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Prison tailor was supposed to be escaped murderers' getaway driver, report says

By Cox Media Group National Content Desk
June 10, 2015

A prison tailor who works at Clinton Correction Facility in Dannemora, New York, allegedly was supposed to be a getaway driver for two escaped murderers but backed out, according to CNN.

Joyce Mitchell works in the prison where convicted murderers Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, escaped over the weekend, according to the report. Unnamed sources close to the investigation told CNN that Mitchell had planned to pick up the men after they escaped. Instead, she was hospitalized with panic attacks at the time of the escape.

>> RELATED: Three reasons cops aren’t taking any chances with escaped killer Richard Matt

Mitchell's cellphone also has been linked to "several people connected to Matt," CNN reported.
Mitchell's son, Tobey, denied the claims.
>> RELATED: 5 things to know about Richard Matt and David Sweat, escaped New York murderers
"She's not the kind of person that's going to risk her life or other people's lives to let these guys escape from prison," he told NBC.
She has not been charged in the case.
>> RELATED: 2 murderers use power tools to escape from New York prison

According to The Associated Press, Matt and Sweat, 34, cut steam pipes with power tools to escape from the maximum-security prison. Officials discovered the men were missing about 5:30 a.m. Saturday. Officials with the U.S. Marshals Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation are assisting with the manhunt, which also includes international authorities. 

Matt – who is serving 25 years to life for kidnapping, dismembering and killing his former boss – is a 6-foot-tall white man with black hair, hazel eyes and several tattoos. He weighs 210 pounds. Sweat, who is serving a life sentence without parole for killing a sheriff's deputy, is a 5-foot-11 white man with brown hair, green eyes and tattoos on his left bicep and right fingers. He weighs 165 pounds. 
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If you see men meeting their descriptions, please call 911, 1-800-GIVE-TIP or New York State Police at (518) 563-3761. A $100,000 reward has been offered for information leading to their capture.

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