Timothy Vail, who escaped from Elmira Correctional Facility in 2003, has warned the fugitives to be 'patient' and not to commit any crimes to stay undetected
The last man to escape from a New York prison says he is rooting for the two murderers who broke out of maximum-security jail.
Timothy Vail, who escaped from Elmira Correctional Facility in 2003, has warned the fugitives to be 'patient' and not to commit any crimes to stay undetected.
'I hope they stay out of sight,' the convicted murderer, 47, told the Daily News from inside Shawangunk Correctional Facility in Wallkill.
David Sweat and Richard Matt broke out from Clinton Correctional Facility, a fortress-like structure about 20 miles from the Canadian border, last week with the help of power tools.
They are thought to be heading towards a camp site in Vermont because they knew New York would be 'hot' with law enforcement.
Vail, who was captured just two days after he busted out from jail with fellow inmate Timothy Morgan, believes the pair may be able to escape capture if they can outlast the frenzy of news coverage.
He said that Sweat and Matt would be experiencing a massive adrenaline rush after escaping from their cell but said they would be foolish to act on it.
'When you commit crimes, the cops are all over you. That's the mistake we made,' he told the newspaper.
RELATED ARTICLES
Prison worker who agreed to drive 'Shawshank' escapees is 'a... 
'Except these are bad, bad boys': Stephen King admits jail...
Share this article
ShareVail, who is serving 49 years to life for the 1988 rape and murder of a pregnant secretary in Binghamton, New York, said the fugitives' escape bared a close resemblance to is own.
He and Morgan had spent months digging away at the concrete ceiling with tools smuggled from the prison carpentry shop - using a piece of black cardboard to cover the hole.
On the night of the escape, they out two life-like dummies in their beds to fool the guards.
Inmates David Sweat, left, and Richard Matt, right, escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York
Vail believes the convicts, who stuffed their beds with clothes to confuse guards, may have been inspired by his escape after he tunneled through the ceiling leaving behind a dummy. Vail and fellow inmate Morgan used the calendar (left) to show when digging was done (a day with 'X'), a squiggly line meant no digging was done and a smiley face meant good progress was made
But their carefully thought-out plan hit a snag when Vail fell and fractured his shoulder and ankle while climbing down the prison wall using sheets tied together.
When he and Morgan attempted to steal a van and head into town a day later they were caught.
Vail has been in solitary confinement ever since and had more than three years added to his sentence.
Prison guards raised the alarm early on Saturday morning after Sweat, 34, and Matt, 48, were discovered missing from their beds.
Both of their cells, located on the same side of the 'honor block' at Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York, had neat squares cut from the cement walls behind the beds.
Police officer killer Sweat, who was serving life without parole and Matt, who had 25 years to life for murder and torture, had stuffed their beds with clothes to fool guards and left behind a taunting note: 'Have a nice day.'
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin (pictured right) held a news conference outside Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York on Wednesday where they said they
The two prisoners escaped Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York on Saturday. A potential sighting of the escapees was made in Willsboro on Tuesday but authorities announced on Wednesday they believed the men could be headed to Vermont
Vail , who has been closely following the case, believed the pair may have seen the National Geographic documentary on his escape and copied his techniques they learned from him.
'There are so many similarities,' he added.
Authorities have launched a massive manhunt for the missing men who are thought ot be heading for Vermont.
'We need to find these men,' New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said, saying the killers were extremely dangerous because they were more desperate than ever.
He admitted little headway had been made in locating the escapees but that law enforcement were 'redoubling' their efforts. The inmates potentially had made a five-hour head start on Saturday when they escaped, Cuomo said.
New York State Police Superintendent Joseph D'Amico also said that a prison employee - identified in news reports as Joyce Mitchell, a training supervisor at the prison tailor shop - had befriended the killers and 'may have had some role in assisting them.'
Law enforcement officers question a woman who lives near the prison in Dannemora, New York as the search entered its fifth day on Wednesday for the two escaped murderers
He would not elaborate.
Unions representing guards and civilian staff at the prison said many have been questioned by investigators, but no one has been suspended, disciplined or charged.
Cuomo urged the people of Vermont to be on the alert and report anything suspicious, warning: 'Trust me, these men are nothing to be trifled with.'
On Wednesday, corrections officers and state troopers in helmets and body armor returned to search again near the prison where the pair broke out using power tools.
