Tips on escaped Chester County convicted killer keep coming in. Which are credible?

The dispatcher's voice crackled across the radio a little before 3 p.m. on Tuesday.

A Hispanic man wearing a blue shirt, dark pants and hiking boots was walking around a treeline near Scarlet Road in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, a caller had reported. Located about five miles southwest of Longwood Gardens − the last confirmed sighting of escaped murderer Danelo Souza Cavalcante − it was "suspicious," the Chester County dispatcher radioed to Pennsylvania State Police.

About five-and-a-half minutes later, another dispatcher came across the radio.

A woman calling from Woodchuck Way, about a mile east of Longwood Gardens and close to where law enforcement were focusing their search for Cavalcante, had noticed that the door to a small structure behind her home was open.

It was normally closed, she told the dispatcher, and she wanted police. Could someone head that way?

Not even 10 minutes after that, another dispatcher radioed in. A caller was reporting from Bull Frog Run, located off Woodchuck Way, that there were footprints by a pond. They could see the tracks on video footage.

"That's going to be right near by you," the dispatcher radioed to troopers, suggesting they go take a look.

These calls, all made in a 15-minute span on Tuesday afternoon, are just a few of the dozens of tips police have received since Cavalcante escaped Chester County Prison last week. Yet the 34-year-old has remained elusive, slipping past the initial radius police thought they'd contained him to.

THE MANHUNT: Chester County police target 'heavily wooded' area near Longwood Gardens

With few new leads as of Wednesday afternoon, the manhunt remains ongoing. As a result, experts say law enforcement must take all credible tips seriously − even ones as small as a previously-closed door being open.

"Unfortunately for the police, they have to investigate every one of these calls," said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. "That little something could be something huge."

What kinds of tips do police want?

Though escaped prisoners typically try to get as far away as possible from their correctional institution, "it never seems to end up that way," Giacalone said. Most, he said, don't make it beyond a five- or 10-mile radius of the facility.

As a result, police were correct in where they initially established their perimeter, Giacalone said. But the search got a little trickier when Cavalcante was able to navigate beyond that.

Thus, the best tool law enforcement has is video surveillance, which more often than not comes from businesses and residents rather than police helicopter infrared or drones, Giacalone said.

MORE: An inmate escaped Chester County prison in May. A convicted killer used the same method

Such was the case when Cavalcante was spotted Monday night at Longwood Gardens. It wasn't a person who saw him, police said. Rather, he was caught on the nonprofit's trail cameras, prompting police to re-focus their search to the Kennett Square area.

Though Cavalcante happened to be spotted on Longwood's trail cameras, Giacalone said residents' home surveillance systems can be just as useful.

Oftentimes, he said, people don't pay attention to every motion-activated alert or think "it's just a deer in the backyard or something like that."

THE SEARCH CONTINUES: Manhunt for escaped Chester County inmate Danelo Souza Cavalcante continues; schools close

But, he said, "it's important that they review their own video footage because police want anything that seems unusual or out of place."

What should residents do?

As police continue to search for Cavalcante, Giacalone said residents should keep sending tips.

Law enforcement, he said, will determine what's credible and what isn't. But anything even remotely credible, he said, will likely be taken seriously.

"The cops are going to be at the highest alert because they're dealing with somebody who was convicted of murder," Giacalone said. "They're not dealing with somebody who's going to probably end up going quietly."

Still, the 34-year-old isn't superhuman, Giacalone said. He has to eat, he has to sleep and the weather has been scorching. This − plus the stress Cavalcante is inevitably under by trying to evade detection − "all wears on people who do this kind of thing."

Given this, Giacalone believes it's only a matter of time before Cavalcante is caught. Yet he said residents can also make the man's life more difficult by prohibiting access to survival items.

WEDNESDAY UPDATE: Pennsylvania State Police provide update on ongoing manhunt in Chester County

"In my opinion, he walks around more at night than he does during the daytime, so make sure if you have a deck that no one can climb underneath it and hide during the day," Giacalone said. "Also make sure to lock your sheds and that there aren't any tools that can be taken, like axes, for instance."

He added that residents should be more wary in general and double-check that their doors and windows are locked. And if a pet starts acting oddly or a dog starts barking, "maybe you should take a good look at what's going on."

"I do think, though, that this weather's really gonna be weighing on him," Giacalone said. "I don't know how much longer he can hang on."

Got a story tip or idea? Send to Isabel Hughes at ihughes@delawareonline.com. For all things breaking news, follow her on Twitter at @izzihughes_

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Tips flood in on possible sightings of Chester County escapee