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Authorities Chase Lead Near Allegany County, New York; Police Ask Reporters To Leave "Hot Spot" Near Chase; Urgent Search For Killers Near New York/Pennsylvania State Line; Police Chase New Lead on Escaped Killers; Prison Administrator Put on on Leave; Interview with Cemetery Caretaker in Search Area; Racist Manifesto Found Online Allegedly by Confessed Shooter Dylann Roof. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired June 20, 2015 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[17:00:36] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: It is 5:00 here on the East Coast. I'm Poppy Harlow joining you from New York. And we have breaking news. The breaking news is on the manhunt in Upstate New York. We now know authorities are following leads near Allegany County, New York. News 4 Buffalo has been saying its reporter has been asked to leave because state police call it a hot spot. Radio traffic is indicating that police are moving large numbers of officers right into that area. Officers have been asked to maintain radio silence as they search for these two convicted murderers who escaped from a maximum security prison 14 days ago.

Our Sara Ganim is on the ground on the story, what are you hearing, Sara?

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Poppy. Yes, we know that state police are actively searching an area in Friendship, New York, which is very close to the Pennsylvania border in New York, in Allegheny County. I just talked to a man who is the caretaker of the cemetery very close by where state police are searching. He told me he's seen cars, state police trooper cars, go up and down the hill where the cemetery is, he sees helicopters flying overhead. He says he's not far from a freeway where they are doing car searches and checkpoints, not far from a creek and not far from railroad tracks.

And that's important Poppy because we know that there were reports of unconfirmed sightings last week along railroad tracks in different border towns, in neighboring county near the border with Pennsylvania and New York. We know the police were working on tracking down those leads last night and this morning and then this afternoon, we got word that there was a sighting, a possible sighting in friendship, New York in Allegany County, New York. State police actively now searching that area for these two escaped convicts. They have been missing now, this is the beginning of week three -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Right. Sara, just to be clear here, this sighting, potential sighting, I should say, of these two convicts near or in Friendship, New York, is that separate from the sighting that came into the authorities on Tuesday?

GANIM: It is separate but it's not far away, Poppy. It's only about 30 miles west of where those two sightings were. Now, remember, those first two sightings in Steuben County, New York, a neighboring county, those actually happened last weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, but weren't reported to state police until Tuesday of this week and police didn't find surveillance video that could possibly confirm or deny that until Friday. Then as that video -- as that news began to be made public and they asked residents near the border to be on the lookout, that's when we got word today that there was another possible sighting when state police converged, began to search, began grid searches where they canvass specific areas.

And now, what we are hearing from a witness on the ground, there is a helicopter overhead that has been hovering he said for about an hour, several state police cars, checkpoints. Again, this is near railroad tracks, near a creek and near a freeway, all ways that if you were running from someone, you might -- things that you might follow to get out of town to a new place. Yes. This person, just to tell you, told me, he said I'm very scared. He's 80 years old, he's a caretaker of a cemetery that's right nearby. He said I'm sitting here with a rifle and he said I think they're really serious that they have seen somebody. I just hope they catch them. Otherwise it will make for a long night -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Yes. And of course, everyone in that area being told if you see them, you think you see them, do not approach them. They are very very dangerous people. Call the authorities right away. Sara Ganim, thank you for the reporting. I will let you get back to that on the ground since it's a very active situation there.

Let's talk more about this with former FBI Assistant Director Tom Fuentes. So, Tom, if you are in this situation, walk us through what they're doing right now on the ground there.

TOM FUENTES, FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: What would typically happen is that when this news came out late this last week, that there had been a sighting earlier the week before, last weekend, much of that news goes in that area, then everyone becomes more alert. They're looking out their windows and now all kinds of suspicious people, you know, are seen by people that may not be that suspicious. And this was, you know, we had this very similar to what was occurring in Dannemora right after the prison break, you remember people saw guys going through their background, they saw suspicious pair of guys walking down the street, walking near railroad tracks. So, typically when you are asking the public to be on the lookout they will see a lot of things when they're on the lookout that may or may not be them. I'm not saying it's not them or it is them, or not them, we don't know. It will take more work.

[17:05:04] HARLOW: We know that they have been using these sort of expert dogs, these bloodhounds if you will with these very keen noses. You are not a fan of that. You don't think that that is the right way to search for these guys?

FUENTES: I'm not saying it's not the right way. I just said that --

HARLOW: Not your favorite way.

