Murderers Used Power Tools In 'Shawshank Redemption'-Stlyle Prison Break And Left Note Saying 'Have A Nice Day'

Murderers In 'Shawshank Redemption'-Style Prison Break Even Left A Note
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Two murderers behind a "Shawshank Redemption"-style breakout which involved them using power tools to cut through steel walls and pipes, remain on the loose, after taunting guards with a note saying "have a nice day" as they fled.

David Sweat, 34, and Richard Matt, 48, escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, some time between Friday and Saturday morning and left the cheeky note, containing a crude Asian caricature, on a steam pipe they cut open.

The men's escape, the first from the maximum-security portion of the prison, which was built in 1865, has been described as a "crisis situation" for the state. According to CNN, the U.S. Marshals Service issued federal arrest warrants Sunday, amid fears the men "could literally be anywhere".

Sweat was serving a life sentence for killing a sheriff's deputy in 2002, and Matt, was jailed for 25 years to life for kidnapping, killing and dismembering his former boss in 1997.

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Murderers David Sweat, left, and Richard Matt, escaped from a prison dubbed 'Little Siberia', in Dannemora, New York

Prison officials found the inmates' beds inside the 150-year-old prison stuffed with clothes on Saturday morning in an apparent attempt to fool guards making their rounds.

Investigators said the inmates cut through the steel wall at the back of their cell, crawled down a catwalk, broke through a brick wall, cut their way into and out of a steam pipe, and then sliced through the chain and lock on a manhole cover outside the prison.

To escape, the inmates had to cut into the steam pipe then shimmy "some distance," officials said, before cutting themselves out again. Their escape route was similar to that depicted in "The Shawshank Redemption," the 1994 adaptation of a Stephen King story about an inmate's carefully planned prison escape.

The men may have had assistance outside the prison, investigators believe, perhaps meeting up with someone who helped them leave the area. It is thought the killers may have escaped into Canada or headed to another state.

Clinton Correctional Facility houses nearly 3,000 inmates and is guarded by about 1,400 correction officers. It is surrounded by farmland and forests and is about a 45-minute car ride drive to Montreal.

