Why it took 23 days to catch David Sweat: Pepper
In a case of life imitating art, the two killers who escaped from a prison in upstate New York in early June may have evaded capture for as long as they did with the help of an unlikely ingredient, authorities say.
Richard Matt and David Sweat, who broke out of the maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility on June 6, may have used black pepper to throw off their scent from the dogs that were tracking them, Joseph D’Amico, superintendent for the New York State Police, told the Associated Press after authorities recovered Mr. Sweat’s DNA from a discarded pepper shaker at a camp where the fugitives may have spent time.
The con was used in the 1967 film, “Cool Hand Luke.
Which we all remember.
What we have here is .. failure to communicate
Posted by: Neo | June 29, 2015 at 04:51 PM
Neo. COMel
Comment of the day winner
Sweat was about 2miles short of the Canadian border
So near yet so far
Posted by: maryrose | June 29, 2015 at 05:05 PM
Well, if the search dogs didn't spend so much time goofing off...
Posted by: Dave (in MA) | June 29, 2015 at 05:06 PM
There has been a murderer on the run in the central Maine woods and he must be using pepper,because he is nowhere to be found. Law enforcement has scaled back their search and are very worried about the campers and camp owners who will be in the woods this week-end. The guy in Maine has been on the run the same amount of time as the NY guys.
Posted by: Marlene | June 29, 2015 at 05:07 PM
Well the original plan was to stop at the bank to withdraw the warden's money before heading to Mexico to scrap paint on beached boats for a living, so they just got messed up as to the movies to follow. They should have studied The Great Escape.
Posted by: George | June 29, 2015 at 05:11 PM
I have a hard time buying the pepper theory as an owner of two Beagles. Not much has ever thrown them off a scent except other more interesting scents. You have to ask them what makes a more interesting scent but they do tend to move from one to another. They can track Frederick on his bike by following the tire smell. I kid you not.
Posted by: Jack is Back! | June 29, 2015 at 05:13 PM
7 day waiting period for pepper in 3... 2... 1...
Posted by: Dave (in MA) | June 29, 2015 at 05:15 PM
OT right away. A couple of hours ago, we saw a thick fog layer come up our channel, which is not all that unusual. However when it reached us the smell revealed it was actually smoke. A lot of smoke.
Best I can figure it is coming from a major fire on the east side of the Cascades near Wenatchee that has been burning for about a day. The unusual situation is that it had to carry up the east slope through Stevens Pass on down to Everett and then get picked up by a very light southerly wind that brought up to us. Probably a couple hundred mile trip.
After closing up the house to minimize the stink, I'm expecting we will be breathing the lingering odor for some time.
The fire in question is the Sleepy Hollow fire, if you want to see some horrific pix.
Posted by: Manuel Transmission | June 29, 2015 at 05:17 PM
Heh. The one on the right looks just like mine. (She would have befriended the killers.)
Speaking of which, I'm not surprised they were so dumb, but the whole story about letting her take them to Vermont so they could kill her husband before skipping town for real seemed like they might have been smart enough to line up another ride and leave her waiting in her car wondering where they were.
Guess that's why they were in jail and we weren't.
Posted by: Extraneus | June 29, 2015 at 05:20 PM
Does anyone think it odd that the police announce, in their news conference, that pepper diverted the dogs?
I thought that if it were true it would be something police wouldn't want widely known.
Posted by: Miss Marple | June 29, 2015 at 05:23 PM
I think the major issue that the authorities don't want the criminal class to know is that they don't actually check behind the Raquel Welch poster or question why you have a Saws-All in your cell.
Posted by: George | June 29, 2015 at 05:31 PM
Miss Marple, in just about every news report I heard about it over the past 3 weeks, they were revealing search locations, uncovered evidence and various things you'd think a smart law enforcement organization would keep close to their vest so as not to tip off the fugitives if they happened to see the reports.
Posted by: Dave (in MA) | June 29, 2015 at 05:39 PM
Our Cairn terrier(think Toto) has been waking up at 3am because he knows the red fox family is in the yard.Hubby told me that he saw turkey entrails on the early morning dog walk,so the red fox family is definitely around the neighborhood.
Posted by: Marlene on Kindle | June 29, 2015 at 05:41 PM
My point is,pepper wouldn't deter my little terrier!
Posted by: Marlene on Kindle | June 29, 2015 at 05:44 PM
"smart law enforcement organization"
Right.
Posted by: MarkO | June 29, 2015 at 05:46 PM
Exactly.
Posted by: Dave (in MA) | June 29, 2015 at 05:51 PM
one might call it the House of Squirrel:
Posted by: narciso | June 29, 2015 at 05:55 PM
The idea a shaker of pepper would slow a trained tracking dog for one second is one of the stupider things I've read in the last few years.
Posted by: Cispigmented Heteronormative Microagressive Ignatz | June 29, 2015 at 06:09 PM
http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/mythbusters-database/beat-bloodhound/
Posted by: Threadkiller | June 29, 2015 at 06:15 PM
I'm also not buying the pepper distraction especially with the assumption that those doing the tracking had specific scent articles for the escapees.