FUENTES: Well, I have had a lot of experiences with dogs over the years. They get tired also, they get fatigued. You know, TSA uses their dogs four hours at an airport and then they are rested. So, we don't know in this manhunt, are these dogs out there 12, 18 hours like their handlers are a day, looking for these people. They get tired, they get fatigued. There is false positives, there's false negatives. So yes, they can be a very good tool but they are not the end of the story in a case like this. And I think that again, go back to the candy wrappers that were found near Dannemora prison where the dogs alerted on the wrappers and on an area that they thought the prisoners had slept and I just pointed out that everybody in that county practically works at the prison and probably brings home food and candy and things like that and throw the trash away that would have the scent of the prison even. So, did the dogs smell that or did they smell these specific two individuals.

HARLOW: Right.

FUENTES: So, that's all. There are so many false leads and what's happening now is just many of the leads they get like that, they have to pursue it, they have to send the man power there and the aircraft and give it every bit of attention, especially since they don't already have them but I'm just saying let's let this play out a little bit.

HARLOW: Now, the authorities are telling everyone stay indoors. And if you think you spot them, do not approach them.

FUENTES: Well, don't approach them and the other problem with that is as it gets dark, you might have a police officer shot by somebody out there. They may see officers going through these fields and through these woods and somebody may decide that they are going to be the one that catches the bad guys and accidentally shoot a police officer.

HARLOW: What does it mean that the officers are being asked to keep radio silent? What does that mean?

FUENTES: I think that what happens from the command post is you're trying to send out so much information, receive so much information, you just don't want a lot of unnecessary chatter on the air. And that's usually what radio discipline is always about in these kind of cases.

HARLOW: All right. Stand by. I want to bring Sara Ganim back in, who is on the ground there, you know, and has information that we are just learning that this is Sara what they are calling a hot zone. Look, we have also heard this week that this search went cold. What are you hearing from the authorities on the ground there?

GANIM: So, a couple of things here, Poppy. New York State police have actually, according to one of our affiliates, WIVP, asked one of the local reporters there to leave the area because it is quote, "a hot spot." Now, we have been listening to some radio traffic, scanner traffic from here, indicates that people are moving in -- authorities are moving in large numbers of search teams and responding officers have been asked to silence -- they go into radio silence. While they do that, I also want to tell you that I just heard, I'm talking right now via text to the PIO, the Public Information Officer for the New York State police --

HARLOW: Right.

GANIM: He says, they do have aviation and K-9 on the scene but they have no confirmation at this point that it's actually the escapees. Of course, that witness on the ground telling us that there are in fact large numbers of search crews on the ground, helicopters, state police now saying K-9 as well. You remember earlier in the search a K-9 did pick up the scent of these two men much closer to the prison. This, remember, is 350 to 400 miles away from the prison where they escaped but there was a trail at one point early in the search that was lost. As you mentioned, they did say that it had gone cold, their search had gone cold. They had modified their search in this area and then when these sightings were reported, it seems that they have stepped up that effort to do grid searches, canvassing these areas, K- 9 and aviation units again now with this new information -- Poppy.

HARLOW: And it's unheard of that anyone that has escaped this prison has been gone for nearly this long. It has simply never happened. They haven't faced a challenge like this before. Sara, stand by. I will let you continue that reporting.

Tom, to you. If indeed these two men are 350 miles away from where Sara is right at the prison in Dannemora, New York, having gone south to possibly next to the state line of New York and Pennsylvania there, does that surprise you, given that the prison they broke out of is just 20 miles away from the Canadian border?

FUENTES: It surprises me for other reasons even than just that. And that's one reason. But the other reason is that if they are out in the woods and if they are jumping on and off trains, freight trains like a bunch of hobos, then that means they don't have food. That means they don't have water. You would think that you would find evidence of them going into dumpsters, going through people's trash or going into empty homes to try to sustain themselves, to try to find shelter. So, I think at this point, I was of the idea that they would probably be a long way away where they might feel that they would have a greater degree of safety to be in a home or to get groceries or do whatever it might be separate or together. But in this case, I would be surprised if they're that close for this long a time. If they're going to get away, get away. If you're not, I wouldn't have been surprised if they were within two miles of the prison, I wouldn't be surprised if they were 5,000 miles.

[17:10:12] HARLOW: And if they are together, why stay together? Why would you do that?

