In a fourteen-day chase, Danelo Cavalcante, an escaped prisoner from Chester County, captured the attention of everyone in Pennsylvania, including the students of Bellefonte Area High School. With his murderous past and skill to slip through the police’s fingers, he was able to terrorize and frighten everyone in the area. However, he wasn’t the only one.
In the span of one year, Pennsylvania has experienced four breakouts from prisoners. Igore Bolte, Ameen Hurst, and Nasir Grant were the other three escapees in Pennsylvania. Danelo Cavalcante was the fourth and most famous escape. On August 31, Cavalcante escaped by crab-walking up the side of the prison’s walls and used a van to get to Pottstown where he hid in the dense brush and forests. He was then seen stealing from porches and several game cameras caught him with stolen items.
Finally, on September 14, Cavalcante was put into custody once more after police used thermal imaging. Police officers even posed for a group photo with Cavalcante to celebrate their winnings.
Students at Bellefonte Area High School felt affected during this period of time.
“I just feel that it’s absolutely insane that this man could escape prison,” senior Catherine Reed said.
This event started to sew doubt of the prison system in the minds of students.
“How does someone escape prison? Are the guards not doing their jobs or paying attention?” Catherine added.
However, Cavalcante wasn’t the most recent breakout in Pennsylvania. On Sunday, September 17, nine juveniles escaped from Abraxas Academy Juvenile Detention Center in Reading. The group was detained the following day by police only four miles away from the detention center.
The string of escapes have come with a new terror that has infected the state of Pennsylvania and its students. When another student, Senior Julia Huntsinger, was told about the recent breakout with the nine juveniles.
“That’s actually terrifying,” Julia said.
With the unpredictable future, people wonder if there will be more breakouts in the coming months and how protected the prisons in the area really are.