--- description: "I always promised you I would see you on the outside" title: Prison Escapee Sent Letter to Daughter Right Before Breakout, Report Says image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4f4a6527e76c94b8/69885991f887dc09ede9138d/richard-matt.jpeg?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 # Prison Escapee Sent Letter to Daughter Right Before Breakout, Report Says by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 3, 2015 2:37 PM CUT  In this handout from New York State Police, convicted murderer Richard Matt is shown. In this handout from New York State Police, convicted murderer Richard Matt is shown.Handout—Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 3, 2015 2:37 PM CUT The prison escapee who was shot and killed by police reportedly [sent his daughter a letter](http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/see-you-on-the-outside-matt-said-in-letter-delivered-to-daughter-in-buffalo-suburb-20150702 "undefined") shortly before breaking out of Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York. The _Buffalo News_, citing unnamed law enforcement officials, reported that Richard Matt wrote to his daughter, “I always promised you I would see you on the outside. I’m a man of my word.” The letter was postmarked before June 6, the day Matt and fellow prisoner David Sweat were discovered missing, and the letter reached its destination on June 9. For her protection, Matt’s daughter has not been identified. The prisoners’ alleged conspirator, prison employee Joyce Mitchell, texted the daughter several times before the breakout with updates about how Matt was doing in prison, according to reports. The daughter was unaware of the escape plans. \[[_B_](http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/see-you-on-the-outside-matt-said-in-letter-delivered-to-daughter-in-buffalo-suburb-20150702 "undefined")[_uffalo News_](http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/see-you-on-the-outside-matt-said-in-letter-delivered-to-daughter-in-buffalo-suburb-20150702 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3945582/richard-matt-letter-daughter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3945582/richard-matt-letter-daughter/"},"headline":"Prison Escapee Sent Letter to Daughter Right Before Breakout, Report Says","datePublished":"2015-07-03T14:37:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T08:57:27.938Z","description":"\"I always promised you I would see you on the outside\"","url":"https://time.com/3945582/richard-matt-letter-daughter/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4f4a6527e76c94b8/69885991f887dc09ede9138d/richard-matt.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4f4a6527e76c94b8/69885991f887dc09ede9138d/richard-matt.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Convicted Murderers Escape From New York State Prison","caption":"Convicted Murderers Escape From New York State Prison","creditText":"Handout—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/3945582/richard-matt-letter-daughter/","name":"Prison Escapee Sent Letter to Daughter Right Before Breakout, Report Says"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Escaped Inmate David Sweat Shot, Ending 3-Week Manhunt","description":"New York prison escapee David Sweat has been shot and arrested, ending a three-week manhunt.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/mKptD12U/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-28T21:40:17.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mKptD12U.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3945582/richard-matt-letter-daughter/","duration":"PT1M17S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3945582/richard-matt-letter-daughter/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```