Homicide

Possible sighting causes shift in manhunt for 2 New York killers; Vermont joins search

Associated Press
Published | Updated

A New York State Department of Corrections officer walks out of the woods as officers search the area after a possible sighting of the two murder convicts who escaped from a northern New York prison two weeks ago, Sunday June 21, 2015, in Friendship, N.Y. State police said a woman on Saturday reported spotting two men who resembled the convicts near a railroad line that runs along a county road. (AP Photo/Gary Wiepert) (The Associated Press)

New York State Department of Corrections officers search the railroad tracks after a possible sighting of the two murder convicts who escaped from a northern New York prison two weeks ago, Sunday June 21, 2015, in Friendship, N.Y. State police said a woman on Saturday reported spotting two men who resembled the convicts near a railroad line that runs along a county road. (AP Photo/Gary Wiepert) (The Associated Press)

New York State Police officers gather along Route 20 after a possible sighting of the two murder convicts who escaped from a northern New York prison two weeks ago, Sunday June 21, 2015, in Friendship, N.Y. State police said a woman on Saturday reported spotting two men who resembled the convicts near a railroad line that runs along a county road. (AP Photo/Gary Wiepert) (The Associated Press)

State police have moved their manhunt for two convicted murderers to an area west of the New York prison from which they boldly escaped more than two weeks ago, as officers begin investigating the latest sighting.

Investigators and military trucks converged on Mountain View, a hamlet in Franklin County, late Sunday. Just hours before hundreds had searched two towns more than 350 miles away, following an unconfirmed but credible report of another sighting.

Acting Franklin County District Attorney Glenn MacNeill tells WPTZ-TV that a person had been seen fleeing from a hunting camp in the area.

Inmates David Sweat and Richard Matt broke out of maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility on June 6. Up to 800 law enforcement officers have gone door to door checking houses, wooded areas and campgrounds.