Danelo Cavalcante Arrested: DEA Releases Thermal Imaging Video Leads to Escape from Chester County Jail

NANTMEAL TWP., EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA — After escaping from prison and hiding from police for two weeks, Pennsylvania prison escapee Danelo Cavalcante was finally taken into custody because there was one thing he couldn’t escape: his own body heat.

Multiple state, local and federal agencies were involved in the manhunt in Chester County.

It was a plane from the federal agency the Drug Enforcement Administration that led to the big break in the case.

Cavalcante, 34, was found Tuesday night in South Coventry Township, according to video released by the DEA on Saturday.

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Initially, a small white dot is visible in the video, but as the plane moves around a tree and gets a better view, a bright figure can be seen.

The plane was forced to land due to bad weather that night, but authorities surrounded Cavalcante’s position and made the arrest Wednesday morning.

Cavalcante tried to crawl away with a rifle he had stolen during his escape, but a K-9 named Yoda overpowered him, ultimately ending the search.

Cavalcante was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend in front of their children in 2021 and will be transferred to state prison.

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While in the Chester County Jail, he successfully climbed walls, walked across rooftops and walked through barbed wire.

Cavalcante is being held at the maximum-security State Correctional Facility in Phoenix, Montgomery County.