(NewsNation) — In a relentless pursuit spanning ten days, Pennsylvania State Police have confirmed multiple sightings of 34-year-old fugitive Danelo Cavalcante near Longwood Gardens, a popular botanical attraction just outside Philadelphia.
The sprawling attraction, now the epicenter of the search operation, covers nearly one square mile in Chester County.
The manhunt for Cavalcante has escalated to unprecedented levels, utilizing a staggering 400 officers, helicopters, planes, canine units, cameras and cutting-edge heat-sensing technology.
Despite the immense resources dedicated to the search, Cavalcante has eluded capture, leaving residents in disbelief.
Ryan Drummond, a local resident whose family believes they had a close encounter with the fugitive, expressed the community’s frustration, saying, “It’s no shade on the police officers; they’re working hard. We just hope it’s over soon. Everyone in this community can’t wait to move past this.”
Authorities believe that Cavalcante broke into the home of Drummond’s relatives located just three miles from the jail where he was incarcerated last Friday.
Drummond recalled the harrowing experience, stating, “I flipped the light switches off three or four times, just so that he knew that I knew that he was downstairs. Then he flipped the light switch back. And that was kind of the acute moment of terror, like turned on my wife and said, ‘He’s downstairs, call 911.'”
Pennsylvania State Police have noted that Cavalcante’s ability to evade capture is partly due to his experience in traversing harsh jungle conditions.
He previously escaped from custody in his native Brazil in 2017, where he was accused of murder.
In an exclusive interview with NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo, a friend of Cavalcante’s ex-girlfriend who he allegedly killed in Pennsylvania, Daniela Hernandez, shed light on the fugitive’s capabilities.
“I think he grew up in the woods, and I think that he probably can stay several days as he is right now, hiding during the day and then walking at nighttime,” she said. “I was surprised to see that he’s been going for so long without being captured. I would think he would commit some mistakes earlier than this right now.”
The manhunt continues with law enforcement agencies intensifying their efforts to locate and apprehend Cavalcante, while residents in the affected communities remain on edge, hopeful that this ordeal will soon come to an end.