CADYVILLE, N.Y. – Discarded food wrappers and bloodhound scents set off a military-style search in the rugged terrain around  this northern New York community Thursday for two killers who escaped six days ago from New York’s top-security prison.

But an army of law officers, with dogs in tow and helicopters overhead, failed to turn up the fugitives even though it appeared they had slept there at some point after their brazen escape.

Baffled authorities admitted they weren’t sure if the killers were in the wooded, black fly-infested environs soon after fleeing the prison five miles west of here or in the past day or two, but that remnants of their presence made it the intense focus of the manhunt.

More than 500 law officers blocked roads in a two-mile wide zone,  combed the thicket shoulder-to-shoulder, and checked homes in the village and isolated cabins in the dense woods. Residents received robocalls from the federal Homeland Security Agency to stay inside and lock their doors and windows.

“We need to find these escapees,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “They are dangerous men, they are killers. They’re getting more desperate than ever.”

David Sweat, 34, and Richard Matt, 48, broke out of the maximum security prison 20 miles south of the Canadian border late Friday night or early Saturday morning. They used decoy dummies in their bunks and power tools to cut through steel and brick to escape through a two-foot-wide steam pipe that led to a manhole a block outside the prison. They left behind a taunting note.

Residents of Cadyville were on edge over the hunt for the killers. They said if the fugitives were in the region, they’d find the going tough and could well run into wild animals, including coyotes and black bears.

“They (bears) walk across the road like they own it,” said John St. Germaine. “I don’t care if a bear gets them or the cops. I just want this over; it’s a pain in the butt.”

 

Brian Thew, who owns more than 100 acres in the search area, said it is extremely thick with trees, brush and swamplands that have the effect of quicksand.

 

“I sunk up to my waist once,” he said. “You have to be very careful where you step.”

 

Authorities said the investigation into the prison break included intense questioning of Joyce Mitchell, 51, a supervisor in the prison’s tailor factory where the escapees worked. She was considered a possible accomplice to the escape.

 

“She befriended the inmates and may have had some role in assisting them,” said State Police Superintendent Joseph D’Amico.

 

Escapee Matt had been moved to a different shift after becoming too friendly with Mrs. Mitchell, triggering speculation she had a romantic relationship with Matt and aided the killers escape.

Family members dismissed the speculation as rumor.

 

“She would never do that,” said daughter-in-law Paige Mitchell. “She would never cheat, especially with an inmate. She knows how monstrous these two men are.”

 

Matt was serving 25 years to life sentence for murdering and dismembering his former boss; Sweat was serving life without a chance for parole for killing a deputy sheriff. The state has offered a $100,000 reward for information that leads to their capture.

 

Details for this story were provided by the Plattsburgh, N.Y., Press-Republican.