New York Governor Says Convicted Murderers Who Escaped Prison "Definitely Had Help"

David Sweat and Richard Matt

Handout / Getty Images

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday that the two convicted murderers who staged an elaborate escape from a maximum security prison near the Canadian border "definitely had help."

“If they had help from outside, they could be anywhere in the country," Cuomo said on the TODAY show on Monday.

Any help, though, likely came from inside the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, NY, Cuomo said. There are three types of workers inside the prison: guards, civilians, and contractors. Authorities are currently reviewing the latter two groups to see if they helped the inmates get the power tools that made the escape possible.

“They were assisted probably from the inside,” Cuomo said. "I’d be shocked if a guard."

"They definitely had help," he said.

The hole cut from the cells leading to the catwalk

Handout / Getty Images

Early Saturday morning, prison officials found convicted murderers Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, missing from their bunks.

The inmates, whose cells were next to each other, used power tools to cut through a quarter inch steel plate, which gave them access to a six-story high catwalk. From there, they cut through several pipes and climbed over a wall, eventually shimmying their way out via a two-foot thick steam pipe and emerging from a manhole not far outside the prison.

“It was really unbelievable," Cuomo said. “If it was a movie plot you would say that it was overdone."

Authorities in Canada have been alerted because the prison is so close to the border. Officials in Mexico were also alerted because one of the inmates was convicted of a crime there and may have ties to the country.

The inmates apparently left this racist note on a pipe used in the escape. Cuomo told TODAY on Monday, "They had a little bit of a comedian in them. I plan on giving them back that note.”

Handout / Getty Images

This is a developing story. Check back for updates and follow BuzzFeed News on Twitter.

LINK: $100,000 Reward For Two Convicted Murderers Who Drilled Out Of Maximum Security NY Prison

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