Sheriff: The woman who allegedly helped 2 murderers escape a max security prison will probably be arrested today

A 51-year-old prison employee who reportedly confessed to smuggling power tools into the maximum-security facility to help two convicts escape will be arrested "in the next couple of hours," according to a local sheriff speaking with NBC affiliate WPTZ.

Joyce Mitchell, who is suspected of having a relationship with an inmate, was allegedly supposed to be the duo's getaway driver after they broke out of Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York.

The Times Union in Albany reported that Mitchell confessed her role in the scheme to the state police. She reportedly told authorities that she smuggled power tools into the prison and gave the inmates access to a cellphone.

In the end, Joyce Mitchell, an industrial-training supervisor in the tailor shop of Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, reportedly got cold feet and checked herself into a hospital for nerves on Saturday, the day the inmates were discovered missing.

Matt and David Sweat, 34, both convicted of murder, remained on the loose on Thursday, after escaping from the maximum-security prison through underground pipes and popping out through a manhole.

More than 450 state, federal, and local law-enforcement officers are now in their sixth day of a manhunt for the prison escapees, which has spread to Vermont and includes possible sightings as far away as Philadelphia.

More to come.