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Shawshank Redemption-style prison break
Convicted Murderers Escape From New York State Prison(01 of19)
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DANNERMORA, NY - JUNE 6: In this handout from the New York State Governor's Office, shows where two convicted murderers escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility June 6, 2014 in Dannemora, New York. Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, escaped from the maximum security prison June 6, 2015 using power tools and going through a manhole. (Photo by Darren McGee/New York State Governor's Office via Getty Images) (credit:Handout via Getty Images)
Convicted Murderers Escape From New York State Prison(02 of19)
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DANNERMORA, NY - JUNE 6: In this handout from the New York State Governor's Office, shows where two convicted murderers used power tools to cut through steel pipes at the Clinton Correctional Facility June 6, 2014 in Dannemora, New York. Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, escaped from the maximum security prison June 6, 2015 using power tools and going through a manhole. (Photo by Darren McGee/New York State Governor's Office via Getty Images) (credit:Handout via Getty Images)
Convicted Murderers Escape From New York State Prison(03 of19)
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DANNERMORA, NY - JUNE 6: In this handout from the New York State Governor's Office, shows where two convicted murderers escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility June 6, 2014 in Dannemora, Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, escaped from the maximum security prison June 6, 2015 using power tools and going through a manhole. (Photo by Darren McGee/New York State Governor's Office via Getty Images) (credit:Handout via Getty Images)
Escaped Prisoners(04 of19)
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This May 21, 2015 photo released by the New York State Police shows David Sweat. On Saturday, June 6, 2015, authorities said 48-year-old Richard Matt and 34-year-old Sweat, both convicted murderers, escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y. (New York State Police via AP) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
CORRECTION Escaped Prisoners(05 of19)
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CORRECTS MONTH OF PHOTO TO MAY NOT MARCH - This May 20, 2015 photo released by the New York State Police shows Richard Matt. On Saturday, June 6, 2015, authorities said 48-year-old Richard Matt and 34-year-old David Sweat, both convicted murderers, escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y. (New York State Police via AP) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Escaped Prisoners(06 of19)
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This photo provided by New York State Governor's office shows the area where two convicted murderers used power tools to cut through steel pipes at a maximum-security prison in Dannemora, NY, near the Canadian border and escaped through a manhole, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday, June 6, 2015. He said Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, "are two dangerous individuals." (Darren McGee/New York State Governor's Office, via AP) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Escaped Prisoners(07 of19)
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This photo provided by New York State Governor's office shows Gov. Andrew Cuomo on a catwalk looking into the cell that inmates escaped from at a maximum-security prison near the Canadian border in Dannemora, NY. Gov. Cuomo said Saturday, June 6, 2015, that Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, "are two dangerous individuals." (Darren McGee/New York State Governor's Office, via AP) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Escaped Prisoners(08 of19)
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This combination made from photos released by the New York State Police shows inmates David Sweat, left, and Richard Matt. Authorities on Saturday, June 6, 2015 said Sweat, 34, and Matt, 48, both convicted murderers, escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y. (New York State Police via AP) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Escaped Prisoners(09 of19)
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This photo provided by New York State Governor's office shows the note left by two convicted murderers who used power tools to cut through steel pipes at a maximum-security prison in Dannemora, NY, near the Canadian border and escaped through a manhole, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday, June 6, 2015. He said Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, "are two dangerous individuals." (Darren McGee/New York State Governor's Office, via AP) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Escaped Prisoners(10 of19)
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This photo provided by New York State Governor's office shows the area where two convicted murderers used power tools to cut through steel pipes, and leave a note, at a maximum-security prison in Dannemora, NY, near the Canadian border and escaped through a manhole, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday, June 6, 2015. He said Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, "are two dangerous individuals." (Darren McGee/New York State Governor's Office, via AP) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Escaped Prisoners(11 of19)
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This photo provided by New York State Governor's office shows Gov. Andrew Cuomo looking at the area where two convicted murderers used power tools to cut through steel pipes at a maximum-security prison in Dannemora, NY, near the Canadian border and escaped through a manhole, New York. Cuomo said Saturday, June 6, 2015, that Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, "are two dangerous individuals." (Darren McGee/New York State Governor's Office, via AP) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994) MORGAN FREEMAN, TIM ROBBINS SHWK 003(12 of19)
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(credit:© Moviestore collection Ltd / Alamy)
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994) POSTER SHWK 003VS(13 of19)
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(credit:© Moviestore collection Ltd / Alamy)
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994) TIM ROBBINS SHWK 012(14 of19)
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(credit:© Moviestore collection Ltd / Alamy)
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994) JAMES WHITMORE SHWK 026(15 of19)
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THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994) WILLIAM SADLER SHWK 025(16 of19)
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(credit:© Moviestore collection Ltd / Alamy)
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994) TIM ROBBINS SHWK 039(17 of19)
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(credit:© Moviestore collection Ltd / Alamy)
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994) WILLIAM SADLER, MORGAN FREEMAN SHWK 065(18 of19)
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(credit:© Moviestore collection Ltd / Alamy)
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994) TIM ROBBINS, MORGAN FREEMAN SHWK 075(19 of19)
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(credit:© Moviestore collection Ltd / Alamy)

The inmates escape tools are thought to have been obtained inside the prison, authorities have said.

Governor Andrew Cuomo said the escape from the prison dubbed "little Siberia" was "sophisticated" and announced a £65,000 reward for information leading to the men's capture.

He said: "These are killers. They are murderers.

"There's never been a question about the crimes they committed. They are now on the loose, and our first order of business is apprehending them."

Officials gave no details on how the men managed to avoid detection while cutting their way out.

"They had to be heard," Cuomo told ABC's Good Morning America.

He said once the inmates are found authorities will "go through the exact details of what they did and how they did it to ensure this never happens again".

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The men taunted authorities, leaving the above note on a steam pipe they cut open

Authorities set up roadblocks and brought in bloodhounds and helicopters in their search for the men. The FBI are among 250 law enforcement officers involved in the search, which saw officers fanning out around the prison, about 20 miles south of the Canadian border, following up on some 150 tip-offs

Cuomo said: "This is a crisis situation for the state.

"These are dangerous men capable of committing grave crimes again."

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A scene from the movie Shawshank Redemption, featuring Tim Robins and Morgan Freeman

Acting Corrections Commissioner Anthony Annucci said an inventory of prison tools had so far shown none missing and he was in contact with contractors who were doing or had done work at the prison.

Martin Horn, former commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction and a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said prison breaks are not common.

He said: "Prison escapes are a relatively rare event.

"That tells you that a great deal of planning is involved because it's not an easy thing to accomplish."

Horn, a former secretary of corrections for the state of Pennsylvania and a prison warden in New York state during the 1980s, said the two inmates had to "obtain some fairly sophisticated tools," either from the prison, which he said maintains an inventory of their tools - "every pair of scissors, every wrench, every power tool" - or from an outside contractor.

But he said many questions remain, among them how long it took to prepare for the escape, the kinds of tools used, what powered them, why no one heard the noise and how the prisoners hid the holes they made.

Horn said: "Clinton is as secure a prison as you'll find anywhere in the United States.

"If it can happen at Clinton, it can happen anywhere."