Items In N.Y. Hunting Cabin Linked To Escaped Killers, Police Say

Items recovered from a hunting cabin in rural New York could be linked to the two convicted killers who escaped from prison more than two weeks ago, police said Monday.

"We have recovered specific items from that cabin," State Police Maj. Charles Guess said at a news conference. "We have forwarded them to the appropriate laboratories and reached conclusive determination but are not prepared to release that evidence at this time."

The New York Times quoted an official briefed on the investigation as saying that DNA matching that of Richard Matt and David Sweat was found in the cabin in Mountain View, N.Y. The cabin is 15 miles from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora from which Matt and Sweat escaped June 6. Here's more from The Times:

"The forensic evidence indicated that the men had been there within the last 48 hours, according to the official, who was not authorized to discuss the search and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

"A pair of prison-issued underwear was also found in the cabin, the official said."

As NPR's Scott Neuman reported at the time of their escape, Matt was convicted of beating a man to death in 1997; Sweat murdered a sheriff in 2002. Their spectacular escape has prompted a massive manhunt; authorities charged a prison worker with "providing material assistance" to the two convicted killers.