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An escaped murderer was captured Wednesday after eluding hundreds of searchers for two weeks, bringing relief to anxious residents of southeastern Pennsylvania who endured sleepless nights as he hid in the woods, broke into suburban homes for food, changed his appearance, and fled under gunfire with a rifle pilfered from a garage, authorities said.

Authorities used thermal imaging from aircraft to pinpoint a possible location and then used ground forces to capture escaped inmate Danelo Souza Cavalcante, authorities said during a news briefing Wednesday. 

State police announced Cavalcante’s capture on social media on Wednesday, as the search entered its 14th day.

Aerial video footage from Fox 29 News showed a handcuffed man in a gravel lot and wearing a grey, long-sleeve shirt with law enforcement officers holding both arms. Later, the man stands at the back of an armored vehicle while an officer cuts the back of the shirt from neck to waist.

The end to the search for Cavalcante, 34, unfolded just beyond Philadelphia’s heavily populated suburbs, in an area of woods, rolling farmland and a county park. The search forced schools to close right at the start of the academic year, led to warnings for homeowners to lock their doors, and blocked roads over the busy Labor Day weekend.

Overnight into Wednesday, heavily armed law enforcement officers searched for the fugitive through a night of downpours and thunder. A Drug Enforcement Administration aircraft detected a heat source around 1 a.m., said Lt. Colonel George Bivens, deputy commissioner of operations for Pennsylvania State Police.Tactical teams converged on the area, but a thunderstorm forced the plane to land, Bivens said.

This image provided by the Pennsylvania State Police shows Danelo Cavalcante. (Pennsylvania State Police via AP)

Law enforcement teams secured the area until the storm had passed and they could resume their search, according to authorities. Shortly after 8 a.m., they located Cavalcante and closed in on him, police said.

Cavalcante resisted, trying to crawl through thick underbrush while holding a stolen rifle, but he was subdued by a Customs and Border Patrol dog and then forcibly taken into custody, Bivens said.

Caught by surprise, Cavalcante did not have an opportunity to fire any shots, police said. No law enforcement officers were injured in the capture. Cavalcante suffered a minor bite wound, Bivens said.

“It is a true pleasure to stand here this morning and talk to all of you about bringing this manhunt to a successful conclusion, and without getting anyone else hurt most importantly,” Bivens said.

The convicted murderer was transported to a police station in Avondale to be processed and interviewed. He will then be transferred to a state correctional facility to begin serving his life sentence, police said. Police said they will discuss with the district attorney’s office the possibility of bringing new charges against Cavalcante.

State police led the manhunt, which was assisted several federal agencies, including the FBI, Border Patrol, U.S. Marshals Service, DEA and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Local law enforcement agenices in Chester, Montgomery, Delaware and Bucks counties also joined the search.

“I want to say thank you to the dedicated law enforcement professionals,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said. “From every level, each and every day, they go out of their homes, leave their families, leave their loved ones to keep us safe. The public over the last 13 days has had a chance to see what excellence in law enforcement needs.”

Shapiro also applauded members of the public for providing tips that helped search teams track down Cavalcante.

“Today is a great day here in Chester County. Our nightmare is finally over and the good guys won,” said Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan. “ … Our community can finally regain its normalcy. and breathe a collective sigh of relief.”

Cavalcante escaped from the Chester County jail in southeastern Pennsylvania on Aug. 31 by crab-walking up between two walls that were topped with razor wire, then jumping from the roof and dashing away. He had been awaiting transfer to state prison after being sentenced days earlier for fatally stabbing his girlfriend, and is wanted in connection with another killing in Brazil.

Authorities said over the weekend that Cavalcante had slipped out of the initial search area, shaved and changed his clothing, stole a vehicle to travel miles to seek aid from former co-workers in the northern part of the county, and then abandoned the vehicle, at least in part because it was low on fuel.

Authorities have declined to say how they think Cavalcante slipped out of the first search area, and officials have pushed back against questions about whether they blew a chance to catch him.

Then, late Monday, a motorist alerted police to a man matching Cavalcante’s description crouching in the darkness along a line of trees near a road in northern Chester County. Police found footprints and tracked them to the prison shoes identical to those Cavalcante had been wearing. A pair of work boots was reported stolen from a porch nearby.

State police said they believe he was looking for a place to hide when he saw an open garage. There, he stole a .22-caliber rifle and ammunition, and fled when the homeowner who was in the garage drew a pistol and shot at him several times, state police said.

“He didn’t, I believe, recognize that the owner was in there. And I think he was probably looking for a place to hide, ran for that garage, saw the firearm, grabbed that, encountered the homeowner and fled with the firearm,” Lt. Col. George Bivens said Tuesday.

That led hundreds of law enforcement personnel to search an area of about 8 to 10 square miles near South Coventry Township, roughly 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

Cavalcante’s escape was big news in Brazil, where prosecutors in Tocantins state say he is accused of “double qualified homicide” in the 2017 slaying of Válter Júnior Moreira dos Reis in the municipality of Figueiropolis, which authorities say was over a debt the victim owed him in connection with repair of a vehicle.

Pennsylvania authorities even broadcast a recording of Cavalcante’s mother speaking in Portuguese imploring him to surrender peacefully.

Cavalcante received a life sentence in Pennsylvania in August for killing his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, in front of her children in 2021. Prosecutors say he murdered her to stop her from telling police he was wanted in the Brazil killing. He had been arrested in Virginia after Brandao’s killing, and authorities say they believe he was trying to return to Brazil.

The prison tower guard on duty when Cavalcante escaped was fired. The escape went undetected for more than an hour until guards took a headcount.