JOHN KEKIS, Associated Press
MALONE, N.Y. (AP) — Searchers on the trail of two murderers who escaped from a northern New York prison three weeks ago edged closer to the Canadian border Friday after they found new evidence left behind by the pair.
Hundreds of officers looking for Richard Matt and David Sweat shifted the focus of their search slightly northwest to woods and fields around Malone, about 30 miles west of Clinton Correctional Facility.
State Police Maj. Charles Guess said Friday the shift came after investigators developed evidence left behind by the escapees. Items were found Thursday at a cabin and Friday morning in a field, both in the town of Malone, he said.
While Guess would not elaborate on the evidence, he made it sound like a break in the often-frustrating 21-day, around-the-clock search for the two killers.
"They probably have every reason to keep going," Guess said. "The items that we have found have been significant."
Guess said the searchers' goal was to get ahead of the inmates, who are believed to be moving mostly at night. He said the convicts had taken basic supplies from some of the area's many hunting camps. He said the stretch of the border a few miles north of Malone was being guarded by a "picket line" of officers.
"We have no reason to believe they're in Canada yet," Guess said.
New York State Department of Corrections Officers and a forest ranger, right, patrol an area in Owls Head, N.Y. for convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat, Friday, June 26, 2015. Police shifted a focus of their three week search closer to the Canadian border. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Searchers converged a week ago on the heavy woods to the west of the maximum-security prison in Dannemora after developing DNA evidence in a hunting camp in Bellmont, a town just east of Malone. On Friday, a small contingent of New York state troopers was stationed along power lines in the Malone area, and motorists had to pass through a checkpoint.
"I think these guys are going to find them," said Sonny Morales, as he sat on an easy chair in front of a house near the border in the town of Constable. "I know it's taken a long time, but there's a lot of freaking land to cover. The border's pretty tight."
Sweat and Matt broke out of the prison June 6. Authorities say they cut through the steel wall at the back of their cells, scaled down a catwalk, broke through a brick wall, cut their way into and out of a steam pipe and then emerged from a manhole outside the prison.
Sweat, 35, was serving a life sentence without parole in the killing of a sheriff's deputy. Matt, who turned 49 on Thursday, was doing 25 years to life in the kidnapping, torture and hacksaw dismemberment of his former boss.
Meanwhile, New York state prison officials said Friday that a corrections officer facing charges related to the escape has been suspended without pay.
Gene Palmer's suspension from his $72,644-a-year job comes after he was arrested Wednesday night on charges of promoting prison contraband, tampering with evidence and official misconduct.
Palmer has told investigators he provided paint, tools and prison catwalk access to Matt and Sweat. But the veteran guard says he had no idea they were planning to escape.
He is free on $25,000 bail.
Another prison worker, tailor shop instructor Joyce Mitchell, is charged with helping them escape. Authorities say Mitchell smuggled hacksaw blades, a screwdriver and other tools into the prison by hiding them in frozen meat that Palmer delivered to the inmates.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
New York State Department of Corrections Officers search an area in Owls Head, N.Y. for convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat, Friday, June 26, 2015. Police shifted a focus of their three week search closer to the Canadian border. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.