Manhunt underway for ‘Shawshank Redemption’-style escapees

A manhunt is underway for two convicted murders who escaped from a New State prison in a fashion similar to that depicted in the film Shawshank Redemption.

The Associated Press reported that police are searching for David Sweat, 34, who was serving a life sentence for killing a law enforcement official in 2002 and Richard Matt, 48, who was serving a sentence of 25 years to life for the 1997 kidnapping, killing and dismembering of his former boss.

Both men are considered dangerous and have put the town of Dannemora, which houses the prison, on high alert. However, after the weekend escape, the men could be anywhere in the U.S. or Canada. The search has also expanded to Mexico.

The prison break played out like the Hollywood movie Shawshank Redemption. Guards discovered the men were missing from the Clinton Correctional Facility on Saturday after finding makeshift dummies in their beds. Officials said it appears that Sweat and Matt used power tools to break out. They were in adjoining cells and used the tools to cut through steel, then crawled through a tunnel and cut through a brick wall and pipes before coming up through a manhole.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that a $100,000 reward is being offered to anyone with information leading to the apprehension of the escapees.

Image shared via Twitter by Gov. Andrew Cuomo

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