On June 6, 2015, two convicted killers escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York State's toughest maximum-security prison, with help from a female prison employee. The state trooper responsible for capturing the inmates describes the harrowing days that followed in his new book, released by Dog Ear Publishing.
New York State Police Major Charles Guess, the incident commander for the escape by prisoners Richard Matt and David Sweat, describes the search in the terrorized community as a huge team effort, "The 23-day manhunt was successfully resolved due to the professionalism and bravery of the first responders and the patience, support and perseverance of the public."
When the case concluded, he felt "a sense of absolute relief. While we still had much to do regarding wrapping up the investigation and subsequent prosecution, the threat to the public and the searchers was over."
He said as he began to realize the scope of the manhunt that his main concern was public safety and the "immense responsibility" of being incident commander, both to catch the inmates and to keep the community and first responders safe. Guess oversaw all agencies and personnel involved in the search, including the FBI, U.S. Marshals, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Corrections, New York State Forest rangers and conservation officers, as well as other local, state and federal partners, which investigated more than 3,400 leads.
Guess, who has since retired, wrote "Relentless Pursuit: Inside the Escape from Dannamora" to establish "a comprehensive written record of the incident from an insider's perspective." He does just that, describing the escape plan (hacksaw blades smuggled into food and a promise by a seduced female employee to pick up the two men when they emerged from prison walls), to talk of murdering the employee's husband and heading to Mexico.
He also ably details operations on the ground to recover the two dangerous men and the effort of all law enforcement personnel and hopes readers gain "an appreciation of what the law enforcement community and citizens of the North Country (New York's Adirondack Mountain region) experienced during the 2015 manhunt, particularly the tremendous collaboration that was established between state, local and federal law enforcement agencies for a common purpose," he said.
Guess takes pride in establishing a truly unified command and acknowledges the important role private citizens also played. "The community supported our efforts, both figuratively and literally. They expressed confidence in law enforcement (in the media), provided food and other logistical support and, most importantly, provided critical leads that assisted police in apprehending the fugitives."
This is Guess' first book, and one challenge was to avoid writing as if it was a police report. Some research led him to select Dog Ear Publishing, thanks to the comprehensive services offered, excellent reviews and responsiveness. "I found everyone in their organization to be friendly, knowledgeable and motivated to assist me with this project," he said. "They provided the attention necessary to see this thing through, almost as if it were their book."
Guess has been promoting the book, including a book signing at the State Police 100th Anniversary open house, being interviewed by Thom Hallock on "Mountain Lake Journal" on PBS, found at https://youtube/IsRENIGYj5Q, as well as radio interviews. He plans another book signing at Maggy Market in Dannemora, site of the prison.
He said his colleagues and family have said they appreciate "the way in which I wove in other salient aspects of my early military and law enforcement career, which highlighted my professional development and prepared me for this challenge."
Guess was a state trooper for 26 years, training in these specialties: road patrol; field training officer; police SCUBA diving, SCUBA instructing, and dive team leader; SWAT team operator, team leader and officer in charge; defensive tactics instructor; division pilot and aviation detail commander; firearms instructor and police rifle marksman; and troop commander. Before joining the state police, he served in the Army.
For additional information, please visit www.relentlesspursuittrooper.com
Relentless Pursuit: Inside the Escape from Dannemora: New York State's Largest Manhunt
Charles E. Guess
Dog Ear Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-4575-5595-4 310 pages $19.95 US
Available at Ingram, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and fine bookstores everywhere.
Dog Ear Publishing partners with authors to shape content that resonates with readers as diverse as the books we publish. Our mission is to leverage expertise, technology and relationships to form a meaningful and lasting bond between creators, content and culture as a whole. Dog Ear Publishing is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, and can be contacted by phone at (317) 228-3656 or through our website, www.dogearpublishing.net.
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