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(HILLSBOROUGH, NC) — A convicted murderer escaped from custody Tuesday morning while on his way to a doctor’s appointment at a North Carolina hospital, the sheriff’s office said.
According to the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, 30-year-old Ramone Alston was able to break free from a correctional officer while being transported to UNC Hospital at Hillsborough.
“He had freed himself from the shackles, jumped out, still handcuffed, and ran into the adjacent woods,” the department said in a statement.
He was last seen wearing a gray T-shirt, brown pants and white New Balance sneakers, as well as handcuffs on a waist chain, officials said.
Authorities are asking people to call 911 immediately if they see him and are warning them not to approach him.
“He’s unpredictable – we don’t know what he’s going to do, so he should definitely be considered dangerous,” Keith Acree, a spokesman for the Department of Adult Correction, said in a news conference. “People make snap decisions in a situation like this; he already made a very big snap decision this morning.”
As of Wednesday morning, Alston’s whereabouts were still unknown, but it is believed he headed north of the hospital.
Orange County Emergency Services Director Kirby Saunders said state, local and federal law enforcement teams searched hundreds of acres for Alston, using aircraft, helicopters, search dogs and ground searchers.
The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction announced Tuesday that it was offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to Alston’s capture. On Wednesday, a department spokesman said the U.S. Marshals Service had donated $10,000, bringing the reward to $35,000.
Alston was found guilty of shooting a one-year-old girl on Christmas Day 2015. He is serving a life sentence.
The young victim, Maleah Williams, had been playing outside with her Christmas toys when she was hit by gunfire, her mother previously told Raleigh ABC station WTVD.
Alston’s family is cooperating with authorities, Sheriff Charles Blackwood told reporters, but added that “the level of cooperation has been varied.”
Blackwood said he went to school with Alston’s father and has known the suspect since he was born. He called Alston a “problem child” and said he had been involved in criminal activity since he was a teenager.
“He is extremely cautious, he is extremely dangerous and he has nothing to lose,” Blackwood said.
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