FUENTES: Well, if they are out in the wild they would need each other. If they are trying to hunt for animals or rummage through dumpsters or take turns sleeping to keep, you know, to keep a lookout for each other, they might still feel that they need each other up to a certain point.

HARLOW: Yes.

FUENTES: I think once they feel they're safely away, the hunt has died down, the attention on them has died down, they are a long way off, then maybe they go their separate ways. But don't forget, they have been partners in crime here.

HARLOW: There you go. Partners in planning. Partners in planning.

FUENTES: For well over a year.

HARLOW: Tom Fuentes, thank you. I appreciate it.

Sara Ganim, thank you for the excellent reporting on the ground there. Guys, we will going to take a quick break. We'll going to be back with more of this breaking news on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:14:22] HARLOW: I'm Poppy Harlow joining you from New York. We are continuing to follow the breaking news on that search, the massive manhunt for two convicted killers who escaped from a maximum security prison two weeks ago today. Police investigators, hundreds of them following new leads at this hour from multiple reported potential sightings of these two men.

I want to go straight to CNN Producer Shimon Prokupecz, he joins me on the phone now. Shimon, what are you hearing from the authorities?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN PRODUCER (on the phone): Police are saying that they received a call today from a resident in the area who said that he saw them, he saw the two men, the two escapees, and based off of that, police set up a perimeter, you know, in the area that they're searching now and believe they found some tracks that they are now following to see if it is the two escapees.

HARLOW: Shimon, you are incredibly well sourced when it comes to folks, law enforcement authorities who are dealing with this. How confident do you read them at this point in time? Do they seem confident here because they get a lot of leads?

PROKUPECZ: Yes. They are. I think they are sort of being tempered because there was some, you know, some sightings previously, they had tracks previously that they were following that they felt could be the men. I mean, you know, just talking to them and listening to what's going on out there, you could tell people are excited and they are trying to, you know, make sure that, you know, they sort of keep things under control and they don't want to get any of us sort of some false hope in that they are finally going to get these two men. But they set up a perimeter, they are calling in more resources, there are more, you know, police officers moving in that area. You know, initially it was just the locals that were involved in the search.

HARLOW: Right.

PROKUPECZ: So now that more state police are responding and other local area police officers are responding, they are actually hoping that they can go in to sort of some of these areas and really start searching and seeing if they are hiding somewhere, perhaps, you know, in the sort of wooded area around where they're searching. HARLOW: So Shimon, police have asked a local reporter up there to

leave one area where they're searching, calling it a hot spot. Are they saying why they would do that?

PROKUPECZ: Because they just don't know. They don't know if these men are armed. You know, they have been on the run now for several days. We don't know, you know, maybe they broke into a home somewhere and stole guns. They just don't know. So they don't want people there, you know, reporters or any of the local residents sort of going out there, seeing what's going on, could potentially endanger themselves. And also, you know, the police they are sort of right now -- and they are out searching.

HARLOW: Right.

PROKUPECZ: They don't want to mistake a resident or perhaps a reporter or someone else and sort of have some sort of incident with someone there who shouldn't be there. So, right now they want to keep everybody out. I mean, they're really not even going in right now. It's sort of they're setting up a perimeter trying to determine how best to try and go in and start searching. It's a very dangerous situation for them. They don't know what they're dealing with. So, it's something that they need to take a lot of precautions with.

HARLOW: All right. Shimon, stay with me, if you can, as you work your sources on this. I want to bring back in Tom Fuentes, former FBI assistant director. Tom, you said look, they had 800 to 900 leads at the beginning of this. How unusual is it for leads to be called in because they also said earlier this week it went cold.

FUENTES: Well, the actual specific trail went cold --

HARLOW: Right.

FUENTES: -- that they were using the dogs and trackers to look at. It doesn't mean the leads coming in went cold.

HARLOW: Right.

FUENTES: They still would be getting them continuously. And I think what the authorities were trying to pass on early was even though they were so focused in New York, still call in if you see something suspicious in California, in Washington State, in Mexico, wherever it is. So, they didn't want everybody to just conclude well, if they've got 800 officers in Dannemora that must be it, they must have them.

HARLOW: Right.

FUENTES: The problem now is going to be with this new location, they'll going to have to bring in all these officers, create a perimeter and then if they do the same type of diligence in that area, foot by foot, shoulder to shoulder through the woods, this is going to take a couple days more to do that particular area.

