Escapee child murderer Ramone Alston who shot and killed a one-year-old girl is captured after three-day manhunt
An escapee child murderer serving life for shooting a one-year-old girl dead has been captured after a three-day manhunt.
Ramone Alston, 30, escaped custody at around 7am on Tuesday after he broke free from leg restraints while being transported to a hospital appointment.
He fled into the woods with handcuffs on as the transport van arrived at the UNC Gastroenterology hospital in Hillsborough, North Carolina.
Alston, who has been dubbed the 'Christmas Day killer' was re-captured on Friday at at a hotel in the state, authorities from the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction have said.
Authorities had issued a $50,000 reward for anyone with information on Alston's whereabouts.
Ramone Alston, 30, escaped custody at around 7am on Tuesday after he broke free from leg restraints while being transported to a hospital appointment. Pictured March 2023
He was convicted of killing one-year-old Maleah Williams on Christmas Day in 2015 in a drive-by shooting.
She playing outside her family's apartment in Chapel Hill when Alston and his friend, Pierre Je Bron Moore, opened fire. Maleah died three days later.
Alston had been serving a life sentence at Bertie Correctional Institution in Windsor for his part in the crime. Moore received 28 to 34 years in prison.
The 30-year-old was last seen fleeing into the woods wearing a gray T-shirt, brown pants and white New Balance tennis shoes, according to authorities.
An urgent three-day manhunt was launched but Alston was taken back into custody at about 2am this morning at a hotel in Kannapolis, near Charlotte, about 110 miles southwest of Hillsborough.
The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction (DAC) said in its news release that no one was injured during the arrest.
Alston, who has been dubbed the 'Christmas Day killer' was re-captured on Friday at at a hotel in North Carolina. Pictured October 2022
Department Secretary Todd Ishee said: 'I am grateful to our DAC staff and thankful for the support and effort from hundreds of local, state and federal public safety officers who helped in the search and investigation that returned Alston safely to custody.
'This was an incredible collaborative effort.'
Alston will be charged with felony escape from prison and has been taken to a high security unit in the state prison system.
A woman described as an acquaintance of Alston's was arrested shortly afterward in Alamance County and charged with felony aiding and abetting a fugitive, the department said.
Anyone else who helped him also could be charged.
