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HILLSBOROUGH – A convicted murderer serving a life sentence at Bertie Correctional Institution in Windsor escaped from a prison van here early Tuesday morning.

State correctional officers joined Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputies in Hillsborough to search for 30-year-old Ramone Alston, according to information from the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections.

Alston escaped while being transported to a medical appointment in Hillsborough.

Officials say Alston has family and friends in that area of the state.

He escaped from custody around 7 a.m. when the transport van arrived at UNC Gastroenterology on Waterstone Drive, off N.C. 86. He had freed himself from leg restraints and, still in handcuffs, jumped out and ran into adjacent woods.

Orange County deputies are using dogs to search a wooded area near the hospital. A helicopter was also being used in the search.

Alston was convicted of first-degree in the 2015 death of 1-year-old Maleah Williams, who was shot while she was outside playing at the family’s apartment in Chapel Hill.

If anyone sees Alston, please do not approach. Call 911 or Bertie Correctional Institution at 252-794-8600.