The manhunt for two convicted murderers has switched to two areas after DNA from one of the fugitives was found in a cabin and a possible sighting was made close to the Pennsylvania border.
Investigators have descended on an area near Mountain View, in Franklin County, after reports that a person was seen running from a hunting camp.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers were also scouring railway lines around the town of Friendship after state police said a woman had reported seeing two men resembling inmates David Sweat and Richard Matt, who escaped from the maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility on 6 June.
DNA from one of the two men was found at a cabin which had been broken into near the town of Saranac, according to WCAX-TV, and The Albany Times-Union reported that one of the men was believed to have broken into a home in Owls Head - close to Mountain View.
The manhunt has been going on for more than two weeks in areas around the prison and close to the Canadian border.
State Police Major Michael Cerretto told a news conference: "We will search under every rock, behind every tree and structure until we are confident that the area is secure."
He said officers had interviewed the witness in Friendship and decided she was credible, triggering a search by 300 officers in the town and neighbouring Amity.
Authorities have revealed a sighting of the two men in Steuben County last week. Two men were spotted walking near a rail yard in Erwin on 13 June, and were reportedly seen the next day in Lindley close to the Pennsylvania border.
State police asked residents in Friendship to be on alert and warned that the two fugitives are "very dangerous" and should not be approached.
Resident Darryl Ross told The Leader: "I was a little concerned. You have these guys running around. You don't know where they are.
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