Yoda, the 4-year-old unlikely hero in the apprehension of Danelo Cavalcante

The 34-year-old convicted murderer, Danelo Cavalcante, who escaped from a Pennsylvania jail was recaptured on Wednesday (September 13) putting an end to a two-week-long manhunt that had left residents in the suburbs west of Philadelphia on edge, as per local media reports.

A Pennsylvania State Police official said that a 4-year-old dog, named Yoda, bit Cavalcante and helped the law enforcement authorities in capturing him.

According to ABC news, Cavalcante was captured at 8:14 am on Wednesday (September 13) and was found hiding near a large pile of logs behind a John Deere store in South Coventry Township, which was about 30 miles from a county-run prison where he escaped 14 days ago.

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"Today is a great day in Chester County. Our nightmare is finally over and the good guys won," Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said at a news conference.

During the press briefing, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro revealed that Cavalcante was "apprehended with no shots fired" shortly after 08:00 local time.

He also appreciated the "extraordinary" efforts by law enforcement and "a tremendous assist from members of the public" for Cavalcante's capture.

"They were able to move in very quietly. They had the element of surprise. Cavalcante did not realize he was surrounded until that had occurred," said Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police.

"They actually gave him verbal commands. He refused the verbal commands. He attempted to crawl away," 6abc quoted Supervisory Deputy Robert Clark of the USMarshals as saying.

The dog, a four-year-old Belgian Malinois named Yoda, "subdued" Cavalcante as he attempted to make his escape, leaving him with a bleeding scalp wound.

"I think he was in pain at that point," Clark said. "He was probably in excruciating pain."

Cavalcante's escape

It was on August 31 that Cavalcante, who measures just five feet (1.52 meters) tall, managed to escape the prison, in a rather daring manner.

After the escape, the police officials released the footage of Cavalcante's stunt where he could be seen crab-walking up between two walls separated by a 5 ft (1.5m) hallway, in broad daylight

At the time of the escape, just before 9: 00 a.m. local time, there was a corrections officer in the observation tower. But the officer apparently failed to monitor the security feed.

Cavalcante was sentenced to life imprisonment in July after being found guilty of brutally stabbing ex-girlfriend Deborah Brando to death in April 2021 in front of her two infants. He is also wanted for murder in Brazil.

(With inputs from agencies)

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