Video Shows Inmate 'Crab Walk' Up Wall to Escape PA Prison
Pennsylvania residents have been on edge for eight days and counting since a convicted murderer escaped from a Chester County prison. And now, jaw-dropping video reveals exactly how the inmate made his stunning escape.
Danelo Cavalcante, 34, disappeared at 8:51 a.m. on Aug. 31 while his prisoner block was outside in the exercise yard. In the below footage, which was released by local authorities at a news conference on Wednesday, Cavalcante is seen standing in a brick passageway next to the jail yard, before placing his hands on one wall and his feet on the other, and then "crab walking" backwards up the walls and out of the camera's view.
Once he reached the top, Cavalcante somehow managed to get through razor wire to run across the roof and then scale down a fence also lined with razor wire, said Howard Holland, acting warden of the Chester County Prison, during the conference.
CHESTER COUNTY PRISON OFFICIALS RELEASE VIDEO OF DANELO CAVALCANTE'S ESCAPE FROM THE EXERCISE YARD
— Chester County District Attorney's Office (@chescoda) September 6, 2023
Internal and criminal investigations into the escape of Cavalcante are ongoing, and Prison Officials will provide additional information as able. pic.twitter.com/Thg2YzAOQ0
Disconcertingly enough, another inmate escaped from the same correctional facility using the same method just months ago on May 19. However, that inmate, Igor Vidra Bolte, was caught within five minutes of escaping, whereas it was nearly an hour before Cavalcante was discovered missing during an inmate count.
As a proactive security measure, the razor wire was added to the roof. But clearly, it wasn't enough to keep Cavalcante from escaping.
"One of the issues brought up was the once the razor wire was put in place, it was determined by our security advisors that this one level of security was sufficient," Holland explained, according to ABC News. "In fact, what was perhaps overlooked was the fact that addressing the single point of security countermeasure should have been bolstered by additional means."
Cavalcante has been spotted at least five times since his escape, including images taken by a trail camera at Longwood Gardens on Monday night—a large botanical garden located about 5 miles from the prison. Longwood Gardens, as well as several local schools, have remained closed for much of the week as the manhunt continues.
When he escaped, Cavalcante had been waiting to be moved to a state prison, just days after he was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 2021 murder of his ex-girlfriend Deborah Brandao, who he stabbed 38 times in front of her two young children. Cavalcante is also wanted in his native Brazil in a homicide investigation. It's believed that Brandao may have been threatening to turn him in when he killed her.
Authorities are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Cavalcante, who remains on the loose as of Thursday.