New York Prison Manhunt Is Costing $1M A Day: Report

The massive manhunt for the convicted killers who escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility, New York, is reportedly costing $1 million a day. However, Major Charles Guess of New York State Police said Monday he is not concerned about the spiraling costs.

At least 800 law enforcement officials are on the case and New York State Police expanded the search area last week after combing through 16 square miles to find the escapees, David Sweat and Richard Matt. The two broke out from the maximum security prison using power tools and a series of tunnels, allegedly with the cooperation of a prison worker.

When asked about the expenses related to the manhunt, Guess said: “No. I don’t concern myself with the cost of the search. I concern myself with finding the inmates,” the Journal News reported.

The war of words started when Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie said last week that the cost of the manhunt was $1 million a day, the New York Times reported.

However, the state's budget division said it was “premature” to discuss the expenses, the Journal News reported on Monday. It reportedly remains unclear how much the manhunt is costing the state. Moreover, if last year’s overtime costs are considered, the state department of corrections and community supervision that administers 54 prisons in the New York state, was paid $180 million, an increase of 12 percent from 2013.

Last November, manhunt for alleged police killer Eric Frein cost over $11 million, ABC News reported, citing the Pennsylvania State Police. The cost reportedly accounted only for expenses incurred by the Pennsylvania State Police, and not for agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshalls that helped in the manhunt operation, which ended on Oct. 30, 2014, when Frein was found at an abandoned airport hangar in the Poconos in northeastern Pennsylvania.