By Tammy Grubb, Mark Schultz
The Charlotte Observer
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — The reward for information leading to the capture of an inmate who has eluded authorities for over two days was raised to $50,000 on Thursday.
The money is being offered for information to help capture Ramone Alston, who has not been seen since Tuesday morning, when he ran away from guards taking him to a medical appointment in Hillsborough. Alston is serving a life sentence for the murder of a 14-month-old girl in Chapel Hill in 2015.
Gov. Roy Cooper authorized a $30,000 reward from the state; the U.S. Marshals Service is providing $10,000; and the FBI is providing $10,000, the governor’s office announced. The initial reward was $25,000.
“There is someone out there who knows where Alston is,” Secretary Todd Ishee of the N.C. Department of Adult Correction said in a news release. “We hope that this reward will bring them forward with the critical information that leads to Alston’s capture.”
Orange County sent an email and text alert Wednesday night to indicate Alston was no longer in the immediate area.
“After extensive search efforts from local, state, and federal agencies, we are confident Ramone Alston is no longer a threat to the Hillsborough area,” it stated.
Alston escaped from custody around 7 a.m. Tuesday, after he removed his leg restraints during a prison-van ride to UNC Hospitals from Bertie Correctional Institution in eastern North Carolina about 150 miles away.
He was being moved from the van to the hospital for a medical appointment when he knocked an N.C. Department of Adult Correction guard to the ground and ran into the woods, officials said.
His hands were still in handcuffs connected to a belly chain. The guards tried to catch him, but he ran away, Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood said.
Before the search entered a second, expanded phase late Wednesday afternoon, an estimated 335 officers from 19 law enforcement agencies had covered at least 1,335 acres, said Kirby Saunders, director of Orange County Emergency Services.
Alston has since been charged with felony escape and will be moved to a higher level of security when he is caught.
Description of Ramone Alston
Alstin is 5-foot-11 and 230 pounds. He was last seen wearing a gray T-shirt, brown pants and white New Balance tennis shoes. He may also be wearing black, prison-issued shorts under his pants.
Blackwood said Alston has two tattoos. One, on his chest, is a dotted tattoo of the word “flame” with a star at the center. The other is the word “niece” on his right arm. Alston had dreadlocks when he escaped, but he may have changed his appearance, Blackwood said.
Anyone who sees Alston should call 911 immediately and not approach him, Blackwood said. The public can also call a special hotline set up to receive tips in the case at 919-324-1082. Tips can also be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov.
Christmas day shooting in Chapel Hill
Alston is serving life in prison at Bertie Correctional Institution in Windsor, N.C., after being convicted in 2018 of first-degree murder in the Christmas Day shooting of 14-month-old Maleah Williams in Chapel Hill in 2015.
Maleah was fatally shot during a drive-by shooting in the Trinity Court apartments parking lot, where children were playing with their Christmas presents. A bullet hit her as her mother Tylena Williams held the girl in her arms. She died in the hospital three days later.
This is a developing news story. We will update this story as we get more information.
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