Escaped prisoner Danelo Cavalcante has been spotted again and has changed his appearance, police said early Sunday as they try to narrow in on the Pennsylvania fugitive.
A sighting was reported late Saturday “in the northern Chester County area near Phoenixville,” Pennsylvania State Police said in a statement. Cavalcante had visited the home of a person he worked with years ago, who wasn’t home, Lt. Col. George Bivens with Pennsylvania State Police said at a news briefing Sunday afternoon.
Cavalcante visited another former work colleague’s home earlier Saturday night, who was also not home. The escaped inmate was seen on the home’s doorbell camera and the homeowner alerted authorities, Bivens said.
Police say Cavalcante is attempting to contact his former colleagues for support following his escape from prison. As of Sunday morning, police believe Calcavante is no longer in the Phoenixville area, according to a tweet.
They added that he had changed his appearance since he was spotted twice on Friday within the Chester County search area.
“He is clean shaven and last seen wearing a yellow or green hooded sweatshirt, black baseball style hat, green prison pants, and white shoes,” police said in the statement.
The U.S. Marshal Service released new images, seemingly captured on a Ring camera, alongside the statement.
A few hours later, police said that Cavalcante was driving a white 2020 Ford Transit van with a refrigeration unit on the top and damage to the left rear fender.
The van was found abandoned in a field behind a barn in East Nantmeal Township on Sunday morning, according to Pennsylvania State Police. Investigators are searching for Cavalcante in the area.
Police are warning residents in the area to stay alert and secure their property, as they believe Cavalcante may steal another vehicle. Anyone who sees Cavalcante or has any information on him is encouraged to call authorities.
Law enforcement have encountered “a number of challenges” while trying to secure the perimeter and find Cavalcante, Bivens said at the news briefing.
“Unfortunately there are a lot of circumstances, there are a lot of issues associated with that property,” Bivens said. “Tunnels, very large drainage ditches, things that could not be secured, you couple that with weather, aviation being down for a night, there are a number of reasons.”
Cavalcante was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole last month, having been convicted of fatally stabbing his former girlfriend.
He slipped out of the Chester County Prison in Pocopson Township on Aug. 31, an escape that was captured on surveillance video showing that he stretched himself across the exercise yard walls before climbing to the roof.
A prison guard on duty when Cavalcante escaped was fired having violated prison policy by having a cellphone in the tower, a Chester County spokesperson said Friday.
A reward of up to $20,000 is being offered for tips that lead to the arrest of Cavalcante, 34.
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