Pennsylvania murder suspect Danelo Cavalcante arrested

Pennsylvania murder suspect Danelo Cavalcante arrested.
Danelo was captured with the assistance of a heat-sensing aircraft.
Cavalcante was armed with a stolen rifle from a garage.

An escaped convicted murderer from a Pennsylvania jail was apprehended on Wednesday, bringing an end to a tense, two-week manhunt that had caused anxiety among residents in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Danelo Cavalcante, the fugitive in question, was captured with the assistance of a heat-sensing aircraft and a police dog named Yoda, according to authorities.

The arrest unfolded around 8 a.m. in a rural area approximately 30 miles (50 km) west of Philadelphia. As Cavalcante attempted to crawl away, the police dog subdued him, and he was taken into custody by force, as reported by Pennsylvania State Police Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens.

Notably, Cavalcante was armed with a stolen rifle from a garage, although no shots were fired during the capture.

Cavalcante had escaped from Chester County Prison two weeks earlier by navigating between two walls that formed a narrow corridor within the jailhouse yard and then scaling onto the roof, according to law enforcement officials.

The extended duration of the manhunt prompted questions, to which Bivens responded, “It’s never easy to find someone who doesn’t want to be found in a large area.”

During his time on the run, Cavalcante reportedly survived by consuming watermelon from a farm and drinking water from streams.

Robert Clark, a supervisor with the U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force, revealed that Cavalcante had been hiding his waste under leaves and foliage to avoid detection by law enforcement. Clark also disclosed that Cavalcante’s plan was to carjack someone and head north to Canada, with intentions of executing this plan within the next 24 hours.

Cavalcante’s escape occurred on August 31 while he was awaiting transfer from the county lock-up to a state correctional institution to begin serving a life sentence for the murder of a former girlfriend.

The events leading to his capture commenced shortly after midnight on Wednesday when police responded to an alarm at a nearby residence. Approximately an hour later, a Drug Enforcement Administration aircraft detected a heat signal, prompting tactical units to converge on the location.

Following his capture, Cavalcante was photographed alongside about two dozen police officers in tactical gear, with his arms restrained behind his back. Bivens defended the photograph, stating, “We are proud of their work.”

The escape of Cavalcante had caused considerable unease in the region, leading to school closures for a day after security-camera footage showed him walking on a trail. Police expanded their search efforts and advised residents to secure their doors, yet he managed to evade capture.

More than a week into his escape, Cavalcante stole a van and drove approximately 25 miles (40 km) before abandoning the vehicle. During this time, he had shaved his beard using a razor he had found in a stolen backpack from a residence.

Throughout his escape, Cavalcante attempted to contact several individuals for assistance, including his sister, who declined to aid him and was subsequently taken into custody on an immigration violation.

Cavalcante had been convicted of first-degree murder in the April 2021 stabbing death of his former girlfriend at her Schuylkill Township residence, in the presence of her young children.

After committing the murder, he fled but was later apprehended in Virginia. Additionally, the U.S. Marshals Service considers Cavalcante a suspect in a 2017 murder in Brazil.

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