Time-lapse image shows escaped convicts' possible appearance
DANNEMORA, N.Y. -- The hunt for two killers who escaped from an upstate New York prison is entering a 12th night and on Wednesday the police asked the public for help again and put out some new visual aids.
"We are going to pursue every lead and we are going to locate these individuals and they will be apprehended," said Capt. Robert LaFountain of the New York State Police.
Police released new time-lapse photos of escapees Richard Matt and David Sweat today, showing what the two might look like now, with facial hair.
Police swore to catch the two men after spending 11 fruitless days searching 10,000 heavily wooded acres from the ground and in the sky with more than 800 officers.
Police must now search somewhere else, but they do not feel they miscalculated in spending so much time searching so close to the perimeter.
"Absolutely not," said LaFountain. "There is no hard evidence that they are outside the area. That being said, I cannot rule that out."
But he wouldn't say if he had any hunch as to where they are.
"I don't operate based on hunches," said LaFountain. "We operate based on evidence."
Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie said so far there's no evidence the husband of prison employee Joyce Mitchell, Lyle Mitchell, knew about or helped with the escape plan. But Wylie confirmed a threat against Lyle.
"There was a plot to kill Lyle Mitchell between the two inmates and that Joyce Mitchell was aware of it," said Wylie.
But does that mean she was part of it?
"She was aware of it," said Wylie. "I cannot get into the details."
As searching moves to other areas, police want the community here to remain vigilant.
"We need to let the community know that we do not have concrete leads, our biggest key to success is keeping everybody motivated and keeping everybody alert and looking," said Clinton County Sheriff David Favro."
The number of police on the ground has been reduced but police say that's only because they no longer have a specific perimeter that they need to secure. They say 600 officers will still be out there searching.
