Son of escaped convict unsurprised at breakout

BUFFALO, N.Y. --In the midst of a frantic manhunt for two escaped convicted killers in upstate New York, the son of one of the escapees said that he is not surprised that his father was able to thwart detection and break out of prison.

Nick Harris, 23, described his dad -- Richard Matt -- as a genius who has the ability of adapting to situations.

Harris, who said he never knew his father very well because he has been incarcerated since he was very small, said that the escape and flight of Richard Matt was "shocking that nobody would really expect that."

Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y., last Saturday. Law enforcement officials have been searching the area and towns surrounding the prison near the Vermont border.

Harris says he's watching reports to see what happens next to his father, reports CBS News affiliate WIVB in Buffalo. He first heard his father was missing when police showed up at his house. They checked to see if Matt was there, and left.

"It's a lot to register and comprehend at first," Harris said. "I don't know him to say I respect him or not. Obviously he was in jail when I was younger, and he wasn't there for me as a father, so there's that, but I don't know him well enough to say that."

The hunt that began over the weekend focused Tuesday on Willsboro, close to Lake Champlain, after residents reported seeing a couple of men walking on a road late Monday during a driving rainstorm.

At the prison, investigators are pouring over visitor logs and phone records, reports CBS News correspondent Don Dahler. They're also questioning 51-year-old Joyce Mitchell, an industrial training supervisor teaching tailoring to inmates. She has not been named a suspect.