HARLOW: Right. That's what Shimon said, that they weren't necessarily in that area, they are building the perimeter and then they are going to go bit by bit to make sure they cover all of it thoroughly.

Stand by, Tom. Sara Ganim -- do we have Sara still? All right. We do have Sara Ganim who is there on the scene, I believe, is that right, guys?

GANIM: I'm actually at the prison Poppy where they escaped.

HARLOW: Right.

GANIM: Can you hear me?

[17:19:04] HARLOW: I can hear you, Sara. So, let me ask you this. Tell us a little more about the railroad and the significance of it. Because one of the tips that was called in earlier this week Tuesday, and we just found out about it yesterday to the authorities, is that they may have seen these two men by a set of railroad tracks and the search scene right now is also by a set of railroad tracks. So, tell us how these two come together.

GANIM: That's right, Poppy. One of the sightings, reported sightings, hadn't been confirmed from last weekend was that these two men were in a town called Irwin, PA, which is one county east from where the search area is right now. This is near gang mills rail yard is where the sighting was. Of course, that's a railway. Now, we looked at a map and we tracked that railway. It actually connects to the area where police are searching now. And those railroad tracks, these same tracks that go through Lindley which is one town where there was a sighting, Lindley, New York and the gang mills rail yard in Irwin, New York, go through Friendship, New York.

To the very spot just a few hundred yards away from where the man who we talked to, who is the caretaker at the cemetery who sees the chopper overhead and patrol cars going up and down a hill, he said that is very close to the same railway that we can see on the map that leads that way. So, you know, theorizing that these men might have traveled along the railroad, this is something that state police here were following trails, they were following railways. And again, we keep hearing from scanner traffic, authorities were looking in an area very close to that railway.

HARLOW: Sara, stay with me, because we are showing our viewers a photo right now to the other side of the screen from the map. Guys in the control room, can you tell me a little bit about this photo? Because we know that they are searching this area that is quote- unquote, "a hot spot from the authorities," but I'm going to find out a little bit more about this photo that we are showing you so that we can tell our viewers more about exactly, exactly what it is.

We will going to take a quick break. We're going to be back with the breaking news on this manhunt for these two convicted killers in Upstate, New York. Potential sightings, potential sightings being reported to the authorities on the state line there between New York and Pennsylvania. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[17:21:24] SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We're just three months away from the Nautica Malibu Triathlon and the CNN Fit Nation team is going strong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, baby!

GUPTA: Six pack member, Chip Greenidge says, his biggest challenge has been time.

CHIP GREENIDGE, FIT NATION PARTICIPANT: I'm a very busy person, I'm very involved in school activities. I'm a PhD student at Georgia State University. But if you take the time out to actually do it, you see the results.

GUPTA: Swimming, biking, and running. Over the last several months, Greenidge he says his bad habits have changed.

GREENIDGE: I think the biggest change is really looking at the kind of food choices I do. A lot of times I would kind of really eat late at night. And that's been a big no-no.

GUPTA: And he's getting results.

GREENIDGE: I sat back and said, wow, I'm not losing any weight, not losing any weight and I got on the scale and I said, oh, my God, I lost 20 pounds.

GUPTA: Moving forward toward the race, he says his biggest goal is to take it all in.

GREENIDGE: I think my marching orders is to really, really enjoy it. Enjoy the time and learn from the experience but also share it with lots of my friends and family members.

GUPTA: And as for any doubts he has about crossing the finish line --

GREENIDGE: I'm going to do it. That's why I put my mind to do it. Anything I put my mind to do, I do.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:26:45] HARLOW: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. We are continuing to follow the breaking news. A potential sightings of those two convicted murderers who escaped from a maximum security prison two weeks ago today.

Joining me on the phone, John Anderson, regional editor for the "Wellsville Daily" reporter. John, you are on the ground there. You have a keen sense of how this search has gone over the last two weeks. How credible do you think these tips are right now that has caused those 800 law enforcement officials to narrow in on a part of New York that is right along the state line with Pennsylvania?

JOHN ANDERSON, WELLSVILLE DAILY REPORTER (on the phone): I think it's a very credible sighting, took place around 1:30. And the reason is the description the individual gave the troopers is very close. You have probably seen a lot of the updated sketches, with the beard, showing the facial growth. That's what this resident saw, described the -- jacket, described the t-shirt of the other individual. Everything was pretty common with exactly what the troopers are looking for. So, that's what they told me at 1:30.