State Police said the fifth day of searching would include going house to house in Dannemora along with extensive ground searches with K-9 units and road blocks.
Troopers said that the house searches were not the result of any new leads and that law enforcement was just retracing its steps made soon after the escape, discovered early on Saturday.
'They'll be doing a 100 percent sweep from the prison right out, see how that goes,' Sheriff David Favro said.
THE MANHUNT: ON THE FIFTH DAY,THE DESPERATE SEARCH FOR ESCAPED MURDERERS CONTINUES
DAY ONE
The alert is raised early on Saturday morning after convicted killers David Sweat, 34, and Richard Matt, 48, were discovered missing from their cells during 5.30am rounds. Both cells, located on the same side of the 'honor block' at Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York, had neat squares cut from the cement walls behind the beds.
Cop killer Sweat, who was serving life without parole and Matt, who had 25 years to life for murder and torture, had stuffed their beds with clothes to fool guards and left behind a taunting note: 'Have a nice day.'
The maximum security Clinton Correctional Facility sits in Dannemora, high in the mountainous Adirondacks region, some 25 miles from the Canadian border.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered a 200-person strong manhunt across upstate New York and a $100,000 reward leading to the killers' capture.
DAY TWO
The escape from the 3,000 inmate state prison quickly raises suspicions of an inside job after it becomes clear the two men used power tools to cut holes in their cells and through a sewage pipe.
Investigators begin questioning prison workers and outside contractors to try to find out who may have supplied the power tools.
Contractors have been doing extensive renovations at the 170-year-old prison, a hulking, fortress-like structure that looms over Dannemora's main street.
Prison supervisor Joyce Mitchell is identified as a person of interest and is taken in for questioning.
DAY THREE
Some 300 leads flood into investigators in the 48 hours since the prison break was reported.
Cfficers search a field near Willsboro, NY on June 9
State police and other state, federal and local law enforcement agencies form a joint task force to take on each lead individually.
Forest Rangers, U.S. Marshals and the FBI assist in grid searches of region around the prison to ensure a thorough search of the ground.
More than 100 personnel which includes uniform, investigative and specialty units are placed on the ground to follow leads.
Road blocks with search dogs are set up across the region.
More than 250 corrections and law enforcement officers are involved in the region and additional investigative services are being applied statewide and nationally.
Reports emerge that the two convicts could be heading for the Canadian border or even as far away as Mexico.
DAY FOUR
Reports of two men walking along a road brought hundreds of law enforcement officers to a small town in the Adirondack foothills for a sweep that seemingly turned up no signs of two killers.
State police said leads continued to be generated and there would be an increased police presence in the area.
The hunt focused on Tuesday on Willsboro, New York, close to Lake Champlain, after residents reported seeing a couple of men walking on a road late on Monday during a driving rainstorm.
Searchers walked shoulder-to-shoulder, wearing bulletproof vests and carrying sidearms as they went through hilly woods, fields and swamps, checking every home, garage, shed and outbuilding, then yelling, 'Clear!' when there were no signs of the inmates.
By early evening, it appeared the sweep had come up empty, and there was no confirmation from police that the escaped convicts had been there.
State Police said more than 400 corrections and other law enforcement officers were in the area and planned to go door to door, checking homes and seasonal camps.
DAY FIVE
Law enforcement announced early on Wednesday that they will be searching homes in the village of Dannemora.
These searches were not the result of a new lead, police said, but law enforcement were retracing steps made early in the investigation. Residents were made aware that an increased police presence would be in the area.
Members of the public who see anything unusual upon arriving at their residence or seasonal homes were asked to contact law enforcement immediately.
The State Police have deployed all available assets in an effort to ensure the safety of the public.
The public were told not to hesitation to report any suspicious activity; that includes any sign of a trespass, burglary or vehicle larceny.
On Wednesday afternoon, authorities alerted residents they 'had information' that the two killers may be headed to a camp site in Vermont and to be on high alert for anything suspicious.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3IpbCmmZmhe6S7ja6iaKaVrMBwrdGtoJyklWKAcn2Yb2twZ32asrV5zJqlZp2jmK6xsYyHkGaoop7AsLqMq6aorJmjtG5%2BjKasq5yVp7Kzv4ylpqirlWK1sLzEZqqtmaliwKqzx61loaydoQ%3D%3D