On Tuesday, two school districts in Pennsylvania were closed as authorities expanded their search for a convicted murderer who has been on the run for days after escaping from a Chester County prison.
34-year-old Danelo Souza Cavalcante was seen Monday night on a private trail camera at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square squeezing through the woods to avoid capture, according to Pennsylvania State Police Major Colonel George Bivens.
Thursday morning, according to police, Cavalcante fled from the Chester State Prison. He is purportedly in the United States illegally and is wanted for murder in Brazil, where he is originally from.
“It’s imperative that we maintain pressure on him as we continue this search,” Bivens said, adding that residents and school officials have been informed of the search area’s expansion to the south.
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Both the Kennett Consolidated School District and Unionville-Chadds Ford School District (UCF) declared the closure of schools and administrative offices on Tuesday “out of an abundance of caution” as the search continued.
“The district has received information that the status of the situation with the escaped prisoner has changed,” UCF stated on its website. “Schools and administrative offices are closed today, and the district will operate on a Flexible Instructional Day.”
Last month, Cavalcante was sentenced to life in prison for murdering his ex-girlfriend in front of her children; authorities say he escaped while awaiting transfer to state prison. Unknown is his method of escape.
Since he escaped from prison, there have been numerous reliable sightings of Cavalcante in the vicinity of the intersection of Routes 926 and 52, north on 52 to Parker’s Mill Road, southeast to 926, and west to the intersection of 926 and 52 in Pocopson Township.
Saturday at 12:30 a.m., the escaped murderer was captured on a residential surveillance camera in the 1800 block of Lenape Road, approximately 1.5 miles from the penitentiary.
Officials are using a helicopter to disseminate a Portuguese-language message recorded by Cavalcante’s mother in an effort to facilitate her son’s surrender.
Bivens told reporters on Monday that one of the measures taken was to have the suspect’s mother record a message urging him to surrender peacefully. “It’s being broadcast in an effort to facilitate his peaceful surrender.”