Now, as time has gone on the last couple of hours, the problem is so many people are calling in sightings, and they may be just other people who are looking for this reward money. They're looking like $100,000. So obviously, people want to be the one to call and be a credible tip and as a result we keep seeing troopers go one way, ten go another. I'm standing right next to a helicopter that just came in that's getting ready to head out again as soon as they have another credible sighting. But I do believe they have this manhunt condensed to an area where they believe they are.

HARLOW: Tell me a little bit about this part of New York. Allegany, County. Are we talking about rural? We have seen some images of homes. What is this area like?

ANDERSON: Very rural. Allegany County is a county of 29 towns and a few villages. There are no cities, not a lot here. Very hunting, fishing, recreational type area. A lot of wooded area and people know this area very well. The troopers here, a lot of the troopers that I've talked to today have been here at the barracks for many years. And the troopers here in the amity based state police barracks have been leaning heavily on the other local agencies. Because a lot of these guys know each other, they fish, they hunt together, their families know each other, so there's very good cooperation going on between the Allegany County Sheriff's Department, Friendship Police, the Park Rangers, the DVC, they are on ATVs and when they are calling for radio silence or talking to each other, there does not seem to be any problem even though they don't work together every day. So, I think that's one thing they have to their advantage. They know this area, they hunt this area. It's pretty unique.

HARLOW: And they are stopping cars. We have seen some images and video of the different troopers there stopping vehicles, talking to residents.

ANDERSON: Yes. They are. They are concerned that obviously these guys get into a vehicle. The area, as you've see here, the interstate is also near the railroad and there are some small tunnelways they can get underneath and around. But the good thing is for the law enforcement, they have been expecting these guys. For some reason there was a very credible trip that they were heading to Canisteo, New York, which is in Steuben County. So, the troopers have been there for a long time, haven't said much of anything. But that's where they were believed to go from the original time they escaped. That was the seven-hour destination that we could figure out was going to be Canisteo, not Buffalo. However, if anyone has ever traveled the Southern Tier to get to

Buffalo where the one gentleman's from, you would have to -- this is pretty much the best way to go, the Southern Tier, get going towards Wellsville and cut up. You are going to get away with it if you can stay around this area. It's a very rural area with the railroad tracks.

HARLOW: Right.

John Anderson, I really appreciate the reporting from you on the ground there. Thank you for being with me.

I want to bring in CNN national correspondent, Deborah Feyerick, who has been working her sources in law enforcement and following this very closely.

Deb, you have new information. What can you tell me?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Poppy, a law enforcement source who was briefed on the prison investigation is telling us they believe there was a credible sighting of the two prison fugitives near the town of Friendship, New York, which is just north of the Pennsylvania border. A second source I was speaking to who is involved in emergency response says that heavily armed police and law enforcement agents are walking along railroad tracks armed with shotguns and long rifles and other firearms. Authorities are approaching from multiple angles, the source says, to create a large perimeter. Apparently, the sighting came from a tip-off phone call where they found some tracks that they are now following to try to determine if it is in fact the two escapees. Right now they do believe this is a very positive lead.

HARLOW: Have they told you why they think this is so credible compared to all of the other leads that come in? Is it about those tracks?

FEYERICK: It is about those tracks. They have been looking in that area and over the last couple days there have been a dip in calls and tip-offs, people reporting that they believe they saw the two prison escapees. This one seems very interesting to law enforcement.

HARLOW: Deborah Feyerick, stand by. I will let you continue to work your sources on this.

Some tracks were found, some footprint tracks in this tip-off that was called in to this tip-off line. The law enforcement sources say this is a very credible threat that they are following.

Sara Ganim with me on the ground outside the maximum security prison where these two men escaped two weeks ago today.

Sara, what are you hearing?

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, we know this is a very active search. We know they have K-9 and aviation helicopters in the air, K- 9s on the ground, hopefully, trying to pick up the scent of these two men. We know that earlier in this search when it was closer to the prison they had picked up the scent of these two men but then they lost it. The trail went cold for several days as authorities here began to scale back slightly and were no longer doing grid searches in this area, but instead were following trails out of town. Then after that, the next credible lead that came wasn't for several days. It wasn't until Tuesday of this week when they learned that there were two possible sightings last weekend, Saturday and Sunday, in two towns near the border about 30 miles east of where they're searching now.

