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
Related Stories
The Daily Beast reports
Escaped murderer Richard Matt was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent Friday after he and fellow escapee David Sweat tried to carjack a camper vehicle, law-enforcement [said]. [...] The camper's driver called 911 and authorities finally caught up to the men since they broke out of prison on June 6.
Matt was shot in the vicinity of Lake Titus, approximately 10 miles west of Owl's Head, where police said Monday they had found evidence that Matt and Sweat had broken into a cabin this week.
[...] A trail camera outside of nearby Whippleville [...] photographed both men and showed Matt holding a shotgun. [...] Matt was convicted for kidnapping, killing, and dismembering his boss in 1997 before fleeing to Mexico--where he fatally stabbed an American and was serving a 20-year sentence.
Related: How Two Escaped Killers Could Completely Disappear Off the Grid
Original Submission
Not that long ago you could buy a prepaid cell phone with cash, an unlocked cell phone with cash, and a sim card with cash, without having to show any ID, in the USA. As far as I know this is now impossible. Every store now requires ID when purchasing these things. Is there any way to obtain a cell phone that respects my privacy and therefore security in the US any longer? Are these rules about showing ID state-specific? I'm curious if anyone else has recent experience trying to do what used to be the norm. Obviously any sim card or phone tied to an id, credit card, etc., offers no privacy. Thanks!
takyon: People IRL and on IRC are telling me that no, you do not necessarily need an ID to obtain a prepaid cell phone. You might want to get it months in advance of doing anything with it so that store CCTV footage is erased, and you might want to put it in a faraday cage (several layers of foil can also be used) before it is anywhere near your house or primary identity-tracked phone(s). In fact, you could do that in the parking lot of the place you buy it. Here are some related stories:
How Two Escaped Killers Could Completely Disappear Off the Grid
Bill Aims to Identify U.S. Prepaid Cellular Users
Thailand Plans to Track All SIM Cards Sold in the Country
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 12 2015, @09:07PM
They haven't completely disappeared off the grid. It's only been a week and authorities don't know what assistance they've received on the outside, which could include transportation, housing, cash, you name it.
With hours of a head start, a vehicle, money, and maybe even keys to a cabin they could be in Canada, upstate New York, or anywhere in the North East. Being in a stocked hideout is not disappearing off the grid. The news coverage is certainly keeping them informed of the search for them.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 12 2015, @09:18PM
> Being in a stocked hideout is not disappearing off the grid.
Huh? Sounds like a pretty clear application of the principle to me.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 13 2015, @04:00PM
Hiding out in a house/cabin/whatever that someone else paid for, and someone else stocked with supplies, is not disappearing off the grid. Living on your own, using your own skills and assets, without the help of outsiders is living off the grid. These guys are just hiding out.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday June 12 2015, @09:51PM
They haven't completely disappeared off the grid. It's only been a week
Yeah, way too soon to be speculating on any of this nonsense.
In a week, they aren't setting up any shell corporations, and you can bet any place selling pre-paid phones are being checked. Who they gonna call? Jail Busters?
Sneaking into Canada isn't exactly easy anymore either.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by KGIII on Saturday June 13 2015, @02:32AM
Eh... They seem to think that they will show up in my area of the world. (NW Maine, near Canada - easy enough to cross into Canada without being anywhere near a Boarder Patrol Officer.) A county sheriff (no local police, I live in an unincorporated township known as a plantation) meandered by and told my neighbor that they should be on the lookout. They did not stop and talk to me or I was not home at the time and they declined to leave a card. I am well acquainted with this particular sheriff and am surprised he did not wait or return later. Maybe he secretly wants me to be killed and buried in a swamp?
Anyhow, it would be unwise for them to come here - not because I am mean but because they would be noticed pretty quickly as there are a total of six houses for about twenty five miles. There are two hunting camps. We would notice if someone moved in or if someone disappeared and was replaced by new people. I am not that kind of person so I have not applied much thought to this but it seems like going to a really unpopulated area is a bad choice and I am not sure why people would assume criminals would make that choice.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Saturday June 13 2015, @02:52PM
They seem to think that they will show up in my area of the world. (NW Maine, near Canada - easy enough to cross into Canada without being anywhere near a Boarder Patrol Officer.)
Only in America does someone who lives so close to an international border not even know how to spell the word.
(Score: 1) by KGIII on Sunday June 14 2015, @08:27AM
D'oh! Thanks. I always get that one mashed up with the other. The worst part is, as you alluded to, I see the signs and the vehicles with the name emblazoned on it quite frequently. Yet, still, I type it out and my brain just refuses to do it properly. I frequently will type out border for someone staying with another person. I think that braincell is stuck.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
(Score: 4, Funny) by hemocyanin on Friday June 12 2015, @09:15PM
Hit men? It would make an interesting crime novel perhaps -- two convicted murders negotiate with the mob for release in exchange for a life of indentured servitude as hit men. After some tatoo removal and maybe a little plastic surgery, they do their job until one day, one decides he wants out and the other has to track him down. Big shoot out at the end. Who survives? Or is it a double-double cross and both break out of the mob in the end?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 12 2015, @09:33PM
Sounds like a Jack Reacher novel plot... I'd read it. Go for it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 13 2015, @02:01AM
Their first target was probably going to be the prison employee who helped them escape. First rule of prison breaks: kill your accomplices as soon as they've served their purpose.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 13 2015, @06:25AM
Almost this then https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_%28film%29 [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Sunday June 14 2015, @04:03AM
Wow -- I know I've seen that too. Amazing how one forgets.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by frojack on Friday June 12 2015, @09:46PM
Anonymous corporations... buy prepaid phones, Seriously?
