Police defend strategy in hunt for escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante after he evaded searchers

This photo provided by the Chester County Prison shows Danelo Cavalcante. Cavalcante, convicted this month of fatally stabbing his girlfriend escaped Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023 from the suburban Philadelphia prison and prosecutors say he is also wanted in his native Brazil in a separate slaying. (Chester County Prison via AP)

Authorities in Pennsylvania who have been trying to capture an escaped murderer for nearly two weeks say they’re shifting to a longer-term strategy and defended their efforts to this point. Robert Clark, the supervisor of the U.S. Marshals fugitive task force in Philadelphia, said during a news conference Monday that law enforcement teams have the advantage now that Danelo Souza Cavalcante is apparently in suburban Philadelphia rather than the heavily wooded and more complicated terrain of the initial search area. This comes after police say Cavalcante slipped through the search perimeter, stole a delivery van and abandoned it about 20 miles north. Cavalcante escaped from prison on Aug. 31 after being sentenced to life for killing an ex-girlfriend in 2021.