9/13/23 - The Escaped Pennsylvania Man Was Taken Into Custody

Pennsylvania prison officials say authorities used heat sensors and a K9 unit to help find an escaped prisoner.

Pennsylvania authorities say it took about five minutes from when authorities began moving in to ultimately capture inmate Danelo Cavalvante this morning.

He was in possession of a stolen rifle. No shots were fired. He was found in a wooded area.

During a press conference, Lt. Colonel George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police provided the following timeline on Danelo Cavalcante's capture:

The law enforcement personnel were already in the perimeter established in northern Chester County when the events of the capture started to unfold shortly after midnight.

A burglar alarm: First, there was a burglar alarm within the perimeter. "Our people investigated that — did not find Cavalcante there or anyone else, but it started to bring some of our people into that area. We had been searching an area not far from there already with some tactical teams that night," Bivens said, adding an aircraft overhead was also assisting with the search.

Aircraft picked up a heat signal: The aircraft picked up a heat signal around 1:00 a.m. ET, and personnel began to track that signal.

Weather system brought lightning which forced teams to hold: The aircraft that picked up the heat signal had to depart, and tactical teams secured the area and held it through a storm that rolled in. The team waited until they could bring additional resources in and bring aircraft back overhead "to ensure that we did not have an issue with an escape," Bivens explained.

The search resumed in the morning: "Shortly after 8:00 a.m., tactical teams converged on the area where the heat source was. They were able to move in very quietly. They had the element of surprise. Cavalcante did not realize he was surrounded until that had occurred," Bivens said.

Cavalcante tried to escape: "He tried to crawl through thick underbrush taking his rifle with him as he went," Bivens said. One of the officials had a dog, which they released to subdue the inmate, Bivens said.

Cavalcate continued to resist: He "was forcibly taken into custody. No one was injured as a result of that. He did sustain a minor bite wound. We had medical personnel at the scene and they took a look at that," Bivens said.

Cavalcante was taken into custody: "He was transported to our Avondale station for further processing and interview. And he will ultimately be transferred to a state correctional institute where he will be housed and begin to serve his life sentence," Bivens concluded.