Pennsylvania State police have determined that escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante is still hiding somewhere in the state, despite having no defined search area after the convict slipped through a police perimeter over the weekend.
“We have moved from a containment model to one which involves utilizing a variety of investigative resources and which has proven successful for us in the past,” Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens announced at the opening of the press conference on Monday.
Cavalcante, who is in the United States illegally and wanted for murder in Brazil, was convicted for murdering his former girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, in front of her two children in April 2021, the Chester County District Attorney’s office said in August. Cavalcante escaped from the Chester County prison on Aug. 31, roughly one week after his life sentence conviction.
Over the weekend, Cavalcante managed to slip through a police perimeter in Chester County, steal a dairy van and drive 20 miles to East Pikeland Township where he tried and failed to contact two former co-workers. Footage from the co-workers’ doorbell cameras revealed that Cavalcante had altered his appearance by shaving his beard. Police later found the abandoned dairy van in East Nantmeal Township. (RELATED: ICE Officials Arrest Escaped Murderer’s Sister As He Attempts To Contact Two Former Co-Workers, Police Say)
Though there have been no further sightings of Cavalcante since Saturday night, police are confident the escaped convict remains in the state. “Of course he hasn’t vanished without a trace and for a variety of reasons, yes – I do believe that he is in Pennsylvania,” Bivens stated, though he admitted police do not have “a defined search area at this point.”
Bivens further explained that he had no reason to believe that Cavalcante had left the state, telling reporters that he lacks the resources to do so.
“He is absolutely looking for support. He needs that support. He doesn’t have it,” Bivens told CNN on Sunday.
Bivens further warned anyone who has helped or is planning to help Cavalcante elude police that they will be prosecuted “fully for those actions.” Bivens urged anyone tempted to help Cavalcante escape police to consider the now-$25,000 reward offered for information leading to the escaped murderer’s arrest.