Chris Wattie/Reuters
CNN reports law-enforcement officials say they believe Joyce Mitchell was going to pick up David Sweat and Richard Matt after they escaped from New York’s upstate Clinton Correctional Facility, but she got cold feet due to a panic attack. Sources said Mitchell’s phone was also used to call several people connected to Matt, though it’s unclear who made the outgoing calls or why. Law enforcement told the Albany Times Union that a female prison employee smuggled an electric saw to the inmates, which they used to cut their way out of prison. In addition, the Times Union reports that a riot five days before the prison break led to the temporary suspension of cell searches, which may have given the men several days to tunnel through the walls.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Vermont governor Peter Shumlin warned that Sweat and Matt may be headed toward Vermont. Authorities have interviewed inmates, contractors, employees and others at the prison, but the escapees' whereabouts are still unknown. New York governor Andrew Cuomo expressed confidence that the inmates will be found. "The only question is when," he said.