June 26--One of two convicted killers who escaped from an upstate New York maximum security prison has been killed in an apparent confrontation Friday with law enforcement officials near the Canadian border, according to FBI officials.
Richard Matt is believed to have been killed and David Sweat is being sought, said one source who was briefed on the situation.
Both men had been on the run since escaping from the Clinton Correctional Facility on June 6.
In a statement released Friday evening, New York State Police reported that a law enforcement agent had seen a man in a wooded area in the town of Malone, about 40 miles west of Dannemora, where the prison is located. Both towns are near the Canadian border.
"A member of law enforcement shot and killed a man believed to be Clinton Correctional Facility escapee Richard Matt. A positive identification is still pending," the State Police said.
Matt and Sweat used power tools to saw through a steel cell wall and several steel steam pipes. They made a hole through a 2-foot-thick brick wall and squirmed through pipes.
Sweat was serving a sentence of life without parole for killing a sheriff's deputy in Broome County in 2002. Matt was serving 25 years to life for killing and dismembering his former boss.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo scheduled a briefing Friday night, his office said.
The search for the escaped inmates sparked a search that extended to the Mexican border and involved hundreds of law enforcement officials, including local police and FBI agents.
The news follows a flurry of possible sightings by reported residents in rural areas of New York, both near the prison and hundreds of miles away near the Pennsylvania border.
A strong lead came this week, when someone reported a burglary at a cabin about 20 miles from the prison. New York State Police seized items from the cabin to test for DNA and said evidence indicated the men "may have spent time" in the cabin.
Matt, 48, and Sweat, 35, tricked correctional officers at the prison by making dummies and stuffing them into their beds the night they fled. They were discovered missing at a 5:30 a.m. bed check on June 6.
Officials have said the men used power tools to cut through metal and brick walls and pipes, and then made their way via underground pipes to a manhole a few hundred feet from the prison walls. They emerged from the manhole and fled.
A civilian prison employee, Joyce Mitchell, was arrested June 12 and charged with a felony and a misdemeanor on allegations of smuggling hacksaw blades, chisels, a punch and a screwdriver bit into the prison to help the men escape. Mitchell has pleaded not guilty.
A second arrest was made Wednesday evening. Gene Palmer faces charges including promoting prison contraband and tampering with physical evidence.
A $100,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the escapees' arrest.
Matt and Sweat defied the odds in remaining at large so long, according to prison escape data compiled by the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. Between 2002 and 2012, of the 29 inmates who escaped from New York state prisons, all were caught within three days.
Serrano reported from Washington and Parker from Los Angeles. Times staff writers Tina Susman, Matt Pearce, Christine Mai-Duc, James Queally contributed to this report.
UPDATE
3:05 p.m. This story was updated with details of the shooting.
Thisstory was originally published at 1:59 p.m.
