Prisoner serving life for murder who escaped in North Carolina has been caught, authorities say

KANNAPOLIS, NC — An inmate serving a life sentence for murder who escaped from a van earlier this week was captured Friday at a North Carolina hotel, authorities said.

Ramone Alston, 30, escaped from the van on Tuesday when he arrived at UNC Gastroenterology Hospital in Hillsborough, North Carolina, where he was being taken for a medical appointment. He freed himself from his leg restraints and fled into the woods in handcuffs, the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections said.

Alston was arrested around 2 a.m. at a hotel in Kannapolis, near Charlotte, about 110 miles (177 kilometers) southwest of Hillsborough, the department said. in a press releaseand no one was injured in the arrest.

“I am grateful to our DAC staff and to the support and dedication of hundreds of local, state and federal public safety officials who assisted in the search and investigation that brought Alston safely back to prison,” said Department Secretary Todd Ishee. “This was an incredible collaborative effort.”

Alston has been serving a life sentence at Bertie Correctional Institution in Windsor since his conviction for the murder of 1-year-old Maleah Williams, who was shot from a passing car as she played outside her family’s Chapel Hill apartment on Christmas Day in 2015. She died three days later.

Alston is charged with escape from prison and was transferred to a maximum-security unit of the state prison system, the news release said.

A woman described as an acquaintance of Alston was arrested shortly afterward in Alamance County and charged with felony aiding and abetting a fugitive, the department said. Anyone who helped him could also face charges.