Suspect in Brazil killings evaded capture by hiding in woods, investigator says

A man accused of killing 16 people in a remote part of Brazil avoided capture by hiding in the woods, the police investigator responsible for his arrest said on Monday.

Douglas Garcia, the investigator who led the two-day pursuit for 33-year-old Jorlan Lopes da Silva that ended on September 13, told Associated Press that the suspect used to hide in the thick bush in his own makeshift camps. The killings linked to da Silva occurred within the last three months in the isolated region of Mulungu in Brazil’s northeastern state of Paraiba.

Garcia added that da Silva was nicknamed “Mosquito” by locals because of his frail build.

“That allowed him to evade capture for years,” Garcia said. “Jorlan lived mostly in the woods, that’s why it was so hard to find him and link him to crimes that didn’t seem to be connected at first.”