Current:Home > FinanceWatch: Video shows how Danelo Cavalcante escaped prison in Chester County, Pennsylvania -EquityExchange
Watch: Video shows how Danelo Cavalcante escaped prison in Chester County, Pennsylvania
View
Date:2025-04-13 10:43:32
Danelo Cavalcante entered the "C" Block cell of Chester County Prison in West Chester, about an hour's drive from Philadelphia, at 8:33 a.m. on August 31, 2023. Less than twenty minutes later, the convicted murderer escaped, officials said at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Surveillance footage played at the news conference showed Cavalcante, wearing a white t-shirt, black pants and white sneakers, walk to a back wall and look around before grabbing onto a razor wire fence. He then pressed his feet against the wall so he was fully horizontal and climbed, Spiderman-like, up the wall until he disappeared from view.
Chester County Prison's acting warden Howard Holland said that Cavalcante escaped from the exercise yard to the roof area, which is the same escape route that another inmate, Igor Bolte, used on May 19, 2023.
After Bolte's escape, the prison hired a consulting firm, which advised them to "cap the whole area" with razor wire, Holland said. The prison didn't take into consideration that Cavalcante would break through the razor wire, he added.
A correction officer positioned at a watch tower was surveilling "C" Block, the acting warden said. There was a basketball game taking place in the yard at the time, which might have prevented the officers from catching Cavalcante climb up the wall, Holland said. According to Holland, there were 160 cameras installed throughout the prison, and it was possible that the officers monitoring the video feeds were focused on other things and didn't see the brazen escape.
Holland said that the Attorney General's office is investigating actions taken by corrections staff during the escape. The corrections officer stationed at the tower at the time is currently on administrative leave, he said.
Cavalcante was sighted Tuesday night, but search teams were unable to locate him, Lt. Col. George Bivens, with the Pennslyvania State Police, said at the news conference. There have been four confirmed sightings of him in a 2-mile radius in the days since his escape. The focus of the search has been on the area around Pocopson Township, which is located within Chester County. The perimeter being searched by law enforcement has expanded, said Bivens.
State police on Wednesday announced they had increased the reward for information that leads to Cavalcante's arrest from $10,000 to $20,000.
Bivens believes that Cavalcante is headed south and feels "quite confident I'm wearing him down." Cavalcante has no shelter or regular source of food, and he is navigating extremely difficult terrain, Bivens said. This is a "difficult existence for someone trying to do this," Bivens said, but "being hunted adds a whole different level of stress."
Bivens added that law enforcement is "not going anywhere until we catch him."
–Reporting contributed by Aliza Chasan
- In:
- Pennsylvania
- Crime
Cara Tabachnick is a news editor for CBSNews.com. Contact her at cara.tabachnick@cbsinteractive.com
veryGood! (2)
Related
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- South Korea’s Yoon warns against Russia-North Korea military cooperation and plans to discuss at UN
- $245 million slugger Anthony Rendon questions Angels with update on latest injury
- Photographer captures monkey enjoying a free ride on the back of a deer in Japanese forest
- New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
- Louisiana prisoner suit claims they’re forced to endure dangerous conditions at Angola prison farm
- Thousands of Czechs rally in Prague to demand the government’s resignation
- Airbnb removed them for having criminal records. Now, they're speaking out against a policy they see as antihuman.
- North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
- Dodgers win NL West for 10th time in 11 seasons
Ranking
- Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
- Inter Miami CF vs. Atlanta United highlights: Atlanta scores often vs. Messi-less Miami
- Hollywood strikes enter a new phase as daytime shows like Drew Barrymore’s return despite pickets
- Russell Brand denies rape, sexual assault allegations published by three UK news organizations
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Lee makes landfall in Canada with impacts felt in New England: Power outages, downed trees
- Activists in Europe mark the anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody in Iran
- UN nuclear agency slams Iran for barring ‘several’ inspectors from monitoring its program
Recommendation
House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
Look Back on Jennifer Love Hewitt's Best Looks
Tori Spelling Reunites With Brian Austin Green at 90s Con Weeks After Hospitalization
Ice-T's Reaction to 7-Year-Old Daughter Chanel's School Crushes Is Ice Cold
Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
Ford and GM announce hundreds of temporary layoffs with no compensation due to strike
What is UAW? What to know about the union at the heart of industry-wide auto workers strike
Armed man accused of impersonating officer detained at Kennedy campaign event in LA