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Fugitive David Sweat Described As 'Armed, Dangerous, Desperate'

DANNEMORA, N.Y. -- Search efforts for fugitive David Sweat are focused on a 22-square mile perimeter in upstate New York, about 30 miles west of the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, state police said Saturday in an updated on the search.

David Sweat

David Sweat

Photo Credit: New York State Police
State Police at a morning strategy meeting at the Titus Mountain Ski Area in the town of Malone as search efforts continue Saturday for Clinton Correctional Facility escapee David Sweat.

State Police at a morning strategy meeting at the Titus Mountain Ski Area in the town of Malone as search efforts continue Saturday for Clinton Correctional Facility escapee David Sweat.

Photo Credit: New York State Police
Richard Matt

Richard Matt

Photo Credit: New York State Police

Sweat, 35, and Richard Matt, 49, successfully executed a daring midnight escape from that prison three weeks ago, leading to a massive manhunt that has garnered national media attention.

Late Friday afternoon, Matt was shot and killed by border patrol agents in Duane, N.Y., near Malone, N.Y. Matt was armed with a loaded .20-gauge shotgun, unwilling to surrender, at the time he was killed, according to state police. Matt's body has been transported to Albany Medical Center for an autopsy, state police said.

State police said Saturday the perimeter established in the hunt for Sweat is along State Route 30 between County Route 41 in the Town of Malone and County Route 26 in the Town of Duane.

Sweat is described as being "armed, dangerous and desperate."

Tactical, K9 and aviation units from the involved agencies have been conducting searches within the perimeter in effort to locate the suspect. 

On Saturday, there are approximately 1,200 federal, state and local law enforcement members involved in the search area. 

These agencies include Forest Rangers and Conservation Officers from the Department of Environmental Conservation, officers from the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Plattsburgh Police, Vermont State Police, and the Clinton, Franklin and Washington County Sheriff’s Departments. All available assets are being deployed around the clock.  

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