New York State is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension and arrest of Richard Matt and David Sweat, the two convicted murderers who escaped from an upstate maximum security prison, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today. 
 
 The governor called the offer of $50,000 for each prisoner an unusual step for the state, but said "it is appropriate." 
 
 "These are dangerous men," Cuomo said, adding that they are "capable of committing grave crimes once again." 
 
 More than 150 leads have been developed so far, Major Charles Guess of the New York State Police said today, and Cuomo urged any New Yorkers with information to come forward. 
 
 Matt and Sweat escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, about 20 miles south of the Canadian border, on Saturday morning. 
 
 New York State Police 
 
 "They could be anywhere across the state" or in neighboring states, Cuomo said. 
 
 Sweat, 34, is serving a life sentence after he was convicted of killing a Broome County sheriff's deputy in 2002. Matt, 48, is serving 25 years to life in prison after he kidnapped and beat a man to death in 1997. 
 
 "These are killers. They are murderers," Cuomo said. "There's never been a question about the crimes they committed. They are now on the loose, and our first order of business is apprehending them." 
 
 Earlier today, Cuomo told ABC News that what troubled him most about the escape was that the two men needed power tools to pull it off, and there was no way they could have done it in total secrecy. 
 
 "They had to be heard," he said. 
 
 Darren McGee/New York State Governors Office, via AP 
 
 The governor, who toured the prison Saturday, described the escaped convicts as "resourceful" and "dangerous." 
 
 "This was the first breakout since 1865 and I want to make sure that it's the last," Cuomo said. 
 
 Gabe Dickens/Press-Republican via AP Photo 
 
 The escapees left a note behind that read "have a nice day." Cuomo said he suspects it was their way of saying they were doing something that had never been done before. 
 
 "I'm sure they knew that since it was the first escape it was going to be a big deal," he said. "But we'll get them back and we'll give them the note back." 

 Two convicted murderers left a taunting note for guards after using power tools to dig their way out of a maximum security prison in upstate New York. 
 
 A huge manhunt is under way for Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, who busted out of Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora sometime between Friday night and early Saturday. 
 
 The pair cut through a steel wall, crawled along a catwalk, broke through a brick wall, cut their way into and out of a steam pipe and then sliced through a chain and lock on a manhole cover. 
 
 They are thought to have travelled the equivalent of a city block during the escape before emerging on to a street. 
 
 Richard Matt (L) and David Sweat 
 
 Police said prison workers realised the duo were missing from their adjoining cells during a Saturday morning roll call. 
 
 They left sweatshirts and other clothing in their beds as decoys to make it appear as though they were still in their cells. 
 
 1 / 10 Gallery: Inmates Leave Smiley Face Note In 'Extraordinary' Escape The two convicted killers used power tools to burrow out of the maximum security Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York 
 
 They also left a note with a caricature of a smiley face saying: "Have A Nice Day." 
 
 New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the men staged "a really elaborate, sophisticated operation" and they must have been overheard while making their escape. 
 
 He told ABC's Good Morning America: "They were heard, they had to be heard." 
 
 Roadblocks have been set up in the area near the prison, which is around 20 miles from the Canadian border. 
 
 Bloodhounds, SWAT teams and helicopters are being used to track down the fugitives and a $100,000 reward has been posted for information leading to their capture. 
 
 The escape has been compared with 1994 prison break movie The Shawshank Redemption. 
 
 But Governor Cuomo warned the fugitives should not be approached by any member of the public. 
 
 He said: "This is a crisis situation for the state. These are dangerous men capable of committing grave crimes again." 
 
 Play video "Prison Escape 'Extraordinary Act'" Video: Prison Escape 'Extraordinary Act' 
 
 Anthony Annuci, the acting state corrections commissioner, said: "They went on to a catwalk which is about six storeys high. 
 
 "We estimate they climbed down and had power tools and were able to get out to this facility through tunnels, cutting away at several spots." 
 
 Investigators were looking into how the men acquired the tools, and whether any were missing from contractors at the prison. 
 
 More than 200 law enforcement officers have been deployed in the manhunt, assisted by a variety of tactical support. 
 
 Matt - who has a tattoo reading Mexico Forever - was serving 25 years to life for kidnapping and dismembering his former boss in 1997. 
 
 Sweat was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the murder of a sheriff's deputy in 2002. 
 
 Dubbed "Little Siberia", the prison houses around 3,000 inmates and is guarded by 1,400 correction officers.
– "This was the first breakout since 1865 and I want to make sure that it's the last," says NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo of two inmates' escape from a maximum security prison yesterday in Dannemora in a turn of events he tells ABC News "could have been from the plot of a movie." The movie comparison being bandied about is The Shawshank Redemption, and Sky News notes that escapees David Sweat and Richard Matt added a particularly dramatic touch: They left behind a taunting note bearing a smiley face and "Have a Nice Day!" But Cuomo, who ditched plans to attend yesterday's history-making Belmont Stakes, is quick to underscore that these are murderers who are "nothing to be trifled with." Officials still don't know how the duo got their hands on power tools to cut through the wall, though Cuomo notes there are "a number of contractors working" on the Clinton Correctional Facility, which sits about 20 miles from the Canadian border. And apparently nobody is talking: "I chatted with a couple of the inmates myself and said, 'You must be a very heavy sleeper,' " Cuomo said. "They were heard, they had to be heard." It's not Matt's first breakout, adds the New York Times: He escaped an Erie County jail in 1986. "The whole town’s locked down," a local resident tells the Times. "You can’t drive anywhere. You can’t come into town. They’ve got detours all over the place. They’re checking trunks. It’s just something I’ve never seen before." Says Cuomo: "I’m sure they knew that since it was the first escape it was going to be a big deal. But we'll get them back and we'll give them the note back."