In an author’s note at the end of Breakout, Kate Messner reveals that the novel was inspired by a real-life manhunt for two escaped inmates in Upstate New York in June 2015. On June 6, 2015, Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped from their cell in the maximum security Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York. They escaped by cutting holes in their cell walls and navigating a series of tunnels, aided by two of the prison’s employees. Both Matt and Sweat were serving life sentences for murder, and their escape triggered a massive three-week manhunt. As in the novel, one of the prisoners (Matt) was shot and killed by police while the other (Sweat) was captured and returned to custody.

As happens in the novel, Messner says roadblocks suddenly appeared in the small town surrounding the prison; people locked their doors, called off outdoor events, and lay awake listening to the sound of helicopters. As Nora and Lizzie do in Breakout, Messner herself spent the ensuing days at a market near the prison talking to people about the event. In her note, she shares what she observed:

We all react differently to fear, so situations like this can bring out the best and the worst in people.