Officials said Ramone Alston freed himself from leg restraints, jumped out of the transport van, and ran into the woods.
HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — Authorities are searching for a man who escaped from Bertie Correctional Institution custody while heading to UNC Gastroenterology in Hillsborough to receive medical care, the Orange Co. sheriff’s office said.
Raleigh CBS affiliate WNCN reports that Ramone Alston freed himself around 7 a.m. Tuesday from leg restraints, jumped out of the transport van at the UNC Hospital, and ran into the woods.
Alston is wearing a gray tee shirt, brown pants, and white New Balance shoes. He also wore handcuffs connected to a belly chain with a black box over the junction.
Officials confirmed that Alston is an Orange County resident and was before he went to prison.
UNC Health wrote a statement sharing that the Hillsborough campus went on lockdown for a short time when the prisoner escaped custody. UNC Hospital police worked with law enforcement to increase security at the Hillsborough campus. The lockdown was lifted around 8:30 a.m.
“The safety of our teammates, patients and visitors is the top priority for us. We are grateful for our law enforcement partners’ rapid response,” the release said.
Alston was sentenced to life in prison back in 2018. He was found guilty of first-degree murder and discharging a weapon inside an occupied building in Chapel Hill, killing 1-year-old Maleah Williams.
The Orange County campus of Durham Technical Community College is on lockdown in response to the manhunt, a Durham Public Schools official said.
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