Who helped them . And what was their plan . Leaving no stone unturned. A scent in the woods, false sightings. All part of a desperate search through the adirondacks and along the Canadian Border. From the ground and from the air. They could have gone to the north up here in the vast woods toward north canada. Easy to get lost up there. Law enforcement on the hunt. Two dangerous fugitives on the loose and a dramatic ending nobody sees coming. Tonight, a cnn special report, the great prison escape. Hello. Im randi kaye in dannemora, new york. Inmates richard matt broke out of the facility here. It is the first time anyone escaped from this maximum security facility since it opened in the 1800s. That bold escape was the beginning of a story thats almost too twisted to believe involving murder, manipulation and sex. Before the sun began to rise they were gone. An escape plan worthy of a screen play, carried out by two dangerous men. On a scale of one to then. They are a ten dangerous wild
Dec. 1, 1946 - Dec. 13, 2020
Glenn D. Gardner, a veteran detective who was a key figure in the investigation of two of North Tonawanda s most infamous homicides, died Sunday. He was 74.
Mr. Gardner died in Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, Amherst, of complications from Covid-19, according to his daughter, Pamela Gardner.
In 1998, Mr. Gardner won the Exchange Club s Officer of the Year award for his work in bringing Richard W. Matt to justice in the murder and dismemberment of North Tonawanda businessman William Rickerson.
Gabe DiBernardo, who was North Tonawanda s chief of detectives at the time, remembered sending Mr. Gardner to Rickerson s home about a week after Rickerson s disappearance in December 1997.
Retired North Tonawanda Police Department Captain Glenn Gardner Dies of COVID-19 Complications
By: Staff Reporter
The North Tonawanda Police Department announced on Monday, December 14th, 2020, the death of retired Captain Glenn Gardner.
Captain Gardner graduated from Niagara Falls High School in 1964. Following his high school education he obtained Associates Degrees in Business Administration and Police Science, and a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice. Captain Gardner dedicated his life to service.
In 1968 he joined the United States Army and attained the rank of Sergeant before being honorably discharged in 1974, after two years of active duty and four years of reserve duty. In 1972 he joined the University of Buffalo Campus Police Department where he remained until he was hired by the North Tonawanda Police Department on November 16, 1977.
richard matt is dead. but where is his accomplice, david sweat? we are going to space it out 20 feet down the line. a perimeter is set up as investigators comb the area looking for any sign of him. but as the minutes and hours drag on, there is no sign of david sweat and it s starting to become very clear that the manhunt is far from over. we have no reason to believe that mr. sweat was not with mr. matt at the time, but we don t have any confirming evidence that he was either. there are several leads that are being tracked down as we speak about mr. sweat and his possible whereabouts. law enforcement quickly moves to track down those leads and close the perimeter, hoping to get david sweat to surface. he has been on the run now for three weeks. he s tired. he s fatigued. he s hungry. he is going to make a mistake. and once again, those calls that we get in, those leads that we get in from the public i ve
fires his weapon twice from 50 yards away, an incredibly difficult shot. he hits david sweat both times in the torso. as word spreads over police radios that david sweat is down, law enforcement races to the scene, startling residents in this small, rural community. my wife ran out of the house and said, oh, my god, something is going on up the street. and then i heard the shots. incredibly, sweat was just two miles away from crossing the canadian border. now bloodied and handcuffed, he is once again in custody. turns out he is unarmed, but he does have with him a backpack full of supplies, bug repellant, wipes, and pop tarts. also, sweat had somehow managed to swap his prison garb for camouflage clothing. the nightmare is finally over. mr. matt is deceased, and the other escapee, mr. sweat, is in custody.