--- description: Two convicts have been on the loose since June 6. title: Seamstress Smuggled Prison Escape Tools to Killers in Meat, Official Says image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf65d31cc6f1e5b52/69885486524fc0353edf31cb/joyce-mitchell1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Seamstress Smuggled Prison Escape Tools to Killers in Meat, Official Says by [NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2015 11:18 PM CUT  Joyce Mitchell appears before Judge Buck Rogers in Plattsburgh City Court in Plattsburgh, New York, June 15, 2015 Joyce Mitchell appears before Judge Buck Rogers in Plattsburgh City Court in Plattsburgh, New York, June 15, 2015Andrew Burton — Getty Images by [NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2015 11:18 PM CUT A New York prison seamstress helped two inmates escape by smuggling tools into prison inside of ground beef, a local prosecutor told NBC News Tuesday. Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie, whose office is prosecuting the escape plot of Richard Matt and David Sweat, said the prison tailor shop instructor embedded hack saw blades, drill bits and a hole punch in the meat before bringing it into Clinton Correctional Facility. The convicted killers burrowed out of the maximum security prison in Dannemora, New York, on June 6. Joyce Mitchell, who has been charged with providing escape tools to the fugitives, outlined the scheme in interviews with investigators, Wylie said… [Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/new-york-prison-escape/prison-seamstress-smuggled-escape-tools-killers-raw-meat-prosecutor-n380461?cid=par-time-article%5F20150623 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3933154/prison-escape-seamstress-tools-meat/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3933154/prison-escape-seamstress-tools-meat/"},"headline":"Seamstress Smuggled Prison Escape Tools to Killers in Meat, Official Says","datePublished":"2015-06-23T23:18:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T08:28:16.837Z","description":"Two convicts have been on the loose since June 6","url":"https://time.com/3933154/prison-escape-seamstress-tools-meat/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf65d31cc6f1e5b52/69885486524fc0353edf31cb/joyce-mitchell1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"NBC News","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nbc-news/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf65d31cc6f1e5b52/69885486524fc0353edf31cb/joyce-mitchell1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Joyce Mitchell","caption":"Joyce Mitchell","creditText":"Andrew Burton — Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3933154/prison-escape-seamstress-tools-meat/","name":"Seamstress Smuggled Prison Escape Tools to Killers in Meat, Official Says"}}]}] ```