New York authorities continued search for a pair of convicted killers who escaped from an upstate New York prison in a town 40 miles away over the weekend.

The search for David Sweat, 34, and Richard Matt, 48 was focused on Willsboro, a town in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains close to Lake Champlain.

Sweat and Matt cut through a steel wall of the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, which is located approximately 20 miles from the Canadian border.

They broke through bricks and crawled through a steam pipe before emerging through a manhole outside the prison grounds.

On early Saturday, they were discovered missing. They stuffed their beds with clothes to fool guards on their rounds and left behind a taunting note, 'Have a nice day'.

Searchers, who bulletproof vests and carried sidearms walked shoulder-to-shoulder as they went through hilly woods, fields and swamps. They checked every home, garage, shed and outbuilding. However, they found no signs of the inmates.

On Tuesday, a statement was issued by New York State Police. The police mentioned that more than 400 corrections and other law enforcement officers checked homes and seasonal camps.

It has been speculated that the inmates had arranged someone to pick them up outside the prison. When police got to know about the prison, they were long gone from the area, even Canada or as far as Mexico.

Since an escape from the 3,000-inmate state prison is tough, this prison break has raised suspicions that the men had help on the inside. Joyce Mitchell, a 51-year-old prison work supervisor was being interviewed by investigators. A $100,000 reward has been posted for information leading to the men's capture.