Law enforcement in southeastern Pennsylvania continue to search for escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante, who managed to elude capture over the weekend by leaving a designated search zone and altering his appearance.
During a Monday afternoon press conference, Lt. Col. George Bivens with the Pennsylvania State Police urged the public to remain vigilant if they spot Cavalvante, but to also practice safety and keep their doors locked.
Bivens added that there is no longer a specified search zone for the suspect and that that law enforcement will continue to pursue leads and tips. Bivens also warned that anyone assisting Calvante will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
“We are doing everything possible to bring this to a successful resolution,” he said.
The reward for Cavalcante’s capture has now reached $25,000. Watch the full presser below.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Cavalcante escaped the Chester County prison on August 31. He was spotted Saturday night around 10 miles from Pottstown in the Phoenixville area, which is around 20 miles from Longwood Gardens, where the search for him has been centered for the last 12 days.
Cavalcante stole a delivery van from a Bailey’s Dairy Farm on Saturday, at some point between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Police said the van was unlocked and the keys were inside the vehicle.
Bivens said during the press conference Monday that residents around East Nantmeal Twp., where police found the van, along with other parts of northern Chester County, will now likely see an increase in police presence in the areas.
“I believe he is still in Chester County,” Bivens said. “But, with that said, we will always consider other options.”
A little before 10 p.m. Saturday, Cavalcante was caught on camera trying to contact two former coworkers in the Phoenixville area. A doorbell camera showed that he’s now now clean-shaven and wearing a green hoodie, white shoes, a black cap, and the same prison pants he wore when he escaped.
Some 15 minutes afterward, he went to the home of another former coworker, who wasn’t home. Police were called about that sighting by the friend of a woman who lived a the house.
Bivens said that Cavalcante was spotted elsewhere in the Phoenixville area on Sunday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
On Sunday morning, police found the van abandoned in field behind a barn in in East Nantmeal Township, which is around “15 miles west of Phoenixville,” NBC Philadelphia reports.
State police said late Sunday morning in a Faceook post that “investigative leads have emerged that indicate Cavalcante is no longer in [the Phoenixville] area,” although they did not say how he was traveling or in which direction he might be going.
“I do believe he remains in Pennsylvania,” Bivens told reporters Sunday. “The victim’s family remains under police protection.”
Bivens said Sunday that Cavalcante’s sister, Eleni Cavalcante, was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and now faces deportation. He said she had “some immigration issues” but did not say if police believe she had been helping her brother.
Cavalcante, crabwalked up a wall in the exercise yard of Chester County Prison when he escaped. He was awaiting transfer to a state prison after being sentenced to life in prison for murdering his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, in 2021.
Investigators say he killed her because he feared she would tell authorities that he was wanted for a 2017 murder in his native Brazil.
Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or the police tip line at 717-562-2987.
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[Featured image: Danelo Cavalcante/Pennsylvania State Police]
