unconfirmed, sighting. Troopers themselves have not seen the fugitives.
The two men escaped from the maximum-security prison in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Dannemora, near the Canadian border, on<span style="color: Red;">*</span>June 6.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Police said the two used power tools to drill through a wall.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>They worked their way to a tunnel that led to a manhole about a block from the prison.
Early Sunday morning, caravans holding New York state corrections officers arrived<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to help continue the search for David Sweat and Richard Matt throughout Allegany County,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>near the Pennsylvania border.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Officers from Elmira, Attica, Gowanda and Collins correctional facilities were all contributing to the search.
Police search vehicles at the Friendship/Bolivar exit on Interstate 86.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Photo courtesy of Ryan Hedrick / WGRZ)
All traffic is being stopped along I-86 and local roads and vehicles are being searched.
The Town of Friendship is closed while police search<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the area, WGRZ -TV reported, with a police helicopter in the sky.
Sweat was serving<span style="color: Red;">*</span>life without parole following his conviction for the murder of Broome County Sheriff Deputy Kevin Tarsia prior to his escape.
Matt was serving a sentence of 25 years to life after his conviction of murder, kidnapping and robbery at the corrections facility. He kidnapped then beat and tortured a male victim to death, and then dismembered his body.
A pair of possible sightings June 13 and June 14 in the Town of Erwin and Lindley flagged state troopers and Steuben County Sheriff officers to search a construction site on Rita's Way near a Gang Mills railyard in the Town of Erwin.
"We don't know if leads are credible, that's why when we get a lead, we go and investigate," public information state trooper Mark O'Donnell said.
An "extensive number of officers" were brought to the area following the two tips. Investigators conducted a search Saturday before noon while a state trooper was stationed at the entryway of Rita's Way, asking if anyone had seen anything.
Surveillance footage shows two men walking through a construction site along Rita's Way. The inconclusive video was sent off to Albany for further study, police officials said.
Campbell resident Jim Austin said he heard about the sighting in Erwin and near Lindley Saturday morning.
"I'll just be a little more attentive when walking, but I won't change the way I do life," Austin said.
"If these men are spotted, police advise witnesses to call 911 immediately. Do not approach the men, as both are considered to be very dangerous," police said.
If anyone has any other information regarding the escape, police ask tipsters to please call (800) GIVETIP.
New York state is offering a reward of $50,000 for information that leads to the capture of either suspect ($100,000 for both), police said. The U.S. Marshals Service has placed Sweat and Matt on their 15 Most Wanted Fugitives List, and is also offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to the capture of either suspect, police said.
Prison worker Joyce Mitchell remains in custody<span style="color: Red;">*</span>on charges she helped Sweat and Matt escape by providing them hacksaw blades, chisels and other tools. She has pleaded not guilty.
Officials said a corrections officer also has been placed on administrative leave as part of the investigation into the mens' escape. The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said no additional information was available.
Follow Kelly Gampel on Twitter @theSGphotos. WGRZ-TV contributed to this report.
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