A $50,000 reward is being offered for information on the whereabouts of a North Carolina inmate convicted of murdering a 1-year-old girl. He escaped this week.
Ramone Alston, 30, fled Tuesday morning when he arrived at the hospital for a medical appointment.
The reward has grown since his escape and now stands at $50,000 – $30,000 authorized by Governor Roy Cooper, $10,000 from the U.S. Marshals Service, and $10,000 by the FBI.
“Someone knows where Alston is,” N.C. Department of Adult Corrections Secretary Todd Ishee said in a statement Thursday. “We hope this reward will bring them forward with critical information that leads to Alston’s arrest.”
***$50,000 reward for information leading to arrest***
We ask the community to remain vigilant as we continue to search for Ramone Alston. Anyone with information on his whereabouts should immediately call 919-324-1082. photo.twitter.com/2AnpuJtlDH— NC Adult Correction (@NCCorrection) August 15, 2024
Alston escaped shortly after his transport vehicle arrived at UNC Hospitals Hillsborough Campus around 7 a.m. Tuesday. He freed himself from the leg restraints and jumped out of the vehicle, and while still handcuffed, he ran into the adjacent woods, according to the N.C. Department of Adult Correction.
Keith Acree, communications director for the Department of Adult Corrections, said at a news conference Wednesday that authorities are “pretty confident” Alston is no longer in the immediate area where he escaped.
Officials said Wednesday that more than 300 law enforcement officers from 19 agencies searched 3,300 acres (1,335 hectares) around the medical facility.
Alston was convicted in 2018 of first-degree murder in the Christmas Day 2015 shooting death of 1-year-old Maleah Williams in Chapel Hill.
She was playing outside her apartment when someone opened fire from a vehicle and she was hit as a bystander. Alston’s defense argued that he was present but did not kill the girl. Two other men were arrested, but only one is facing prosecution.
Alston was sentenced to life imprisonment. He is serving his sentence at the Bertie Correctional Institution in Windsor.
He is described as 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs about 230 pounds. At the time of his escape, he had long black dreadlocks, but authorities warn, “He may have attempted to change his appearance since then.”
Anyone who sees Alston is warned to “not approach” and to call 911. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction tip line at 919-324-1082.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
