2 school districts close as police expand hunt for escaped murderer after he was spotted outside the original search zone

Originally Published: 05 SEP 23 08:20 ET Updated: 05 SEP 23 10:34 ET By Lauren Mascarenhas and LJ Spaet, CNN

(CNN) — The manhunt for Danelo Cavalcante has expanded and two school districts have closed after the escaped murderer was spotted outside the original search area, Pennsylvania police said Tuesday.

Cavalcante escaped from Chester County Prison on Thursday and authorities began by scouring a heavily wooded area in Pocopson Township and Chester County that’s within 2 miles of the prison – around 30 miles west of Philadelphia.

Police have now expanded the perimeter of the search area after a security camera recorded Cavalcante at Longwood Gardens on Monday evening. That’s south of where the previously established perimeter was, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said during a news conference Tuesday.

Cavalcante was spotted by a security camera Monday night at 8:21 p.m. He was walking north and was seen heading back south at 9:33 p.m.

While Cavalcante’s appearance was unchanged, Bivens said he had obtained some items, including a backpack, a “duffel-sling type pack,” and a hooded sweatshirt.

A popular tourist spot, Longwood Gardens, boasts over 200 acres of “lush, formal gardens, open meadows, and winding paths.” The attraction is closed Tuesday as police search the property and surrounding area.

There had been five “credible sightings” of Cavalcante within the previous search radius, Bivens said.

“We believe he is just south of that radius, and we have shifted the perimeter,” Bivens said. Police are eliminating the northern end of the previous perimeter and shifting the search area south of Route 1.

Cavalcante, 34, was convicted of first-degree murder on August 16 of killing his former girlfriend, 33-year-old Deborah Brandão, in 2021. He was sentenced to life without parole.

School districts on alert

Two school districts announced they will be closed Tuesday after authorities said the manhunt had widened.

Kennett Consolidated School District, which is about 9 miles from the prison, and Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, about 5 miles from the prison, both announced they will be closed Tuesday. “We were informed early this morning by law enforcement that the search situation has evolved and out of an abundance of caution, schools and offices will be closed today,” said the superintendent of Kennett Consolidated School District.

“The district has received information that the status of the situation with the escaped prisoner has changed. Schools and offices are closed today and the district will operate on a Flexible Instructional Day,” Unionville-Chadds Ford School District announced.

The police dragnet had previously focused on a deeply wooded area near the prison, Robert Clark, supervisory deputy US Marshal for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said at a Monday news conference. By then there had been four sightings of the escaped inmate within a 1.5- to 2-mile radius of the prison, said Clark.

Cavalcante is also wanted in a 2017 homicide case in Brazil, which led to him fleeing the country, said Clark. Authorities previously said they were looking into whether Cavalcante had inside help to escape.

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