The convicted killer who escaped from a Pennsylvania prison late last month was captured last week after nearly two weeks on the run, NBC News reported.
Danelo Cavalcante escaped from the exercise yard at Chester County Prison on August 31 and eluded authorities until last Wednesday when he was taken into custody after being tracked down by overhead thermal imaging and captured by a Border Patrol tactical unit dog.
Last Tuesday, authorities established an 8 to 10-mile search perimeter after Cavalcante stole a rifle from the garage of a homeowner in northern Chester County the night before.
According to State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens, shortly after midnight in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the burglar alarm at a home within the search perimeter went off. When law enforcement responded, Cavalcante was not sighted.
However, by using thermal heat technology aboard a US DEA aircraft, the fugitive’s heat signature was detected a short time later and tactical teams began converging on the area.
The search was briefly suspended after the DEA aircraft was forced to leave the area due to a lightning storm. Tactical units secured the area until the storm passed and the aircraft could return, according to Lt. Col. Bevins. Shortly before 8:00 a.m., the search teams converged on a wooded area near PA 100.
According to Bevins, Cavalcante, crawling through the underbrush with his stolen rifle, was unaware that he was surrounded, allowing the tactical teams to have “the element of surprise.”
The Border Patrol dog went in and subdued Cavalcante before he was able to use his stolen weapon, Bevins said.
Cavalcante was taken to the State Police barracks in Avondale suffering no injuries except for a minor dog bite. He was then transported back to prison to serve out his life term.
