Massive Manuhunt Underway in Miami for the "Shenandoah Rapist"

At about 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday night, Reynaldo Elias Rapalo escaped from an opening in his cell on the sixth floor of the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Although officials do not know how he burst out of his cell or what tools he used, he evidently climbed through a ceiling vent to the roof, and then tied some bed sheets together and climbed down to the ground, where he ran and disappeared before police knew he was missing. Another inmate, Idanio Bravo, 38, also tried to escape the same way, but he broke his leg during the attempt and was caught on the roof of the building. Bravo was being held on charges of sexual battery on a minor.

Rapalo, 34, is suspected to be the "Shenandoah Rapist," the man who committed a series of rapes in Southern Florida. Captured in 2003, Rapalo is the sole suspect in the rapes of seven victims and the attempted attacks of four other women since September 2002. The victims of the rapes ranged in age from 11 to 79. Rapalo was caught after DNA evidence showed that he was the man who tried to attack a woman who was hanging out her laundry in the afternoon. If convicted, Rapalo could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Rapalo is an illegal immigrant who was living in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami when he was captured and arrested. Because of his illegal status and the neighborhood where he lived, police are concerned that other crimes may have been committed by Rapalo that were unreported by other illegal immigrants. The chief of police in Miami said that although some of Rapalo’s victims have moved back to their home countries, including Mexico and Honduras, officers have been assigned to the houses of the victims who still live in the United States.

The Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center is located in an urban area near the Miami International Airport. Detectives in plainclothes and uniforms are searching the airport and the surrounding area with the help of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Florida Highway Patrol. Police officers are also monitoring bus terminals. Rapalo is considered to be armed and dangerous. Anyone with information is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.