HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Authorities continue to search for a convicted murderer who escaped custody in Orange County Tuesday morning.
As of Wednesday morning, the FBI confirmed they were now assisting local law enforcement in the search for 30-year-old Ramone Jamarr Alston.
In the latest press conference update Wednesday morning, Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood offered a new tip line for anyone with information about Alston’s whereabouts: 919-324-1082. They ask anyone who has helped Alston in his escape efforts to come forward.
The Escape
Alston escaped from the custody of officers with the North Carolina Department of Corrections around 7 a.m. Tuesday. The sheriff’s office said Alston the escape happened as Alston was being transported from Bertie Correctional Institution to UNC Gastroenterology in Hillsborough to receive medical care.
Alston freed himself from leg restraints — which Orange County Sheriff Blackwood later said were designed to put pressure against the Achilles tendon to hinder movement — and jumped out of the transport van upon arrival to UNC hospital. He then ran into the adjacent woods.
Keith Acree, a spokesperson for the Department of Corrections, said Alston pushed at least one of the officers out of the way as he exited the vehicle.
“As soon as he put his foot on the ground, he took off running,” Blackwood said during a Tuesday afternoon press conference with the Department of Corrections.
Acree said Alston was in medium custody and that his level of restraint, along with having two corrections officers with him, were standard for this type of transport.
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, according to Blackwood.
See Wednesday morning’s press conference in full below:
The Search
“Since he left the hospital, everything indicates a northern push,” Blackwood said.
After 24 hours of searching, authorities believe Alston could be north of the Hillsborough hospital. “K-9 tracks led us north of the hospital in that area, then ran cold,” Orange County Emergency Services Director Kirby Saunders said in a press conference Wednesday morning.
On Tuesday evening, Orange Co. Emergency Services Director, Saunders said the search party consisted of 114 people actively searching an area of 580 acres.
He said their primary focus at the time was to “reassure the community that it’s not an active, emergent threat to their lives or their community or their neighborhood.”
Search crews focus in on the areas around Walter Clark Drive and George Anderson Drive in Hillsborough. (Ben Bokun/CBS 17) 
Search crews focus in on the areas around Walter Clark Drive and George Anderson Drive in Hillsborough. (Ben Bokun/CBS 17) 
Search crews focus in on the areas around Walter Clark Drive and George Anderson Drive in Hillsborough. (Ben Bokun/CBS 17) 
Search crews focus in on the areas around Walter Clark Drive and George Anderson Drive in Hillsborough. (Ben Bokun/CBS 17) 
A helicopter flies overhead on Tuesday in the effort to find an escaped convicted murderer in Orange County. (Ben Bokun/CBS 17) 
Multiple agencies gather Tuesday in the effort to find an escaped convicted murderer in Orange County. (Ben Bokun/CBS 17) 
Multiple agencies gather Tuesday in the effort to find an escaped convicted murderer in Orange County. (Ben Bokun/CBS 17)
Part of the Wednesday search efforts were in the areas of Walter Clark Drive and George Anderson Drive in Hillsborough.
‘Troubled’ Past
Blackwood recalled during the Wednesday press conference that he went to high school with Alston’s father and has known Alston since he was a baby.
“He was a troubled child and has been involved in criminal activity since he was a juvenile. He’s extremely cagey, he’s extremely dangerous, and he has nothing to lose.”
Records show Alston faced 13 different infractions in custody since 2019. They ranged from having a cell phone, drugs or cigarettes in his possession. The most recent infraction was possession of a cell phone in January.
He was sentenced to life in jail in 2018 after being found guilty of first-degree murder and discharging a weapon into an occupied building in Chapel Hill, killing 1-year-old Maleah Williams.
Maleah Williams (Photos courtesy of Shaquille Williams) 
Maleah Williams (Photos courtesy of Shaquille Williams) 
Maleah Williams (Photos courtesy of Shaquille Williams) 
Maleah Williams (Photos courtesy of Shaquille Williams) 
Maleah Williams (Photos courtesy of Shaquille Williams) 
Maleah Williams (Photos courtesy of Shaquille Williams)
CBS 17 has gotten in touch with Maleah’s father, Shaquille Williams, since Alston’s escape. He spoke to the efforts of the Department of Public Safety.
“We don’t have any added feelings about Mr. Alston we’re just displeased with the DPS and their efforts to keep him in custody, or lack thereof. We wish Mr. Alston and his family nothing but peace, blessings, and prosperity,” Williams said.
Reward and How to Identify
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.
Authorities also provided descriptions of Alston’s tattoos. There is one on his chest that says “FLAME” with a star in the center. There’s another one on his right arm that says “NIECE.”
Sheriff Blackwood advises the public in the Hillsborough area to check their personal security cameras.
The state Dept. of Corrections put out a $25,000 reward on Tuesday. By Wednesday morning, the United States Marshall Services also chipped in $10,000 for a new reward total of $35,000 to anyone who can provide information that would lead to his capture.
If you locate Alston, you’re urged to call 911 immediately and not approach him. Those who have not seen him but believe they have information that could lead to his capture are asked to call the hotline: 919-324-1082.