(NewsNation) — The search for an escaped convicted murderer continued Wednesday in Orange County, North Carolina.
Ramone Jamarr Alston, 30, escaped from a Department of Adult Correction vehicle Tuesday morning while being transported from Bertie Correctional Institution to UNC Gastroenterology in Hillsborough to receive medical care, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said.
Authorities gave a public update Wednesday morning, providing a new phone number for the public to call with any tips regarding the possible whereabouts of the escaped inmate. That updated number is (919) 324-1082.
Alston is serving life in prison for the 2015 Christmas Day killing of 1-year-old Maleah Williams.
Manhunt underway for Ramone Jamarr Alston
A massive ground search for Alston has been underway within a 1- to 2-mile radius around the hospital facility.
During a Wednesday afternoon press conference, police said Alston “is not in the immediate area.”
335 people from 19 different agencies assisted in searching 1,335 acres around the Hillsborough medical facility. Officials stated that the coordinated ground search will be phased out and transition into an investigation led by the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction (DAC).
In a 4:30 p.m. news conference Tuesday, Orange County officials said they believe Alston had help in his escape efforts, and the state corrections department offered up a $25,000 reward to anyone who can provide information that would lead to his capture.
The United States Marshall Service contributed an additional $10,000 to the reward amount on Wednesday morning, bringing the total reward offer to $35,000 to anyone who can provide information leading to Alston’s capture.
Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood said Tuesday evening there hasn’t been a lot of new information. He also said communities in the surrounding areas are concerned and “rightly so.”
“Our primary focus and real aim tonight, this afternoon, is to reassure the community that it’s not an active, emergent threat to their lives or their community or their neighborhood,” said Saunders as he discussed the team’s strategy going into the night.
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.
Inside Ramone Jamarr Alston’s escape
Authorities say that around 7 a.m., Alston freed himself from leg restraints — which Blackwood later said were designed to put pressure against the Achilles tendon to hinder movement — and jumped out of the transport van upon arrival at the hospital. He then ran into the adjacent woods.
“As soon as he put his foot on the ground, he took off running,” Blackwood said during the Tuesday news conference.
Officials said the appointment was planned prior to the medical transport, but whether or not Alston told anyone about it is still under investigation, Blackwood said, noting that “people are in contact with their families all the time” while incarcerated.
Blackwood also said that while corrections officers carry guns, protocol is to put them in lock boxes while transporting prisoners. The corrections officers moving Alston followed that protocol, Blackwood said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Adult Correction said Alston was in medium custody and that his level of restraint and having two officers with him were standard for this type of transport.
Records show Alston faced 13 different infractions in custody since 2019. They ranged from having a cellphone, drugs or cigarettes in his possession. The most recent infraction was possession of a cellphone in January.
If you see him, call 911 immediately and do not approach.
NewsNation affiliate WNCN contributed to this report.