Dog The Bounty Hunter Loses Out In Prison Escapee Hunt!

Dog The Bounty Hunter Duane Chapman

Officers beat bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman to close the case on one of the escaped “Shawshank” murderers!

On June 26, federal agents cornered and killed escapee Richard Matt – one day after Duane and his wife, Beth, joined the headline-making hunt, The National ENQUIRER learned.

“Matt has been shot – he’s down,” confirmed Lenny DePaul, a former U.S. Marshal, adding the shooting occurred in Malone, N.Y.

Matt was armed with a shotgun at the time he was killed, according to sources.

At press time, police were closing in on fellow inmate David Sweat, who joined Matt on the elaborate June 6 breakout from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y.

The escape sparked one of the largest manhunts in N.Y. history, with the pair’s escape through a steam pipe compared to the Hollywood blockbuster “The Shawshank Redemption.”

Matt had shot at a driver in a camper near Malone, a federal law enforcement source said.

The driver called 911. Officers arrived, and Matt was shot dead in a gun battle.

At the time, Duane had confirmed that he and his wife were at Dannemora to assist police in the manhunt for Matt, 48, and 34-year-old Sweat.

“In this case,” a law enforcement insider told The ENQUIRER: “Dog didn’t get his bone!”