PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A law enforcement dog and his handler who helped in the search for prison escapee Danilo Cavalcante in September will be honored at the 22nd annual National Dog Show this weekend in Montgomery County.
There are 25 Pennsylvania State Police K-9 units throughout the commonwealth. Among them are Rom, the Belgian Malinois, and his partner, Trooper Dan Reed. Rom specializes in narcotics detection and tracking.
The team was called in to assist in part of the two-week manhunt for Danilo Cavalcante due to Rom’s tracking skills, but another Belgian Malinois named Yoda, from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, ultimately took Cavalcante down on Sept. 13.
“As a matter of fact, [Rom] came exceptionally close to capturing Cavalcante on Sept. 13,” said Lt. Adam Reed, Pennsylvania State Police director of communications. “Due to bad weather and time for a shift change, they had to leave and go back to headquarters and were replaced by … Yoda and his team, who of course stole the show.”
That K-9 unit was among several that worked hundreds of hours over the two-week search.
Lt. Adam Reed said K-9 teams are a very important part of law enforcement.
“They’re able to go out and track not only wanted individuals like Cavalcante but also somebody that may be missing and endangered — a missing child, for example — so they work very, very hard to keep everybody safe,” he added.
Trooper Dan Reed and Rom will represent the team and be honored on Saturday at the National Dog Show, which will take place both Saturday and Sunday at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks.
Cavalcante broke out of Chester County Prison on Aug. 31 while awaiting transfer to a state prison to serve a life sentence for fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend in 2021. Video shows he escaped by crab-walking up a prison wall and onto the roof, then pushing past razor wire fences. His escape went unnoticed for more than an hour.