For the last two weeks the headlines on our local Philadelphia radio and TV stations have been about Danilo Cavalcante, the escaped murderer from a nearby Chester County prison. From what I’ve heard, people have been captivated by this around the country and the world.
Delaware County borders Chester County PA where all of this unfolded.
We first found out about it when we heard that Longwood Gardens was closed and we happened to be talking to friends who live in the retirement community, Kendal, that borders Longwood. Our friends received text alerts to Shelter in Place once it was known he had escaped.
I did not know there was a prison north of Longwood and Kendal. There is a lot of open land with trees around there. Longwood was a prime place to hide out.
Once Cavalcante found a milk truck just north of Longwood with keys in the ignition, he headed to the northern part of Chester County, to be closer to where he knew people. This new location put him in an area where my niece and her family live. Their school district was closed, they were told to shelter in place as best they could, and I'm sure their stress levels escalated.
Good news finally happened yesterday morning when he was captured.
A few things I heard during the live news briefing I watched yesterday morning:
-Weather played a factor in two ways: the heat wave during the past two weeks hindered the use of the heat detecting devices and once they did get a reading on him the night before his capture, a severe thunderstorm delayed things.
-Yoda, the trained dog used in the capture, was held close until they were pretty sure where Cavalcante might be located. Once Yoda found Cavalcante he got on top of his back since he was he was crawling in the underbrush, thus the head wound. Luckily the rifle he had stolen was out of reach.
Like many others, we struggled with how long this capture was taking. Many of us probably have been conditioned by the many detective shows on TV that show fast captures with all the technology available these days. Yet in real life things do not go according to a script.
The men/women in blue did their very best during this ordeal to get this dangerous person off the streets. The public and police also worked well together during these two week, which was a good thing.
(The attached photo is from Facebook)
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