On the morning of August 31st, a rather diminutive figure named Daniel Cavalcante standing at just 5 feet tall, astoundingly deceived an entire audience within the confines of Chester County Jail’s sports courtyard.
The Capture of Danilo Cavalcante Ends the Nightmare
This convicted murderer proceeded to execute a crab-walk maneuver, thus vanishing from the prying eyes of surveillance cameras. Remarkably, Cavalcante employed a tactic reminiscent of another inmate’s May escape. He masterfully scaled a fence, clambered up a towering wall, and ingeniously fashioned a makeshift rope from bed sheets to facilitate his daring escape to freedom.
During his 14-day fugitive stint, he appeared multiple times in various parts of Chester County, committing car thefts and lurking around homes situated over 20 miles away from the initial search zone, expertly evading capture.
In the early hours of a Wednesday, a formidable coalition of state and federal law enforcement units, prompted by a burglar alarm activation at a local gun shop, managed to apprehend the inmate with relative ease, given his unarmed status. The location was approximately 15 miles to the north of the prison.
Deep within a densely wooded area, amongst 22 caliber rifles and obscured by thick underbrush, they finally cornered him. Despite his spirited resistance, they successfully subdued him without resorting to any gunfire, as reported by the police.
Adorned in camouflage paint and sporting a Philadelphia Eagles hoodie, Cavalcante made a surreal spectacle as he was captured on news cameras. He was escorted away, his hands securely cuffed behind his back, accompanied by a retinue of over a dozen law enforcement officers.
This dramatic capture marked the culmination of nearly two weeks of intense manhunts, which cast a pall of fear and disquiet from the rural outskirts of Philadelphia to Cavalcante’s hometown in Brazil, where he was already wanted for a prior murder.
“Our long-standing nightmare has finally come to an end, and the forces of justice have triumphed in Chester County,” declared District Attorney Deb Ryan on Wednesday.
This already harrowing ordeal took a sinister turn when authorities officially labeled Cavalcante as armed and highly dangerous following his brazen theft of a rifle from a local homeowner’s garage, where he fired shots during his hasty escape.
A massive operation was launched, comprising hundreds of law enforcement officers, including the Pennsylvania State Police, the FBI, ATF, and U.S. Marshals. A sprawling search perimeter was established in all directions, with dozens of police vehicles and a SWAT unit converging on South Coventry Township.
Bivens issued a warning, stating “There is no doubt that he is armed and poses an extreme danger. I suspect he is eager to employ that weapon.”
However, on that Wednesday morning, Cavalcante never got the opportunity to wield the stolen rifle.
To the authorities’ advantage, the location where he sought refuge was situated in the northern section of a county. Just hours earlier, a trailer on private property had triggered a burglar alarm, drawing the attention of the search team. Though Cavalcante wasn’t where the alarm had sounded, the searchers promptly redirected their efforts to the vicinity.
By 2 a.m., tactical teams equipped with thermal imaging technology were assembled, awaiting the break of dawn in the area. Unfortunately, a sudden lightning storm forced law enforcement to temporarily withdraw via helicopter.
Bivens reported that ground tactical teams did their utmost to secure the area, preventing the fugitive from fleeing in the storm’s direction, hoping he’d remain concealed.
When Cavalcante was ultimately cornered, he seemed blissfully unaware until he found himself encircled.
“He put up quite a struggle, resisting arrest every step of the way until we forcibly took him into custody,” recounted Bivens.
His stolen rifle lay nearby.
Pennsylvania Governor John Shapiro expressed his relief, stating that it was only a matter of time. “We are relieved,” he affirmed. “It was just a matter of time.”
At precisely 8:18 a.m. on Wednesday, a dispatcher in Chester County conveyed the message: they had successfully apprehended their target More Information.
Radio rooms, local government, and the agencies involved in tackling prison escapes celebrated this triumph, reassuring the public that the situation was under control, putting an end to the apprehension that had gripped the community.