Danelo Cavalcante’s prison escape captured in new video

Pennsylvania authorities have released footage of the moment murder convict Danelo Cavalcante escaped from prison.

At a press conference on Wednesday, state police said that Cavalcante managed to escape from Chester County Prison by jumping onto the facility’s roof from an exercise yard. Surveillance video shows Cavalcante crawling up a wall before he disappears from the frame.

Police said that he later managed to jump down to an area of the prison that had less surveillance. A tower officer tasked with observing the area failed to report the incident, and Cavalcante’s escape was only noticed later during a head count.

Pennsylvania State Lt Col George Bivens said that he was confident the manhunt was “wearing Cavalcante now.” Mr Bivens said that Cavalcante had some experience hiding and surviving in the woods from growing up in his native Brazil.

Chester County Prison acting warden Howard Allen said that Cavalcante’s jailbreak was similar to another inmate’s escape back in May. During that incident, a tower officer immediately reported the situation to prison staff and the inmate was apprehended within minutes.

“While we believed that the security measures we had in place were sufficient, they have proven otherwise,” Mr Allen said. “And we will work to enhance our security … One key difference in [this] escape is the role of the tower officer whose primary responsibility is to oversee the inmate in the exercise yard.”

At the time of Cavalcante’s escape, other inmates in the exercise yard had been playing basketball.

The state’s attorney’s office is investigating the jailbreak.

This is a developing story … check again for updates.