Update: About 11:30 a.m. Sunday, state police posted this:
Cavalcante Update: To those residents in the area of Phoenixville, you may no longer see a large law enforcement presence in your area. Investigative leads have emerged that indicate Cavalcante is no longer in that area. Thank you for support.
KENNETT — State police said before dawn Sunday that escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante was seen in the northern Chester County area near Phoenixville, about 2 miles from where he murdered Deborah Brandao in 2021.
Phoenixville is about 13 miles northeast of Chester County Prison, where Cavalcante escaped on Aug. 31. It was also miles away from the perimeter that had been set up in the extreme southern part of the county where hundreds of law enforcement officers had been searching for him.
Authorities have described Cavalcante as extremely dangerous, though it is not believed he has threatened anyone while on the run.
“He changed his appearance. He is clean shaven and last seen wearing a yellow or green hooded sweatshirt, black baseball style hat, green prison pants, and white shoes,” said Trooper Michael J. Carter Jr., spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police.
“It is confirmed that Danelo Cavalcante is operating a 2020 White Ford Transit (van) bearing Pennsylvania registration ZST8818. The van has a refrigeration unit on the top,” troopers said Sunday morning. “The vehicle is reported stolen by Baily’s Dairy. Law Enforcement agencies nationwide have been advised.”
If anyone has any information they are urged to call 911 or the tip line at 717-562-2987, Carter said.
In a police broadcast via Delaware County communications on Sunday morning, officers in that county were told that the suspect was already known to be at large Saturday evening, and that the door photos are from about 10:45 p.m. Saturday. They were told to be on the lookout for the van, which has damage to the left rear.
Cavalcante’s family does live in the Phoenixville area. One of the photos shows him with a box of cereal.
A pre-dawn reverse 911 call urged residents in Chester County to check and see if any of their vehicles were missing. The dairy is about a half-mile north of Longwood Gardens.
It was not known when he changed his appearance and how.
On Saturday night about 9, Chester County police were alerted to a potential sighting of Cavalcante at Triple Fresh Market and Catering several miles west of the state police perimeter. It was reported that the suspect bought items and left in a vehicle, according to police radio. Responding officers took the sighting seriously. It’s unclear what happened after that.
On Sunday morning, local police were dispatched to Zion Lutheran Church at 39 Bonnie Brae Road near Phoenixville for the report of an air conditioner knocked out of a window and chairs strewn about a classroom. The local officers were asked to secure the scene until troopers could arrive, according to police radio. It was unclear if that was connected to Cavalcante.
At 9:30 a.m., Spring City police were alerted for a sighting. Then, a van spotted earlier in the morning was seen at a Wawa in Limerick Township in Montgomery County. It turned out that the male in the van was similar to the description given for Cavalcante but it was not him, according to police radio.
This is breaking news. Check back for more details.
The background
Nearly 400 members of law enforcement from federal, state, county and local agencies were searching for Cavalcante over the weekend, and there were two confirmed sightings of the fugitive near Longwood Gardens on Friday, adding to string of sightings in the 11 days since he fled Chester County Prison by crab walking two walls, going across a roof and over barbed wire.
In August, Cavalcante, 34, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Deborah Brandao, his former partner, whom he killed in April 2021. She was 33.
Cavalcante stabbed Brandao 37 times outside her home in Schuylkill Township, before her son and daughter. Her children survived.
“Law enforcement is working around the clock to bring this man to justice,” said Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan while speaking to the Daily Local in East Marlborough on Friday.
Brandao’s family is being protected by a security detail, the district attorney confirmed.
“They’re terrified,” she said on Thursday.
On Saturday, Cavalcante was still believed to be within the approximately 10-square-mile police perimeter that had been set up around the vicinity of Longwood Gardens over the last 11 days.
Residents in that area have been amazed at how Cavalcante was able to elude a small army of police.
It’s not yet clear what will happen with all of the officers involved in the perimeter in southern Chester County that is no longer needed.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Source: Berkshire mont