Homicide

Authorities probing how inmates pulled off 'Shawshank Redemption'-style escape in NY

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Law enforcement officers check a vehicle at a checkpoint near the Clinton Correctional Facility, background, on Monday, June 8, 2015, in Dannemora, N.Y. Two murderers who escaped from the prison by cutting through steel walls and pipes remain on the loose Monday as authorities investigate how the inmates obtained the power tools used in the breakout. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) (The Associated Press)

FILE - This Saturday, June 6, 2015 photo provided by the New York State Governor's office shows the area where two convicted murderers used power tools to cut through steel pipes at a maximum-security prison in Dannemora, N.Y., near the Canadian border, and escape through a manhole. Investigators are looking into whether civilian employees or private contractors helped the two escapees obtain the tools they used to break out of the prison, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday, June 8. (Darren McGee/New York State Governor's Office via AP, File) (The Associated Press)

A guard stands on the wall at Clinton Correctional Facility on Monday, June 8, 2015, in Dannemora, N.Y. Two murderers who escaped from the prison by cutting through steel walls and pipes remain on the loose Monday as authorities investigate how the inmates obtained the power tools used in the breakout. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) (The Associated Press)

Authorities are searching for two convicted murderers who used power tools to escape from a maximum-security New York prison in a "Shawshank Redemption"-style breakout.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says Richard Matt and David Sweat broke out of the Clinton Correctional Facility in an "elaborate, sophisticated operation" that involved shimmying through a steam pipe.

The men were reported missing from their beds at about 5:30 a.m. Saturday.

Roadblocks were set up in the area of the prison, about 20 miles from the Canadian border. Bloodhounds and helicopters were being used to track down the men.

A $100,000 reward has been posted for information leading to their capture.