North Carolina manhunt launched for convicted murderer who escaped on way to hospital: sheriff

A manhunt has been launched after a convicted murderer managed to escape law enforcement's grasp on the way to receive medical care at a nearby hospital.

According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Ramone Jamarr Alston, 30, escaped from the custody of officers from the North Carolina Department of Corrections while being transported from Bertie Correctional Institution to UNC Gastroenterology in Hillsborough to receive care.

Alston was last seen wearing a gray T-shirt, brown pants and white New Balance shoes. He was also wearing handcuffs connected to a belly chain with a black box over the junction.

In a 4:30 p.m. press conference, Orange County officials said they believe Alston had help in his escape efforts and offered a $25,000 reward to anyone who can provide information that would lead to his capture.

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The 30-year-old convicted killer managed to escape by freeing himself of leg restraints on the way to the hospital at 7 a.m. Tuesday, police said.

"How he [Alston] got them off, I don’t know," Sheriff Charles Blackwood said.

Once the vehicle door was opened, he jumped out and ran to a wooded area nearby.

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Police said two armed corrections officers were guarding him. 

"If someone has an intent to go where you don't know, they're going to go, and they run," Blackwood said. "And it happens, bang, bang. The gentleman, as soon as he put his foot on the ground to get out of the vehicle, took off running." 

The two officers chased Alston but were unable to catch up with him. 

"Policy a lot of times dictates what we do when we deliver an inmate wherever, and the same with the [Department of] Adult Corrections," Blackwood continued. "We have secure lock boxes that we put our guns in sometimes when we're moving an inmate from one place to the other, and that protocol was followed this morning."

Police stressed the importance and scope of the ongoing manhunt to recapture Alston.

"As far as the community goes, there are two ways of looking at this," Sheriff Blackwood said during a media briefing. "He's either within a five-mile radius or he's in the rest of the world. And we’re searching both."

Sheriff Blackwood encouraged residents to lock their windows and doors and report any suspicious activity to police.

Alston, who had been serving a life sentence at Bertie Correctional Institution in Windsor, North Carolina, was responsible for the murder of 1-year-old Maleah Williams on Christmas Day 2015.

Alston was found guilty of first-degree murder.