Escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante has been arrested after 2 weeks on the run in Pennsylvania
CTV
A murderer who brazenly escaped from a Pennsylvania jail was captured Wednesday in the woods by a team of tactical officers, bringing an end to a search that terrified residents as the fugitive broke into homes for food, changed his appearance, and stole a van and rifle during two weeks on the run.
A murderer who brazenly escaped from a Pennsylvania jail was captured Wednesday in the woods by a team of tactical officers, bringing an end to a search that terrified residents as the fugitive broke into homes for food, changed his appearance, and stole a van and rifle during two weeks on the run.
Cavalcante's heat signal was picked up around 1 a.m. from an aircraft, but storms prevented teams from continuing to track him until the morning, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said. In the meantime, tactical teams secured the area, and later moved in with search dogs, Bivens said at a news conference.
"The were able to move in very quietly. They had the element of surprise," Bivens said. "Cavalcante did not realize he was surrounded until that had occurred."
Cavalcante -- still armed with the rifle -- tried to escape by crawling through thick underbrush, Bivens said, and he continued to resist as he was taken into custody after 8 a.m. He was bitten on the scalp by a police dog and suffered a minor wound, he said. No shots were fired.
"He was desperate, and it was just a matter of time," said Gov. Josh Shapiro.
State police had announced Cavalcante's capture on social media earlier Wednesday, as the search entered its 14th day. The attorney general's office said Cavalcante will be arraigned on a felony escape charge.
Aerial footage from WPVI-TV news showed an armoured vehicle with Cavalcante arriving at the Pennsylvania State Police barracks at Avondale. A handful of officers pulled from the back of the vehicle and quickly led him into the building. He was handcuffed and wrapped in what appeared to be a thermal blanket. Bivens said investigators would try to interview him about his time on the run before taking him to a state prison.
