Lockdown Lifted at NY Prison Where Two Escaped

With two of its most infamous boarders still gone, prison officials on Thursday lifted the lockdown at Clinton Correctional Facility where two killers escaped almost two weeks ago.

Corrections officials say inmates are eating again in the mess hall rather than in their cells and a number are going to work assignments. Recreation activities and use of the phones are also resuming. Visitors to the prison in Dannemora, near the Canadian border, are expected to return Friday.

The prison has been locked down since Richard Matt and David Sweat were found missing from their cells on June 6.

The hunt for the escapees, convicted killers who cut their way through their cell wall and a steam pipe, has expanded beyond the 16-square-mile grid search of forests, swamps other buildings near the prison.

More than 600 law enforcement officers are still involved in the search as it entered it 13th day on Thursday.

Officers were checking abandoned buildings, seasonal camps and railroad beds.

State police say Thursday that as they expand their search area, officers have cleared more than 160 unoccupied buildings and seasonal homes. They also have searched 585 miles of railroad beds and trails.

Troopers are asking homeowners and hunters in the area who have video surveillance or trail cameras to check their footage for signs of suspicious activity.

This article appeared in print on page 4 of the June 19th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.