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Escaped Killer Slips Search Perimeter in Pennsylvania, Manhunt Expands South

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Courtesy of @PSPTroopJPIO via Twitter
The manhunt for escaped convicted murder Danelo Cavalcante continues into its seventh day Wednesday, with hundreds of law enforcement personnel searching in eastern Pennsylvania.
Cavalcante escaped from the Chester County Prison, about 25 miles west of Philadelphia, on Aug. 31, and has been spotted on surveillance video multiple times within a few miles of the prison, in Pocopson Township and Longwood Gardens.
Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said during a news conference over the weekend that police were alerted to an attempted burglary Friday night on the 1000 block of Ballintree Lane, with a suspect fitting Cavalcante’s description.
Cavalcante was spotted on residential surveillance video that was released Saturday by the district attorney’s Office. He was seen in Pocopson Township on the 1800 block of Lenape Road, about 1.5 miles from the prison.
“Look in your basements, look around your areas, check your cars. Make sure that things are locked,” Ryan told residents.
In a press conference Sunday, officials said U.S. Marshals, along with state and local law enforcement, were closing in, but he was spotted late Monday at a location south of their search perimeter.
On Tuesday morning, security personnel at Longwood Gardens notified authorities that a trail camera captured Cavalcante on the property the night before, walking north at 8:21 p.m. and back south at 9:33 p.m.
A reverse 911 call was sent Tuesday morning to alert all residents within three miles of the sighting, and schools in the Unionville Chadds-Ford and Kennett Area Consolidated school districts closed for the day.
The district attorney’s office said that authorities shifted their perimeter south to contain him.
“You’re dealing with someone who’s desperate and who doesn’t want to be caught,” Lt. Col. George Bivens, deputy commissioner of operations with the Pennsylvania State Police, said at a press conference on Tuesday.
“So, if he can find something, some clothing, if he can find some shelter, if he can find some food, he is going to take advantage of whatever he finds. That’s why, again, we pressure him to not allow him the luxury of rest, and then we’re asking the public to help us by making sure things are secure so that we can minimize his opportunities to obtain those things,” Bivens said.
“The perpetrator in this escape is, in my opinion, desperate, skilled and lucky,” said law enforcement and security expert Bill Stanton. “Due to his height and stature he’s able to blend in with the population.”
Cavalcante will likely hole up in “a deserted are with access to food and water,” and may still try to change his appearance, Stanton said, though police have said he hasn’t so far.
“The manhunt’s success is always multiplied when the public in the surrounding area is notified, energized and in a figurative sense ‘deputized’ to ‘be on the lookout’,” Stanton said.
Cavalcante was convicted of the murder of his ex-girlfriend Deborah Brandao, in front of her children, and was sentenced to life in prison last month. He is also wanted for a separate homicide in Brazil in 2017, authorities said.
Authorities have said the circumstances of his escape remain under investigation. He had been awaiting a transfer to state prison.
He is described as a 34-year-old Brazilian with a light complexion, shaggy black hair, beard and mustache, and brown eyes, standing 5 feet tall and weighing 120 pounds.
Anyone with information about Cavalcante’s whereabouts is urged to call 911 immediately, and not approach him.
TMX contributed to this article.
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