What's interesting, being on the ground and looking at the situation, what's interesting about those two sightings last weekend is that they were near railroad tracks. We know from witnesses on the ground that they are again searching near railroad tracks in Friendship, New York, a cemetery caretaker, who I spoke to on the phone a few minutes ago, told me he's at the intersection of a railroad tracks, a creek and a major highway. The Southern Tier Expressway is the name of the highway. They say they are doing car checks and road blocks on that highway. He said the chopper has been hovering above for more than an hour with police troopers going up and down the hill near the cemetery. We know that those railroad tracks that are very nearby also lead directly to the town in Irwin, New York, where there was that potential sighting last week.

Now of course, state police are still reviewing surveillance video from those sightings last weekend trying to determine if in fact those were the two men who were spotted but along with this lead that has come today and this new active search, it appears that the two could be linked.

HARLOW: Sara, also, we learned today within the last day that the prison there, the Clinton Correctional Facility, has put one of their correctional officers on administrative leave. They're not saying why but the timing seems interesting.

[17:35:03] GANIM: That's right. They're not giving us a whole lot of detail here. Investigators here have always said, from the beginning, that they believe that there's a strong possibility that there were others involved in this escape. Obviously, very elaborate. A lot of planning went into this. Clearly some help, because we know that a prison seamstress, Joyce Mitchell, has been arrested and charged with bringing them tools and aiding them, in her words, supposed to be their getaway driver as well before she backed out and got cold feet. The district attorney has told us all along there was a possibility they were helped by others and last night we learned that there is a corrections officer, a male corrections officer, who has been put on administrative leave as this investigation continues.

We don't have many more details than that. The district attorney and other authorities not commenting as it is an ongoing investigation. But that would be, if that person is implicated in some way of helping them in some fashion, that would be the second person from inside the prison who would have helped. Of course, we know also from the D.A. that these two men were practicing this escape for many nights leading up to the actual breakout of the jail -- of the prison by climbing into the walls, potentially by getting access through the prison walls to tools that were left behind by contractors. Many people here telling us, many people of authority saying there is

a lot to look at the way the prison was operating in the weeks leading up to the escape, moving forward to make sure this doesn't happen again -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Sara Ganim, fantastic reporting. I appreciate it. Stay with us. Also from Deborah Feyerick working her sources.

Everyone, we will take a quick break. We'll be right back on this breaking news on the manhunt for these two convicted murderers, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:17] HARLOW: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. We are continuing to follow the breaking news in Upstate New York on this hunt for two convicted murderers who escaped from a maximum security prison 14 days ago.

Let's go straight to Sara Ganim on the ground outside of the prison.

This is the most activity frankly we have seen focused on one area in this entire search.

GANIM: That's right, Poppy. We know that state police are converging and canvassing an area in Friendship, New York, just north of the border with Pennsylvania. They got a credible tip earlier in the day, this afternoon, and authorities telling CNN that they have aviation units and k-9s on the ground actively searching right now for these two convicted murderers who escaped from this prison more than two weeks ago today. Authorities also telling us that this is an area that's about 30 miles east of a place where there were two reported sightings last weekend. It's also near railroad tracks that connect those two sightings.

I talked to a witness on the ground who told me there is a helicopter that has been hovering for more than an hour. He says state police are swarming the area, setting up roadblocks, hovering over a creek near railroad tracks. The man who I spoke to is the caretaker of a cemetery that's right in the middle of this. He said I'm scared. I'm sitting here with a rifle. He said I think they're really serious that they've seen somebody and I just hope they catch them. Otherwise, it will make for a long night.

This coming right after news that a corrections officer at this facility has now been placed on administrative leave in relation to this investigation of this escape. This would be the second person who has been implicated in part of this, the second worker inside the prison who has been implicated. Last week, Joyce Mitchell, who is a prison seamstress, who befriended both of these men, was arrested and charged with bringing these men tools, which police believe they used to cut their way out of this jail two Saturdays ago. Not a whole lot of information on this new -- on this corrections officer and what his role might have been but we do know that it is a man and he has been placed on administrative leave in relation to this. And then just hours later, learning that there is what seems like the

first credible possible sighting of these two men in several days. The trail here had gone cold. State police telling us just yesterday that they were scaling back their search in this area and then just a few hours later, we're learning that they are now converging and canvassing on this new area.

HARLOW: Sara, thank you for the reporting.