First that shit takes months to set up years to age (so as not to call attention to itself), and anonymous pre-paid cell phones
aren't even a thing in the US anymore. They want a picture ID every time you buy one.
Guys sitting in a cell for years and years, aren't going to be able to do any of this stuff. You can't do it after you escape.
Without people on the outside to set this all up for you, its not going to happen. You can't do it from a jail cell.
With people on the outside you've got more and more risk for each person involved. More ways to trace you.
Your best bet is to have a non-descript car prestashed with legal plates (or swapped from a similar car) that has been seldom used, with a full tank of gas and several thousand in small unmarked bills hidden inside, and maybe some fake ID, and a stash or three of survival food and camping equipment somewhere.
But all that takes preparation BEFORE you go to jail, because anybody who visits you or communicates in any way is just another risk.
There are a lot of escapees running around loose, and most of them are living casually. But most of them the authorities really don't care about, because they know they will keep their nose clean, and also that they will eventually almost always get caught unless they sneak to mexico and then to south american where nobody cares to follow them.
If your a cop killer, or anyone else that the law want's off the streets, you really have little chance.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Friday June 12 2015, @11:55PM
What would be the most effective option to leave the country?
And I'll assume one would avoid all human contact as far as possible or stay somewhat incognito.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 13 2015, @02:15AM
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.
(Score: 1) by KGIII on Saturday June 13 2015, @02:42AM
There is a bit more scrutiny to get into Canada now and, since this, I am sure there is a heightened awareness situation in play. These people probably are not looking to get back into the United States but they may look a little odd without the prerequisite paperwork to do so. I have an "Enhanced Indian Card" as I am also a citizen of Canada (Micmac tribe if you are curious) and that card gets me across the boarder in both directions though I have an "Enhanced Driver's License" as well which the US side always asks to see on return if I have not already given that (or my passport) to them at the start.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
(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.
(Score: 2) by mendax on Saturday June 13 2015, @12:09AM
I beg to differ. I used a pre-paid phone, not to remain anonymous (I recharge it with a credit card) but because it's a lot cheaper than a contract. I recently replaced my old pre-paid phone with a new one. No ID required at the Target store I bought it at. If I really wanted to remain anonymous, I could have paid cash as well.
I've read that "How to Disappear" book mentioned in the article. It's a very good primer on how to not be tracked by the government (in my opinion).
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Saturday June 13 2015, @04:58AM
I used a pre-paid phone, not to remain anonymous (I recharge it with a credit card)
So you provided ID. Good boy.
Even why you pay with cash, you are under surveillance.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 13 2015, @12:27AM
> anonymous pre-paid cell phones aren't even a thing in the US anymore. They want a picture ID every time you buy one.
You do not know what you are talking about.
I have five of them. Bought them with cash from walmart and target over the last year. I buy minutes from a local cellphone shop that takes cash.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 13 2015, @12:29AM
> Your best bet is to have a non-descript car prestashed with legal plates (or swapped from a similar car)
Bicycles which you use to get to the nearest river where you have a one-man craft like a kayak or sunfish and then you just float away at night.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 13 2015, @02:06AM
Those are opinions of a non-expert, not facts. Presenting them like they are is disingenuous.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday June 12 2015, @10:14PM
Huh... The Shawshank Redemption [wikipedia.org]
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Friday June 12 2015, @10:59PM
the news stories are all about how that prison was only twenty miles from the Canadian border. While they might go there - and it's easy to cross in some places - they would be foolish to do so.
It's easy for Canadians to spot Americans, eh?
If they ever consulted a doctor they would not have medicare cards. While one can pay cash then they know you're not Canadian.
Also they would not have Canadian Social Insurance numbers.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by VortexCortex on Saturday June 13 2015, @01:45AM
Also they would not have Canadian Social Insurance numbers.
Not really sure how much this matters. Hydro One (Canadian hydroelectric company) called me up and said my bill was past due. They cited my "SSI" -- It was a USA social security number, and someone had managed to set up power under my stolen US identity in Canada. Perhaps today the computers are more connected such that hospitals, electric companies, and etc. can verify a SSI number, but having seen the guts of said computer systems I HIGHLY doubt it.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Saturday June 13 2015, @02:34AM
but if you want to get a job you need a SIN.
I have both an american SSN and a Canadian SIN but I don't recall how many digits it has.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Saturday June 13 2015, @09:57AM
So you say having killed someone isn't enough of a sin?
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Saturday June 13 2015, @10:22AM
for that, you have to flee the police after your car backfires.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 13 2015, @01:49AM
51 year old Joyce Mitchell, an instructor at the prison tailor shop.
Mitchell was investigated over a possible relationship with one of [the escapees] [komonews.com]
aiding the breakout by supplying the men with prohibited items and agreeing at one point to be their getaway driver [cbsnews.com]
-- gewg_
(Score: 2) by istartedi on Saturday June 13 2015, @03:26AM
Zihuatanejo. Better check, just to make sure.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 13 2015, @06:10PM
Does anybody know the details of the homicides?
Victims are a police officer and a member of the managerial class. Not exactly what one would think of as innocents. So, I have to wonder if these were justifiable homicides. Does anybody know?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 13 2015, @09:33PM
Guess why they don't tell you on TV who they killed.
Guess.
I want an answer.