Pennsylvania fugitive Danelo Cavalcante appears to be getting desperate as manhunt continues, police say

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Officials reportedly believe they are ‘closing in’ on Danilo Cavalcante

FOX News correspondent Nate Foy reports on the continued search for escaped fugitive Danilo Cavalcante after another reported sighting on ‘Special Report.’

Pennsylvania authorities involved in the manhunt for fugitive Danelo Cavalcante following his prison escape nearly two weeks ago said he appears to be getting desperate as he continues to evade capture. 

Hundreds of officers and law enforcement personnel have been searching for Cavalcante, 34, who is allegedly in the U.S. illegally, since his Aug. 31 escape in the area near Chester County Prison, near Philadelphia. The escape came following his conviction of first-degree murder in the death of an ex-girlfriend in 2021. 

Despite Cavalcante slipping through a law enforcement perimeter, authorities said he continues to take risky measures to ensure he eludes police, including contacting former co-workers. 

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The manhunt for Danelo Cavalcante continues as authorities believe he is getting desperate while on the run.  (Pennsylvania State Police / Chester County Prison)

“I believe that his actions show that he’s desperate,” Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said Monday. “I believe there was an opportunity to escape. I don’t think there was alot of planning that went into that. Now he finds himself on the run.”

“The fact that he has reached out to people with a very distant past connection tells me he doesn’t have a great network of support,” he added. 

On Sunday, Bivens said Cavalcante slipped through a tightly guarded police perimeter around the Longwood Gardens botanical park, changed his appearance, and stole a van on a dairy farm. He drove more than 20 miles to East Pikeland Township and Phoenixville, where he sought help from two former co-workers.

Law enforcement gather as they search for escaped convict Danelo Cavalcante in Glenmoore, Pa., Monday, Sept. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) (AP)

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Cavalcante then traveled to Phoenixville shortly after 10 p.m., where police said he went to the home of another former work associate, who also was not home.

A clean-shaven Cavalcante was captured on a doorbell camera, which showed him wearing a yellow or green hooded sweatshirt, black baseball cap, green prison pants, and white shoes, according to state police. 

In addition, Cavalcante’s sister, Eleni Cavalcante, was arrested by immigration authorities over “some immigration issues,” Bivens said. He said she has not appeared to cooperate with authorities looking for her brother. 

On Friday, officials announced that a prison guard on duty when Cavalcante was seen on surveillance video crab-walking a wall in the exercise yard had been fired. 

On Monday, authorities also warned anyone who may be thinking of helping Cavalcante while on the run. They considered him to be dangerous and possibly armed. 

Acting Warden of Chester County Prison, Howard Holland released video of Cavalcante’s escape from the prison during a Wednesday press conference, which shows the convicted killer crab walking up a wall. (Chester County DA)

“He’s been carrying a pack. There’s no way to know exactly what’s in that pack or what he obtained that early on in this investigation and search,” BVivens said. “We’ve always treated him as though he may be armed and certainly with his history of being as dangerous as he is… I think it’s fair to say that he needs to be treated in that manner.”

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Cavalcante was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend in 2021 and sentenced to life in prison. He is originally from Brazil, where he is also wanted for homicide.

In Brazil, prosecutors in Tocantins state say Cavalcante is accused of “double qualified homicide” in the 2017 slaying of Válter Júnior Moreira dos Reis in Figueirópolis, which they allege was over a debt the victim owed him in connection with repair of a vehicle.

Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace as well as The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to louis.casiano@fox.com.