The convicted killer who is on the run after breaking out of a Pennsylvania prison has tried making contact with former co-workers while his sister was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), police said.
Danelo Cavalcante, who was serving a life sentence for killing his ex-girlfriend in front of her kids, remains on the loose after breaking out of the Chester County Prison on Aug. 31.
The fugitive was recently spotted Saturday night trying to meet with two former co-workers who live in East Pikeland Township and Phoenixville, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens told reporters Sunday.
While Cavalcante was avoiding police, Bivens said his sister, Eleni Cavalcante, was captured by ICE and may be deported over “some immigration issues.”
Bivens did not say where Eleni, like her brother, was an undocumented immigrant from Brazil, or if she had been in contact with Cavalcante, who appears to be in a desperate search for allies.
The convicted murderer was caught on a Ring camera in East Pikeland Township on Saturday, just before 10 p.m., when prowling around the home of a man he worked with several years ago, police said.
The former co-worker, who was out to dinner with his family, saw Cavalcante when reviewing his doorbell video, calling police and telling them that the fugitive had asked to meet up with him.
Cavalcante then went to Phoenixville, where police said he tried to get in contact with another former co-worker who was also not home.
Another doorbell camera revealed Cavalcante was now sporting a clean-cut look, in favor of the scruffy beard and mustache he donned behind bars.
He was also seen wearing a black baseball-style hat, a yellow or green hooded sweatshirt, green prison pants and white shoes.
The weekend sightings came as police believe Cavalcante is in possession of a stolen van, a white Ford Transit, which was found behind a barn in East Nantmeal, about 15 miles west of Phoenixville.
“I do not have a report of a stolen vehicle; I anticipate that we will,” Bivens told reporters, believing the fugitive ditched the van when it was low on fuel.
The officer reiterated that it was only a matter of time until Cavalcante is caught, with at least 400 officers combing the Keystone State in what is now Day 12 of an ever-growing manhunt.
Cavalcante was sentenced to life behind bars without parole last month for fatally stabbing 33-year-old Deborah Brandao, his former girlfriend, while her 7-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son were present in 2021.
He was awaiting transfer to a state facility when he escaped from the prison by scaling a wall, climbing over razor wire and jumping from a roof into a less-secure area to elude guards.