Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, earned themselves an entry in the US penal system history book by being the first prisoners to successfully break out of Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, roughly about 20 miles south of the Canadian border.
And in fairness to the brazen pair, they did it in style and with a sense of irony. After fooling guards with dummies made out of sweatshirts, a la Escape from Alcatraz, they extricated themselves from their cells via steel pipes behind the walls and then onto the sewer system, eventually emerging via an outer manhole onto a street outside the prison. And they left a note behind saying “Have a nice day”.
While a manhunt for the fugitives is underway, prison authorities are investigating the possibility that a female civilian contractor may have assisted the pair in their escape by providing power tools and structural blueprints.