Authorities say a fugitive killer escaped from a southeastern Pennsylvania jail a week and a half ago altered his appearance, hijacked a dairy delivery truck, and abandoned it miles away.
Fugitive killer in Pennsylvania still on the run. (Source: Morganton)
Pennsylvania Authorities Escaped by a Fugitive Killer
Authorities reported a fugitive killer who avoided arrest after escaping from a southeastern Pennsylvania jail a week and a half ago snuck out of the search area, altered his appearance, stole a dairy delivery truck, abandoned it miles away, and remained at large.
According to Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police, Danelo Souza Cavalcante stole the unlocked van with the keys inside sometime Saturday night about three-quarters of a mile from the northern perimeter of the search area where hundreds of law enforcement officers were looking for him. The delivery van was taken between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Saturday, according to Baily’s Dairy’s Facebook page, “while we were still here working.”
For hours, the theft went unnoticed, and Cavalcante, 34, traveled more than 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast to East Pikeland Township and Phoenixville. He went to an East Pikeland Township residence of a guy he had worked with several years ago and wanted to meet with him shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday, according to police. After arriving home and monitoring his doorbell footage, the homeowner, who was at dinner with his family and did not reply, phoned the police. Cavalcante traveled to the house of another former work partner in the Phoenixville neighborhood just after 10 p.m. Saturday, authorities said.
According to authorities, Cavalcante is now clean-shaven and wearing a yellow or green hooded sweatshirt, a black baseball cap, green prison trousers, and white sneakers. At 10:40 a.m. Sunday, the stolen vehicle was discovered in a field behind a barn in East Nantmeal Township, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of Phoenixville. Cavalcante, according to Bivens, abandoned the car because it was running short on fuel. Authorities were anxious that he would attempt or had already obtained another car as law enforcement was investigating the nearby region for any traces of him. He said that he did not have a report of a stolen vehicle.
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Fugitive Killer Escaped is Under Hunt
Bivens expressed confidence in the fugitive’s capture, pledging to “aggressively continue” the hunt with the assistance of federal, state, county, and local resources. “This is just a minor setback,” he explained. “We’ll find him; it’s just a matter of time.” Cavalcante, 34, fled on Aug. 31 while awaiting transfer to state prison after being sentenced to life in prison for brutally stabbing his ex-girlfriend in 2021. Prosecutors said he sought to prevent her from informing police about a murder in his native country of Brazil.
On Saturday, police reported two additional definite sightings of Cavalcante inside the search area surrounding the Longwood Gardens botanical park, which has been the focal point of the hunt in recent days. Bivens stated on Friday that over 400 people were involved in the search, including tactical teams, tracking dogs, cops on horseback, and airplanes. Despite the extensive inspections, Bivens stated that the region had underground tunnels and “very large drainage ditches” that were impossible to protect. He said police planned to utilize almost 600 people Monday for “one massive sweep” of the search area.
Cavalcante has been classified as particularly hazardous by authorities. Anyone with information is asked to phone 911. A reward of $20,000 is being offered for information leading to his capture. Authorities fired the jail tower guard who was on duty when Cavalcante scaled a wall by crab-walking up from the recreation yard, climbed over razor wire, sprinted across a roof, and plummeted to the ground on Friday. For almost over an hour, his escape remained unnoticed until guards did a census.
Cavalcante’s escape and subsequent search drew international attention and made headlines in Brazil, where prosecutors in Tocantins state accuse him of “double qualified homicide” in the 2017 slaying of Válter Júnior Moreira dos Reis in Figueirópolis, which they claim was over a debt the victim owed him in connection with vehicle repair.
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