Despite recent speculations that David Sweat was killed during a battle with authorities, the escaped inmate still remains on the loose after fellow escaped inmate, Richard Matt, was fatally shot on Friday
New York State Police Superintendent Joseph D’Amico stated on Friday evening that Sweat, 35, remains on the run . However, authorities think that he’s in the general area of upstate New York, where Matt was found.
“We have no actual sighting of Sweat by law enforcement. But we have no indication that Sweat wasn’t accompanying Matt at the time that he was shot and killed.”
The search for Sweat continues on near Elephant Head trail in New York, close to the Canadian border. The area, according to Clinton County Sheriff David Favro, is dense and heavily wooded, making the search efforts difficult.
“This is definitely the hardest perimeter that I’ve seen around any area since this manhunt started.”
The location indicates that the inmates may have been trying to make their way to Canada, but hunkered down before getting there. Matt was fatally shot just 70 miles from Canada. Matt was spotted a little before 2 p.m. on Friday, near Lake Titus. Armed with a 20-gauge shotgun, Matt refused to surrender to law enforcement, leading to his death at around 3:45 p.m.
Two sets of footprints were found close to the area where Matt was killed, leading authorities to believe that Sweat remains nearby, hiding in the dense woods. Sweat, a convicted murderer, has been on the run since June 6, after escaping from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York.
In order to corner Sweat, authorities set up a perimeter around the area. It may be only a matter of time before the inmate is captured.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo states that although Matt was killed, that was not the outcome that authorities had hoped for. He also reminds the public that Matt, too, was a convicted murderer and considered extremely dangerous.
“You never want to see anyone lose their life. But I would remind people that Mr. Matt was an escaped murderer from a state prison. Mr. Matt killed two people who we know about. Mr. Matt killed his boss in a dispute and dismembered him. He fled to Mexico and then he killed another person in Mexico and was imprisoned in Mexico.”
Meanwhile, authorities urge all residents in the surrounding areas of Lake Titus and Elephant Head to use extreme caution and call 911 immediately if there are any sightings of the escaped prisoner. David Sweat is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.
