Two murderers were on the run for over 3 weeks in Northern New York
Ten years ago on June 5–6, 2015, convicted killers Richard Matt and David Sweat tunneled out of the maximum‑security Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y.—triggering a massive, 22‑day, $20‑million manhunt that captivated all of upstate and the entire country.
The escape was shocking not just for its boldness —using smuggled power tools and crawling through catwalks and pipes—but also for insider involvement. Prison seamstress Joyce Mitchell and guard Gene Palmer were later arrested for aiding the breakout.
Matt was shot and killed by law enforcement weeks later; Sweat was eventually captured alive and received additional prison time. The dramatic event inspired the Showtime TV series Escape at Dannemora.
The Dannemora escape remains one of the most infamous prison breaks in U.S. history.
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- Police officers search a property near the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, June 8, 2015.
- A New York State Correctional Services officer stands guard outside the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York June 8, 2015.
- New York State Troopers search vehicles at a check point near Dannemora, New York June 8, 2015.
- Police officers search a property near the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, June 8, 2015.
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- Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin (L) and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo take part in a news conference at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York June 10, 2015.
- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (R) looks at the manhole believed to have been used by escaped convicts near the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, in this handout picture taken June 6, 2015.
- A hole in the wall of a prison cell is seen in a handout picture from the New York Governor's Press Office taken at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York June 6, 2015.
- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo tours the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, in this handout picture taken June 6, 2015.
- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (R) tours the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, in this handout picture taken June 6, 2015.
- David Sweat arrives for his arraignment at Clinton County court, in Plattsburgh, New York August 20, 2015. Sweat and fellow inmate Richard Matt escaped from Clinton Correctional Center in Dannemora, New York on June 6.
- Joyce Mitchell is escorted into the court in Plattsburgh, New York June 12, 2015. The female employee of an upstate New York prison was arrested on Friday on charges that she helped two inmates stage a daring escape from the maximum security facility, aut
- Joyce Mitchell arrives for sentencing at Clinton County Court, in Plattsburgh, New York September 28, 2015. The prison employee who helped two convicted murderers escape from a maximum security prison in upstate New York in June will hear her sentence on
- Joyce Mitchell appears before Judge Buck Rogers in Plattsburgh City Court, Plattsburgh, New York June 15, 2015. Mitchell is accused of helping convicted killers Richard Matt and David Sweat escape from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York
- Heidi Golden (R) and her daughter Reaganne, 8, sit on the front steps of their home near a banner Reaganne made thanking law enforcement agents, in Dannemora, New York June 11, 2015.
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