New York prison break: Prison employee allegedly backed out of being escape driver

The woman worked with the two escaped killers at Clinton Correctional Facility

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The two convicted killers who escaped from a New York prison may have been expecting a female prison employee to be their getaway driver, but investigators say they believe that woman backed out at the last minute.

Joyce Mitchell instead went to the hospital because of panic attacks, a source close to the investigation told CNN. Ms Mitchell is one of several employees at Clinton Correctional Facility who have been questioned in the escape.

Richard Matt and David Sweat, both convicted killers, have dominated headlines since they broke out of the New York prison in a plot worthy of Andy Dufresne – the Shawshank Redemption character who escaped prison.

Ms Mitchell was responsible for assigning work at the prison’s tailor shop, and she worked with the two escaped convicts. A retired police official has suggested that Ms Mitchell may have been physically involved with Matt.

Authorities have launched a massive manhunt for the fugitives, ramping up efforts in Willsboro, New York after someone reported seeing two suspicious men walking in a rainstorm early Tuesday morning.

As of Wednesday morning, the two men remain on the lam, though authorities believe they still are on-foot.

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