Posted by: Gentlejim | June 29, 2015 at 06:23 PM
I would like to see someone NOT from New York and unaffiliated with police or FBI address this pepper thing. Maybe someone who trains bloodhounds in the South.
Posted by: Miss Marple | June 29, 2015 at 06:26 PM
See my 6:15 link, MM.
Posted by: Threadkiller | June 29, 2015 at 06:34 PM
Why isn't the pepper thing a misdirection by law enforcement to goad others into taking the bait that this works when in reality it doesn't?
Layers on layers.
Posted by: Stephanie | June 29, 2015 at 06:46 PM
TK,
So now we know that the pepper doesn't work.
Why did they push that line? Were they trying to cover up their incompetence?
Very strange.
Posted by: Miss Marple | June 29, 2015 at 06:48 PM
The pepper thing is to goad the LIV into thinking that we all need tracking chips in our temples since dogs are so easily defeated.
Posted by: Threadkiller Mobynatious | June 29, 2015 at 06:50 PM
I know from personal experience that people in a wooded environment are very difficult to locate. The process is made even more difficult when those making the tactical decisions are idiots.
Posted by: Gentlejim | June 29, 2015 at 06:53 PM
In Cool Hand Luke the pepper was cayenne or red pepper and it hurt the blood hound's noses.
Posted by: dbp | June 29, 2015 at 06:55 PM
To your point, Gentlejim:
http://www.amazon.com/Tracking-A-Blueprint-Learning-How/dp/0965888118
If they screw it up at the beginning, it gets exponentially more difficult as you add 10,000 more tracks from all the overtime Mr Helpers running across the fugitives tracks.
Posted by: Threadkiller Mobynatious | June 29, 2015 at 06:58 PM
The New York Times, Which Refused to Run Any Mohammad Images Claiming They Simply Would Not Run Pictures That Offended Any Religious Group, Runs Picture of Pope Made Up of Condoms
Posted by: Extraneus | June 29, 2015 at 06:59 PM
Agree with you 100% TK Mobynatious. I've seen that in real life.
Posted by: Gentlejim | June 29, 2015 at 07:07 PM
"They used pepper to get away" makes a great diversion for the corrections people from harder questions they'd rather not answer.
Plus, now they can keep an eye out for any inmate who's building up a stash of pepper in their cell :)
Posted by: Michael (fpa Patriot4Freedom) | June 29, 2015 at 07:38 PM
"Not much has ever thrown them off a scent except other more interesting scents."
Like another dog's butt.
Posted by: Woofer | June 29, 2015 at 07:44 PM
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2015/06/report-fbi-setting-up-command-centers-around-u-s-in-case-of-4th-of-july-isis-terror-attacks/#st_refDomain=t.co&st_refQuery=/zkQI37n3x3
Also reported on Fox.
Posted by: Miss Marple | June 29, 2015 at 07:48 PM
the LUNed piece, referencd the wild goose chase, team Zaphod has mounted since 2011,
Posted by: narciso | June 29, 2015 at 07:49 PM
Sheesh..moby TK is trying to be relevant..again..
Posted by: glasater | June 29, 2015 at 11:26 PM
Got your attention.
Posted by: Threadkiller Mobynatious | June 29, 2015 at 11:37 PM
Probably would have been better if Gentlejim 100% disagreed with me, huh glas?
Maybe you should post something on topic every now and then instead of playing speech cop like a Democrat.
Posted by: Threadkiller Mobynatious | June 29, 2015 at 11:41 PM
Just checking up on how often you 'refresh', TK.
Posted by: glasater | June 29, 2015 at 11:51 PM
You are my moby, TK..
Posted by: glasater | June 29, 2015 at 11:55 PM
I thought refreshing was for your nether regions? Give it a shot.
Posted by: Threadkiller Mobynatious | June 30, 2015 at 12:09 AM
Hope everyone sees your last classy response, tk.
Posted by: glasater | June 30, 2015 at 01:06 AM
That really does not work. It makes the dog sneeze and it just clears his/her nostrils and he/she just keep on going. The whole pepper thing is an ol'wives tale. The smell of a person that has been in the woods for that long is rather pungent and pepper will not cover that up. The dog has to get on the scent in the first place.
Posted by: jmm | June 30, 2015 at 05:11 AM
I only hope you see it, glas.
Posted by: Threadkiller Mobynatious | June 30, 2015 at 08:33 AM
I can only hope you've sobered up, tk.
Posted by: glasater | June 30, 2015 at 11:10 AM
I only hope you vinegared up.
Posted by: Threadkiller Mobynatious | June 30, 2015 at 08:16 PM
You are mentally ill, tk and are just barely tolerated here. I feel sorry for you.
Posted by: glasater | July 01, 2015 at 02:53 AM
Not sorry enough to ignore me, though. Reminds me of a particular scene in High Plains Drifter.
Posted by: Threadkiller Mobynatious | July 01, 2015 at 08:56 AM