Police give update on search for Danelo Cavalcante. What we know about escapee
Into a second week of eluding police, the search for Chester County prison escapee Danelo Cavalcante continued on Monday.
Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens is slated to provide an update at 2 p.m. on law enforcement's efforts to capture the 34-year-old Brazilian native who was convicted last month in the 2021 stabbing death of his former girlfriend, Deborah Brandão.
At a Sunday press conference, Bivens said Cavalcante had changed his appearance and had stolen a van that he used to drive north to the Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, area.
More: Authorities searching northwestern Chester County for escaped killer Danelo Cavalcante
What we know
Cavalcante was sentenced to life without parole for killing his 33-year-old former girlfriend to stop her from telling police about charges against him in connection with a 2017 slaying in Brazil.
He stabbed Brandão 38 times in the presence of her 7-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son.
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He was captured in Virginia. Authorities say they believe he was trying to return to Brazil.
Cavalcante was slated to be transported to a maximum security state facility when he escaped from Chester County Prison on Aug. 31 by "spider" walking up a narrow corridor wall in the prison’s exercise yard.
The 5-foot tall man was spotted a few times since his escape, including by trail camera footage at Longwood Gardens.
For more than a week, authorities searched in the heavily wooded residential area near Longwood Gardens, which closed as a precaution. The botanical garden's website said they will reopen on Wednesday.
More: Longwood Gardens set to reopen after manhunt for murderer shifts from area
Search radius changes
On Sunday, police said Cavalcante had changed his appearance. He was now clean-shaven, wearing a yellow or green hooded sweatshirt, black baseball-style hat, green prison pants and white shoes.
He was also seeking "support" from others and had visited the homes of former co-workers.
Bivens said Cavalcante's sister had been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation. But he did not say why she was arrested by the federal agency.
Cavalcante also went to the home of a former co-worker, police said. The homeowner, who was at dinner with his family and did not respond, called police after returning home and reviewing his doorbell video, Bivens said.
Cavalcante managed to slip passed the police perimeter set up in the Longwood Gardens area. Bivens was not sure how that occurred, but said the area has tunnels and large drainage ditches hat could not be secured.
Police said Cavalcante stole a van from a dairy farm near Longwood Gardens, slipped through the search perimeter and drove to Phoenixville where he abandoned the van in a field in East Nantmeal Township.
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Police believe Cavalcante abandoned the van because it was low on fuel.
A large police presence was then seen in East Nantmeal Township, which has a population of about 1,800 people and is situated between the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Route 23 to the west of Route 100.
Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Police give update on the search for escapee Danelo Cavalcante
