Sheriff Doubts Prison Escapees Relied Solely On Woman

An upstate New York sheriff says he doubts that the two murderers who broke out of a maximum-security prison were relying on a tailoring shop supervisor to be their getaway driver.

The prosecutor who brought charges accusing Joyce Mitchell of aiding their escape said Monday that she backed out at the last minute, leaving the inmates without a “Plan B” for leaving.

But Clinton County Sheriff David Favro said Tuesday that he doesn’t believe David Sweat and Richard Matt would have relied solely on Mitchell, given the elaborate planning that went into cutting through steel walls and steam pipes to escape from a manhole.

He says his theory is that she was Plan B, but he has no “concrete information” and investigators won’t be certain until the fugitives are caught.

On the 11th day of the intense manhunt, authorities say bad weather is hampering law enforcement. Rain is washing away any possible scent and disrupting the use of technology such as thermal imaging to detect warm bodies.

Favro said that rain cools the body and makes tree leaves cling together, forming a dense canopy shielding the view from overhead. Helicopters have been used extensively during the hunt.

This article appeared in print on page 18 of the June 17th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.