PHILADELPHIA — Authorities believe they are narrowing in on a convicted murderer who escaped from the Chester County Prison in Pocopson Township and is wanted for another killing in Brazil, after he was seen in the township late Friday night and early Saturday morning, less than 2 miles from the jail he broke out of.
Danelo Cavalcante, 34, was seen on residential surveillance footage around 1:43 a.m. on the 1800 block of Lenape Road, also known as Route 52, in the rural township of less than 5,000 residents, Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said at a news conference Saturday afternoon. Local police also received a report of an attempted burglary about two hours earlier, at 11:30 p.m. Friday, on the 1000 block of Ballintree Lane, also in Pocopson.
U.S. Marshals, along with local, state, and other federal law enforcement agencies, were scouring the surrounding area searching for Cavalcante, Ryan said. Authorities called on residents of the heavily wooded neighborhood to stay vigilant and to report anything suspicious to police, such as missing bicycles or signs that someone has been on their property without their knowledge, and to keep an eye on the homes of neighbors who might be away for the holiday weekend.
“We are requesting that residents in the area of Pocopson Township remain inside, lock your doors, lock your cars. He is still considered an extremely dangerous individual,” said Ryan.
Late Saturday morning, authorities released a portion of the surveillance video from Lenape Road that showed Cavalcante walking through a wooded area, emerging from behind a small tree and appearing to still be wearing a backpack and holding something in his right hand. Authorities did not know where Cavalcante got the backpack, and believe he is acting alone, Ryan said.
Cavalcante was last seen wearing a light-colored T-shirt, white sneakers and pants, and had long, black curly hair, said Ryan. His appearance had remained unchanged and authorities believe he was still wearing prison-issue pants over prison-issue shorts.
One resident reported that they saw a small man fitting Cavalcante’s description with a backpack in the area at approximately 11:30 p.m. Friday, Ryan said. Authorities were unable to confirm if Cavalcante was the same person that attempted to burglarize the residence on Ballintree Lane.
Ryan, joined by Robert Park of the U.S. Marshals and Capt. Robert Bailey of the Pennsylvania State Police, called on residents to review any surveillance footage and let police know of anything suspicious. As of Saturday afternoon, authorities had received more than 100 tips, with several reports of sightings of Cavalcante, said Ryan.
The search was proving difficult for the more than 100 investigators combing the area, said Park, as the neighborhood is heavily wooded with 271 homes. The search was expected to be completed by Saturday afternoon, Park said, but he echoed Ryan’s warnings to residents to be alert and to make sure doors and cars and bikes were all locked up and secure.
“The very last thing we want to see besides someone getting hurt, is him to get into somebody’s house, getting a set of car keys, and then it’s off to the races,” said Park.
Earlier Saturday, the search area was closed off in all directions, with all adjoining roads off-limits to traffic. At least three helicopters hovered overhead.
As a precaution, Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square announced Saturday it would be closed for the day. It is about a mile from where Cavalcante was last seen. Nearby, Brandywine Museum of Art, in Chadds Ford, was having regular hours Saturday but advised its visitors to avoid walking the museum trails.
“As the search for the escaped prisoner from Chester County Prison continues, authorities have advised us to close the Gardens today, Saturday, September 2. Please check back here for updates on the status of the Gardens,” said a banner announcement in red across the top of Longwood Gardens’ website.
West Chester University canceled classes Friday because of the search and said university ID or a key would be required for access to all buildings. The school’s campus is about 6 miles from the prison.
Cavalcante broke out of the 1,100-inmate prison just before 9 a.m. Thursday, Ryan said. He was spotted about a half-hour later, walking down the road on which the prison is located.
Cavalcante was awaiting transfer to a state correctional facility to begin serving a life sentence in the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Brandao. It took a jury just 15 minutes on Aug. 16 to convict Cavalcante of first-degree murder for stabbing Brandao in front of her children outside of their Schuylkill Township home in 2021.
It was not immediately clear how Cavalcante escaped from the prison; the facility’s acting warden has declined to provide details, citing the active investigation. At Saturday’s news conference, Ryan declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding Cavalcante’s escape.
Cavalcante is a native of Brazil, where a warrant for his arrest has been issued in the 2017 killing of a man authorities say owed him money.
He came to the United States illegally, first traveling to Puerto Rico, where he obtained a fake ID, according to evidence presented during his trial last month in Chester County, where a sister and friends also live.
Former Chester County Prison warden Ronald Phillips retired Wednesday afternoon, the day before Cavalcante escaped. Phillips had served as warden since October 2020 after decades as a deputy warden, a spokesperson for the county commissioners said.
An interim warden has overseen the jail since July 28, when Phillips was placed on administrative leave, said the spokesperson, who would not disclose why Phillips was placed on leave or say if he provided a reason for his retirement, describing both as personnel matters.
When asked if authorities were worried about a potential hostage situation, Ryan said she did not want residents to be alarmed, but that “anything is possible.”
“As we’ve indicated, this is a person who has evaded law enforcement for years for a homicide in Brazil. He’s escaped from a prison. He escaped the first time when he killed the woman in Schuylkill Township in 2021. So we’re asking people to just be mindful that he is dangerous and anything’s possible,” she said.
Ryan urged anyone who sees him to call 911 immediately. Late Thursday, Chester County Commissioners and U.S. Marshals announced a joint, $10,000 reward was being offered for information leading to his capture.
———
(Staff photographer Heather Khalifa and writer Rob Tornoe contributed to this article.)
———