Juliet Jonas
A prisoner is now the subject of a massive manhunt after escaping from a Pennsylvania prison last week.
Fugitive Danelo Cavalcante absconded from the Chester County Prison on Aug. 31 by scaling a wall to gain access to the roof and pushing through razor wire before jumping down to a less secure area to make his getaway, Howard Holland, the acting warden of the Chester County Prison, said at a news conference on Wednesday, September 6.
Danelo Cavalcante killed his ex-girlfriend in a brutal 2021 stabbing in front of her two young children. In the video, Cavalcante can be seen walking toward a doorway at the prison. He then skillfully climbs up a wall while remaining parallel to the ground.
The 34-year-old Cavalcante, who was at the facility awaiting a transfer to the state prison after being convicted of murder in the fatal stabbing of his ex-girlfriend, followed the same method of escape and route used by an inmate at the Chester County Prison, Holland said.
A Chester County Prison surveillance camera captured Bolte’s escape, according to the complaint. Holland laid out a timeline of Cavalcante’s escape, noting that the fugitive was missing for nearly an hour before anyone noticed.
He said security video showed Cavalcante escaping at 8:51 a.m. on Aug. 31. The manhunt has now entered its seventh day. He said Cavalcante was first noticed missing when inmates were brought back in from the exercise yard at 9:35 a.m. and that the prison was placed on lockdown and a head count confirmed he had vanished.
He said a public escape siren was sounded at 10:01 a.m. Cavalcante is a Brazil native who is roughly 152 cm with long, curly black hair and brown eyes, authorities have said. He is extremely dangerous and desperate not to get caught, officials have warned, and they’ve urged residents in areas near the prison to keep their doors locked, stay inside, check on each other, and check their security cameras.
Cavalcante also is wanted in a 2017 homicide case in Brazil, according to the US Marshals Service. Authorities are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
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