Hundreds of law enforcement agents hunting for two upstate New York prison escapees focused their search on Thursday on a heavily wooded area just a few miles from the maximum security facility where they broke out last week, police said.

Convicted murderers Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, escaped from the maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, through underground pipes and a manhole. They were discovered missing early on Saturday.

More than 500 law enforcement officers, along with canine and aviation units, were involved in the manhunt, along with the FBI and other agencies, New York State Police said.