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Noah Remnick writes in the NYT that as the clock ticks on Richard Matt and David Sweat who escaped from maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility last weekend, experts say the two escaped killers are increasingly likely to evade capture for a substantial period. "A lot of escapes are spontaneous and the guys get tripped up because they don't know where to go," says Terry Pelz. "These guys know where to go. Most guys get caught after a few hours because they don't have a plan. These guys planned their escape and planned it well, so it could take much longer to catch them." Experts say there are some cardinal rules for living off the grid. "Your first priority is finding a secure place and a source of money," says Darrin Giglio. "You don't want anything traceable, so you'll either have to establish a new identity or get paid off the books, maybe as a day laborer."
Cellphone, credit cards, and surveillance cameras have added new layers of complication and possibility for both fugitives and law enforcement. "If they're smart, fugitives can really take advantage of technology," says Frank Ahearn, a New York-based skip-tracer turned skip-maker and author of "How to Disappear". "They can buy prepaid cellphones and credit cards. Their apartments, cars and bank accounts can be set up under anonymous corporations. They can live almost entirely virtually. That wasn't possible in the past." To combat such trickery, police departments have access to increasingly sophisticated and far-reaching forms of search and surveillance. "It's easier than ever to comb through enormous amounts of data. And with surveillance cameras all over the place, the only way to avoid detection might be changing appearance. Some people even get plastic surgery," says Giglio. "It's like being in the witness protection program. To be successful, you have to give up your entire past. Most people can't do that." Under such agonizing circumstances, there is no shortage of ways to blunder. Escapees often return home or place phone calls to friends and family members, whom the police might be tracking. Other times it is an escapee's suspicious behavior that tips off bystanders. "A lot of inmates who are legitimately released encounter a confusing new life," says Pelz. "They don't know how to drive cars, use cellphones, use credit cards. They need to re-educate themselves. That can trip up escapees too. Even if it's a well-planned escape, people get sloppy."
Original Submission
(Score: 2) by frojack on Saturday June 13 2015, @04:56AM
They were only 20 miles from the Canadian border. Their inside helper probably had a car available for them (if she didn't pick them up herself). No one was looking for them until the next morning so a fake ID would be enough to get them into Canada.
You may think that, because you've never shown up at the border in a car other than your own.
If you are a regular crosser, Canadian customs knows your history before you roll up to the window.
Their plate read has your vehicle registration up on their screen before you even stop rolling.
They just wave you in.
New visitor? They will ask you questions that they already know the answer to. Is this your car? No? Who is the owner?
Where are you going.
If they wanted to go to Canada they need an unfenced section of the border that they can walk across. And those are fewer and further between than you think. Even forest sections have fences, and they they are also monitored with cameras and infrared.
If these guys planned on sneaking across the boarder, they aren't likely to succeed without local knowledge, or some partner in crime that specialized in getting people across.
Somebody in this thread says they live up there and it would be easy. Bet they've never actually tried.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 13 2015, @09:18AM
The escapees had an accomplice who worked at the prison, which means the accomplice lived in the area. Who knows if the escapees' accomplice - or a friend/relative - was a regular at a border crossing? This wasn't a spur of the moment escape. This was planned (and for one it was their 3rd escape attempt).
I'm not saying they are in Canada, but they were already very close, had local help, and had a plan. I imagine the police have already checked which vehicles crossed at local checkpoints.
(Score: 2) by urza9814 on Monday June 15 2015, @04:15PM
I know several people who have crossed from the US to Canada with no documents, without being stopped, completely by accident. Surely somebody who knows the area (or spends a few hours on Google Streetview) would have no problem doing the same.
(Score: 2) by urza9814 on Monday June 15 2015, @04:16PM
Should have added these weren't people hiking through a remote area of wilderness; these were people driving home from a bar or a party who took a wrong turn and ended up in a foreign country. It's not that secure of a border.