The manhunt for fugitive murderer Danelo Cavalcante has reached its 13th day as police discover the convict is now armed after breaking into a home and stealing a rifle.
More than 500 police officers have joined the search
It comes as Dog, the bounty hunter, has apparently called contacts and police in Pennsylvania as he considers heading out in search of the 34-year-old Brazilian native.
Cavalcante was serving a life sentence for the murder of his ex-girlfriend and was awaiting transfer at the Chester County Jail, 30 miles west of Philadelphia, when he escaped over a wall on August 31.
He was last seen breaking into the garage of a house in East Nantmeal on Monday evening – 20 miles from the search area – police had spent days searching. The homeowner was home and shot him seven times, but it is not clear if any of the shots hit him.
According to police, the killer managed to escape with a .22 caliber rifle with a shovel and flashlight attached. He is also believed to have ammunition.
The manhunt for fugitive murderer Danelo Cavalcante has expanded after several sightings over the weekend. He is seen in front of a former colleague’s house
Dog, the bounty hunter, has apparently been calling local contacts and the police as he considers joining the search
State police said on Facebook just before 2 a.m. Tuesday that they were pursuing Cavalcante in South Coventry Township, adding that he was “armed with a weapon.”
“He’s armed. Residents in the area are asked to lock all doors and windows, secure vehicles and stay indoors. Don’t approach. Call 911 if you are seen,” state police said.
It was the first reported sighting since Saturday, when Cavalcante stole a van and attempted to contact a former colleague before abandoning the vehicle in a field.
The Owen J. Roberts School District in Chester County announced it will remain closed Tuesday as the community remains on alert. Additionally, four schools in the neighboring Downingtown Area School District will conduct their activities indoors.
Now TMZ reports that bounty hunter Dog wants to join the manhunt and has been monitoring the search, but wants to get a “better idea of the situation on the ground” before flying into the area.
Police had focused their search on the area around the prison, where he had been spotted several times last week. But on Saturday, a clean-shaven Cavalcante was seen by a doorbell camera in East Pikeland Township outside the home of a former colleague before being spotted outside the home of another former colleague in nearby Phoenixville.
On Sunday, police found a 2020 Ford Transit van Cavalcante in a field behind a barn in East Nantmeal Township – well outside the previous search area
Cavalcante was wearing a black baseball cap, a green hoodie, green prison pants and white shoes as he appeared to grin into the doorbell camera at the home of one of his former colleagues.
The homes are both outside the perimeter that police initially focused on, leading to questions about how Cavalcante slipped past hundreds of officers patrolling the area.
State Police Lt. George Bivens vowed to “aggressively continue” the search with the help of federal, state, county and local resources and expressed confidence the fugitive would eventually be recaptured.
“This is a small setback,” he said. “We’ll get him, it’s a matter of time.”
Police officers have warned residents that Cavalcante is extremely dangerous and urged them to lock their doors. Authorities have now increased the reward for information to $25,000.
Cavalcante was seen on a surveillance camera outside the prison looking at the camera before running between two walls, scaling a fence and jumping over barbed wire during the daring escape that took place in broad daylight on August 31.
Last week, the prison guard who neither saw nor reported the escape was fired. Prison officials told CNN the correctional officer was an 18-year prison veteran.
Before this weekend, the “extremely dangerous” killer had been repeatedly spotted in the 759 square mile search area surrounding the prison.
On Sunday, police found a stolen 2020 Ford Transit van Cavalcante in a field behind a barn in East Nantmeal Township – outside the previous search area. Cavalcante got it from West Chester-based Baily’s Dairy, near the prison.
Baily’s Dairy said on its Facebook page that the van was stolen between 7 and 10 p.m. on Saturday “while we were still working here.”
Bivens said he believes Cavalcante abandoned the vehicle at least in part because it was running low on fuel. While police searched the immediate area for any sign of him, authorities feared he would attempt to obtain another vehicle or had already done so.
Cavalcante is also wanted in a 2017 murder case in his native Brazil
“We are obviously very concerned that Cavalcante has attempted or will attempt to steal another vehicle to facilitate his escape,” Bivens said. “This latest incident is a reminder that he will take every opportunity to get the items he needs.”
The theft went unnoticed for hours, and in the meantime, Cavalcante, 34, traveled more than 20 miles northeast to East Pikeland Township and Phoenixville. Shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday, he went to the East Pikeland Township home of a person he worked with several years ago and asked to meet him, police said.
Cavalcante is also wanted in a murder case in his home country of Brazil. He managed to escape the country in 2017 after killing a student at a food truck stand.
He shot Walter Junior on November 5, 2017 in Figuéiropolis, Tocantins, and two months later managed to get past the authorities at Brasília International Airport – President Juscelino Kubitschek.
Evaldo Feitosa told Brazilian news agency G1 that he spoke to Cavalcante and approached Junior at a corner table.
He remembered them talking before he heard several shots fired and someone shouting, “Man, that guy killed his friend.”
TV Globo also reported that the murder involved money Junior owed Calvacante.