We will take a quick break. We'll be back with much more on this massive manhunt that is narrowing in on a hot spot right now on the border, the state line between New York and Pennsylvania.

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[17:46:12] HARLOW: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. We are continuing to follow the breaking news in New York State where this manhunt for two convicted murderers who escaped from a maximum security prison two weeks ago has intensified. It has intensified a lot.

We have full team coverage. We have Sara Ganim on the ground outside of the prison this evening with us. We also have Tom Fuentes, former FBI assistant director, here with me in New York on the set. And joining me on the phone right now, we have Gary Baker. He is a cemetery caretaker in the area right in Friendship, New York, right along that state line with Pennsylvania, where this manhunt has intensified.

Gary, are you with me?

GARY BAKER, CEMETERY CARETAKER (voice-over): Yes, I am.

HARLOW: Gary, what are you seeing?

BAKER: The last 10 minutes there has been three trooper cars go up and down and the helicopter's still going over.

HARLOW: I know you spoke with our Sara Ganim and said you are nervous, you are scared.

BAKER: Right.

HARLOW: Tell me why.

BAKER: Well, I guess those guys are pretty dangerous.

HARLOW: So what are you doing to protect yourself? Are you staying inside?

BAKER: I'm staying inside, the door's locked and got my rifle loaded.

HARLOW: What else are you seeing? And when did this begin? How long ago did you start seeing this real increase in police presence there?

BAKER: I'm having a hard time hearing you.

HARLOW: I'm sorry about that, sir. What I said is when did you start to see this increase in police presence there? Did it begin just about an hour ago or was it a little bit earlier today?

BAKER: It was a little earlier. I came back --

(CROSSTALK)

BAKER: -- and they had the road blocked.

HARLOW: And, Gary, did they stop your car to ask you questions?

BAKER: Yes, they did. And asked for a license.

HARLOW: What did they ask you --

(CROSSTALK)

BAKER: They checked my van. Right now, I hear my road is closed.

HARLOW: Gary, what did the authorities ask you when they stopped your vehicle when you were driving home?

BAKER: They just looked inside and asked for my license. Asked me where I was going.

HARLOW: And did you ask them any questions?

BAKER: No. The trooper told me, you know, there's -- suspects were in the area or could be in the area.

HARLOW: OK, well, Gary Baker, you and your wife stay safe, stay inside the house.

Thank you for talking to us. I appreciate it.

BAKER: OK.

HARLOW: Gary, thank you very much.

Let's bring in Tom Fuentes, former FBI assistant director.

What do you make of this, Tom? It's hard to determine -- they are taking it as a very, very credible tip.

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Right. I think now you have a very afraid public now because of hearing these reports that these two killers could be there. Darkness is approaching soon. And you know, all the police that they're going to need are not there yet. They are en route. I think members of the public there are going to be very concerned about what could happen if these guys are really here. Will they pick my house to invade and seek shelter and look for weapons, food, vehicle, which is very possible? They could look at somebody's house and do a house invasion.

HARLOW: What do they do when night falls?

FUENTES: I think what they're doing. They just hunker down. And if they see something, get on the phone and call the police immediately. Don't go outside. Don't go out and pursue somebody or yell out, "Is that you" or "Who are you," any of those things.

HARLOW: I really meant authorities. What do the authorities do when night falls? You were telling me earlier they want to make sure that someone isn't accidentally shot, that a police officer, for example, isn't accidentally shot.

FUENTES: That's true. The police are going to have to check these homes and, yet, if people are in their homes afraid, that's a dangerous proposition for scared citizens, that they might get shot. So the police are going to going through backyards. The police are going to be going through the woods trying to search for these guys. In addition to that, aviation assets and the other measures. And they're in danger of being shot by -- accidentally, by another police officer or a citizen who's very afraid, much less, if they come across these two guys and they obtain weapons in the interim. So it's very dangerous.

The problem I see here is getting enough police officers there before it gets dark to really establish that perimeter. If the people are really there, are they going to be able to slip out of the net again?

[17:50:] HARLOW: Again, because this location where the manhunt has intensified is 350 miles southwest of Dannemora, which is where most of the authorities were searching.

FUENTES: Sure. Once they start this search, at this location, now they're going to have to look at every square foot of this heavily forested area. If the individuals have slipped out, if they really were there in the last couple days, and they slipped out, now you have another hundreds and hundreds of officers converged on an area while they're making their way off to somewhere else. This is a difficult thing.

