Saturday morning update:
Authorities continue to search for convicted murderer David Sweat, focusing their search about 30 miles west of the Clinton Correctional Facility where he and Richard Matt escaped from more than three weeks ago. Matt was shot and killed by a U.S. Border patrol agent Friday afternoon. Roadblocks are still in place in the towns of Malone and Duane. Heavy rain is forecast for the area late Saturday and is expected to last into Sunday, which could hamper the search for Sweat.
Earlier coverage
Speaking to reporters and onlookers in Malone Friday evening, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that Richard Matt was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent after police responded to a complaint at a cabin in the town of Duane. Cuomo says it is believed that Sweat was with Matt at the time, but there is no evidence to confirm that. As of Friday evening, Cuomo says Sweat is still at large and there is no confirmation of his whereabouts.
State Police Superintendent Joseph D'Amico said a couple called police just before 2 p.m. Friday with a report that their camper had been shot at. Police arrived at the cabin in the town of Duane, where Matt was found with a 20 gauge shotgun. D'Amico says Matt was ordered to put his hands up and did not comply. He was then shot and killed by the Border Patrol agent.
Despite earlier reports that Sweat may be surrounded, D'Amico says they have had no positive sighting of Sweat since the escape. But D'Amico says there is no reason to believe he was not with Matt when police arrived at the cabin Friday afternoon.
Watch the full briefingwith Gov. Cuomo and State Police Supt. D'Amico.
Update 6:35 p.m.
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer tells the Associated Press that a U.S. Border Patrol agent from Vermont shot and killed Richard Matt. Meanwhile, State Police believe they have a perimeter around David Sweat. There have been unconfirmed reports of gunfire being exchanged between Sweat and law enforcement. Multiple media reports say that a truck carrying towers of portable lights has been brought in, in case the standoff continues past nightfall.
Update 5:37 p.m.
In a written statement, New York State Police says:
At approximately 3:45 p.m. on June 26, a member of law enforcement spotted a man in a wooded area in the Town of Malone. A member of law enforcement shot and killed a man believed to be Clinton Correctional Facility escapee Richard Matt. A positive identification is still pending. Law enforcement are still searching for escapee David Sweat.
Earlier:
The Plattsburgh Press Republican reports that law enforcement has set up a tight perimeter around David Sweat.
Multiple media organizations are reporting that one of two convicted killers who staged a brazen escape from Clinton Correctional Facility and had been hunted for three weeks has been shot and killed.
An official with knowledge of the manhunt tells the Associated Press Richard Matt was killed near Malone and David Sweat is still on the run. The official was not authorized to talk about the development publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
This comes as searchers on the trail of Richard Matt and David Sweat found new evidence left behind by the pair in a field and a cabin south of Malone, about 30 miles west of the Dannemora prison. Earlier today, police indicated the trajectory the two convicts were on pointed them toward the Canadian border, perhaps in an attempt to cross it.
Police swarmed to the area just 10 miles from the Canadian border earlier this afternoon.
The two convicted murderers cut their way out of the prison June 6. Local, state and federal law enforcement have been searching for them -- primarily in the North Country region fanning out from Dannemora -- ever since, but with no confirmed sightings.
Last weekend, evidence was found that Matt and Sweat had been in a hunting cabin in the tiny hamlet of Owl's Head. DNA tests linked the items to the two convicts.
