Reward for capture of escaped killer Danelo Cavalcante rises to $20,000 as search enters day 8 – NBC10 Philadelphia

The reward for information leading to the capture of a convicted murderer – caught on video escaping a suburban Philadelphia prison yard – rose to $20,000 as the search for the escaped prisoner entered its eighth day.

Danelo Souza Cavalcante, a 34-year-old from Brazil, escaped from the Chester County Jail on Aug. 31 by scaling a wall, climbing over barbed wire and jumping from a roof. According to authorities, the outbreak went unnoticed by guards for a full hour.

Howard Holland, the facility’s director, shared the video of Cavalcante’s escape during a news conference Wednesday afternoon and revealed a timeline of that day’s events.

The video shows Cavalcante approaching a small hallway of an outdoor training yard with another person. Cavalcante then stretches the length of the hallway before working its way sideways up the wall and onto the roof.

Officials unveiled video showing the moment Danelo Cavalcante escaped from Chester County Jail as the search for the convicted murderer continues.

Holland said Cavalcante’s escape was similar to that of another prisoner who escaped from the facility in May.

The difference, Holland said, is that the inmate was caught “within five minutes” in May, while Cavalcante’s escape went unreported for some time.

“When Cavalcante escaped, the tower officer did not observe or report the escape,” he said.

In fact, he said, the prison didn’t close until about an hour after Cavalcante escaped the facility.

Holland said Cavalcante was “running at a jog” up the wall at 8:51 a.m. that day. He then moved through barbed wire and over a roof before jumping over a fence and making his way through more barbed wire on his way to freedom.

At 9:45 a.m., officers were informed that Cavalcante was missing and the jail closed around 9:50 a.m., Holland said.

Holland also said the facility increased security after the May escape, focusing on areas “from the yard to the roof area.”

“Although we believed the security measures we had in place were sufficient, we were proven otherwise,” Holland said.

As of last week, Holland said the facility had beefed up its security to prevent future escape attempts.

SkyForce10 captured officers walking on the roof of the prison Thursday morning.

SkyForce10 also captured police and federal agents watching a passing freight train in Pocopson Township for signs of Cavalcante on Thursday.

Residents who were besieged for several days by heavily armed police searching for the fugitive who was roaming their neighborhood described frustration with the search and fear of being locked up.

Cavalcante is considered extremely dangerous and has been spotted at least six times since then. Authorities continue to shift and expand their search area – now a vast area full of forests and thick brush – as residents remain nervous.

Ryan Drummond, 42, had a harrowing encounter with the man believed to be the fugitive when his Pocopson home was broken into late Friday.

When he woke up around 11:40 p.m. to a noise in the kitchen, he checked on his small children, grabbed a framed picture of his family as armor, then let the hallway light flicker from upstairs several times – and when the… The intruder threw them back .

“That was kind of a horrible moment where I quickly looked at (my wife) and said, ‘He’s in the house, call 911 immediately,'” Drummond said Wednesday.

“I saw him methodically, not panicking, walk out of the kitchen, walk into the living room toward the French window and walk out,” he said.

The police arrived within a minute, but not before Cavalcante – if it was him – was on the run again, with a few pieces of fruit from Drummond’s kitchen in his hand.

Cavalcante received a life sentence last month for killing his ex-girlfriend in front of her children in 2021. He escaped while awaiting transfer to state prison. Prosecutors say he killed her to prevent her from telling police that he was wanted for a 2017 murder in Brazil.

He was captured in Virginia after the murder of his ex-girlfriend and authorities believe he was trying to return to Brazil.

The escape and search drew international attention and made headlines in Cavalcante’s native Brazil. The main newspaper in Rio de Janeiro published a lengthy article on Wednesday entitled “Dangerous hide-and-seek”.

Schools and Longwood Gardens will reopen

lessons at the Kennett Consolidated School District in Chester County were canceled on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, only one of the district’s schools remained closed on Thursday.

“At this time, Greenwood Elementary School remains in the search area,” wrote Kennett Superintendent Dr. Dusty Blakey a letter published on the district’s website. “In addition, we are still identifying the various road closures affecting a number of our families. Therefore… on September 7th we will reopen five of our six schools outside the search area. New Garden, Bancroft, Mary D. Lang, Kennett Middle and Kennett High Schools will open and operate on a regular schedule, with an increased police presence on all campus grounds.

Longwood Gardens, one of the country’s premier botanical gardens, also reopened Thursday morning. Surveillance video showed Cavalcante walking through the garden area Monday evening.