Dogs Searching For 2 Escaped Killers Pick Up Scent Near Upstate NY Prison

DANNEMORA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday that state police have received literally hundreds of leads and possible sightings of two escaped inmates.

However, the most promising so far was sniffed out by bloodhounds.

"Bloodhounds did pick up a scent this morning and they were pursuing a scent," Cuomo said.

"I don't know if the bloodhounds are still on the scent but they're searching an area where the bloodhounds had picked up a scent."

With eyes in the sky and boots on the ground, searchers are working on the theory that escaped inmates David Sweat, 34 and Richard Matt, 48, are holed up not far from the prison, CBS2's Tony Aiello reported.

The search for the two escaped killers is in its sixth day.

State police closed Route 374 on Thursday morning as well as other nearby roads just east of Dannemora, where Sweat and Matt used power tools to cut their way out of maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility.

In addition to the scent picked up by the dogs, searchers found footsteps and food wrappers -- other signs that the men may have stopped to eat and rest, Aiello reported.

Sources also said the two men are not avid outdoorsmen and that Sweat may have a bad back.

Thursday's search involves more than 500 law enforcement personnel as well as K9 and aviation units.

"That means looking behind every tree, under every rock and inside every structure until we find these men," said New York State Police Superintendent Joseph D'Amico.

Local schools were closed and residents were told by authorities to lock their doors and to expect an increased police presence in the area.

PHOTOS: Convicted Killers Escape From Upstate Prison

Meanwhile, police said surveillance video shows two men picked up by a Philadelphia cabbie were not the inmates.

The cabbie alerted police Wednesday morning after driving men matching the descriptions of Matt and Sweat to the city's Amtrak station.

Police questioned the driver and reviewed surveillance video of the trip before determining they were not a match.

Shumlin and other officials would not say how authorities learned that information.

"The only way to pursue this type of investigation is to follow every lead that you have and follow every lead as if this is the one that's going to break the case," Cuomo added.

D'Amico also said that a prison employee, identified in news reports as Joyce Mitchell, a training supervisor at the prison tailor shop, had befriended the killers and "may have had some role in assisting them.''

He would not elaborate.

Mitchell's son Tobey said she checked herself into a hospital with chest pains Saturday. He said she wouldn't have helped the inmates escape.

Using power tools, Sweat and Matt cut through a steel wall, broke through bricks and crawled through a steam pipe before emerging through a manhole in the street outside the 3,000-inmate Clinton Correctional Facility in far northern New York, about 20 miles from the Canadian border.

The breakout was discovered early Saturday, meaning the inmates may have had a head start of several hours, Cuomo said.

Authorities suspect they had help from the inside in obtaining the power tools. Unions representing guards and civilian staff members at the prison said many have been questioned by investigators but no one has been disciplined or charged.

But as WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported, Cuomo said officials believe Mitchell was not the only employee involved.

"We're talking to several people who may have facilitated," Cuomo said.

Cuomo would not elaborate, but he said the state will charge and convict anyone involved.

"You'll be on the other side of the prison you've been policing, and that's not a pleasant place to be," Cuomo said.

As part of the search, state troopers and correction officers in helmets and body armor retraced their steps around the prison, checking garage doors, sheds, windows and other structures for signs of a break-in or other clues.

Vermont authorities are patrolling Lake Champlain and areas alongside it, Shumlin said. Cuomo urged the people of Vermont to be on the alert and report anything suspicious, warning: "Trust me, these men are nothing to be trifled with.''

Lee Bates, who helped Matt commit murder in 1997 said the escapee is capable of desperate acts to remain free.

"This is a dangerous man. He's dangerous, he's cruel and like I said he's very evil. And not only people that know him, people that don't know him in society certainly are at risk. There's no telling what his mindset is and what he can do or will do next."

The killers' mugshots have been put on more than 50 digital billboards in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, police said, and a $100,000 reward has been posted.

Law enforcement officials again asked the public to report anything out of the ordinary.

When asked by Aiello if he was embarrassed or chagrined this happened on the watch of his department of corrections, cuomo said there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Prison breaks are rare, the department has a good record.

Cuomo said any corrections employees who helped the escapees will face charges.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

In:
• Peter Haskell
• Don Champion
• David Sweat