And again, the police have to weigh the fact that once an alert has gone out, hey, one of your neighbors may have spotted these guys, then everything and everyone out there becomes suspicious. They may be calling on other people that may be out there. You have other people that are homeless that ride our freight cars, the freight trains all the time. They get on and off, go into town, look in dumpsters and get back on the train. You would have nose sightings of individuals that are just out there in rural areas that are homeless.

HARLOW: Right.

Tom Fuentes, thank you. Stay with me.

Sara Ganim on the ground, she'll stay with me.

We're going to take a quick break. We'll be back with much more of this breaking news after this.

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[17:55:44] HARLOW: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. We are continuing to follow the intensified manhunt for two convicted murderers in New York State. Police authorities saying and telling our Deborah Feyerick that they have a credible sighting of potentially Richard Matt and David Sweat near the town of Friendship, just north of the Pennsylvania border, right on the state line between New York and Pennsylvania. We will keep a close eye on this, return to it in a moment.

But I want to turn back to the tragedy in Charleston. Charleston's Emanuel AME Church will open its doors for worship tomorrow morning, for Sunday services, with a message of love, forgiveness and unity. The church will hold a service at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow. This, as the investigation into the senseless massacre takes a new turn.

A racist manifesto, reportedly written by confessed gunman, Dylann Roof, has just surfaced on the Internet in the last hours, along with these photos. CNN is working to authenticate these. The statement is laden with racist remarks and lays out why Charleston was the target for his rampage.

As for the gunman, he remains locked up under suicide watch.

Our Alina Machado has been pouring over that manifesto. She joins me now from Charleston.

Alina, what does it say?

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, as you mentioned, it's racist, it's also extremely disturbing, and it makes very inflammatory statements, not just about blacks, but about other minorities. The statement is very long, but there are parts of it, where they could shed some light into perhaps what it was that was the turning point for Dylann Roof and why it was he chose the city of Charleston as the target of his attack. Now, again, CNN has not been able to authenticate that he is the author of the manifesto.

But I want to read part of it to you, where he refers to -- the author of this manifesto, refers to the Trayvon Martin shooting. "The event that truly awakened me was the Trayvon Martin case. I read the Wikipedia article and right away I was unable to understand what the big deal was. It was obvious that Zimmerman was in the right, but more importantly, this prompted me to type in the words "black on white crime" and Google, and I have never been the same since that day."

So, Poppy, as you just saw, if in fact Dylann Roof is the author of this manifesto, it seems to suggest that the Trayvon Martin case was a big influence.

HARLOW: I know, Alina, you've also learned a little more about this manifesto, where was it posted. What is that?

MACHADO: It's a website that, according to an Internet ownership search, appears to belong to Dylann Roof. Dylann Roof was registered -- that website was registered to Roof, and he was also listed as the administrator. The ownership search listed his name, but also his address in South Caroline, his e-mail and phone. According to a law enforcement official, we understand that the FBI is still working to authenticate this website to see if Dylann Roof is the author of this manifesto. They are looking closely, as you would imagine, as you would expect in this situation, at this document -- Poppy?

HARLOW: All right, Alina, as we continue to talk about this, I also want to pull up some images of what really matters here, and that is the victims. Because so often in these cases too much emphasis goes on people like Dylann Roof, these horrific, horrific individuals who care this out, but this is what matters, these nine beautiful lives that were lost.

You're there on the ground as people line up every hour to go inside of the AME Church. What are people on the ground telling you?

MACHADO: We've been here now for a couple days, we've been talking to people from the community and also to some of the victim's families and friends, and the general focus here, the consensus is that this is really about those victims, about honoring those lives that were lost here.

I'm going to move out of the shot for a moment, so we can show you what we've been seeing here all day. I mean, this is the church where this horrific massacre happened. And this is what we've been seeing, signs of love, of unity among this community. The lines here, the steady stream of people stopping by to pay their respects to these nine victims who lost their lives here has been nonstop since this pretty much happened, since they're been able to get closer to the church. There are balloons. There are flowers. We've been hearing prayers. We've been hearing people singing hymns. People really coming together here, Poppy, to honor these victims.

HARLOW: As they should. They will be remembered in a beautiful ceremony tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. eastern at that church. CNN will carry it live for everyone.

Alina Machado, thank you for the reporting.