Shelter In Place Issued at Longwood Gardens as Search for Escaped Murderer Heats Up Thursday Night

The search for an escaped prisoner in the Philadelphia suburbs appears to be heating up tonight.

Longwood Gardens evacuated guests from the property and closed early tonight (Thursday, September 7) as the search for the escaped prisoner, which is now in its 8th day, appears to be heating up.

Tenants at Longwood are sheltering in place, a spokesperson told the media (including CBS Philadelphia and NBC 10). Longwood Gardens is expected to remain closed until further notice.

Escaped Murderer Sighted Again Near Longwood Gardens

Earlier in the afternoon, Pennsylvania's State Police confirmed a sighting of Cavalcante near Longwood Gardens just before 12 p.m. on Thursday.

The search perimeter is now about eight square miles. now includes parts of Delaware County. It runs from Route 926 (in the north), Route 52 (in the west), and the Brandywine Creek and Chadds Ford (to the east).

They continue to warn the public that he may be desperate, and therefore, he's likely more dangerous than he was when he was apprehended two years ago for the murder of his girlfriend.

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It's believed that he has some items on him including a backpack and a duffel bag, which they believe he obtained during recent burglaries.

"I believe he becomes more desperate, I believe he has always been very dangerous and I've said that from the start. He's already murdered two people – one in Brazil and one here in a very brutal manner. He's a very dangerous individual and he remains so," Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police said Thursday afternoon at a 3 pm press conference.

The manhunt for the convicted murderer is quite massive with officials from federal, local and state agencies joining together.

WATCH: Shocking ideo of Danelo Cavalcante Scaling the Wall & Escaping Prison

Earlier this week, officials released the shocking video of the 34-year-old escaping from a Chester County prison.

It shows Cavalcante standing in a passageway before bracing his hands against one wall and his feet against another, then walking his way upward out of the camera's view.

There was a guard in an observation tower, and there were no guards walking in the yard, said Howard Holland, the acting warden of the prison.

Danelo Cavalcante Was Convicted in a 2021 Murder in the US & A Suspect in Brazil

The escape and manhunt have attracted international attention and became big news in his native country, where it has been a daily fixture in the news. The main newspaper in Rio de Janeiro ran a lengthy story in the Wednesday edition with the headline “Dangerous hide-and-seek.”

Cavalcante received a life sentence last month for killing his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, in front of her children in 2021, and escaped while awaiting transfer to state prison. Prosecutors say he killed her to stop her from telling police that he’s wanted in a 2017 killing in his native Brazil.

He had been captured in Virginia after Brandao’s killing and authorities believe he was trying to return to Brazil.