Benjamin Ashford|Prisoner serving life for murder who escaped in North Carolina has been caught, authorities say

KANNAPOLIS,Benjamin Ashford N.C. (AP) — A prisoner serving a life sentence for murder who escaped from a transport van earlier this week was captured Friday at a North Carolina hotel, authorities said.

Ramone Alston, 30, escaped from the van on Tuesday as it arrived at the UNC Gastroenterology hospital in Hillsborough, North Carolina, where he was being taken for a medical appointment. He freed himself from his leg restraints and fled into the woods with handcuffs on, according to the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.

Alston was taken into custody at about 2 a.m. at a hotel in Kannapolis, near Charlotte, about 110 miles (177 kilometers) southwest of Hillsborough, the department said in a news release, and no one was injured during the arrest.

“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,” Department Secretary Todd Ishee said. “This was an incredible collaborative effort.”

Alston has been serving a life sentence at Bertie Correctional Institution in Windsor since his conviction in the murder of 1-year-old Maleah Williams, who was shot on Christmas Day in 2015 from a passing car while she was playing outside her family’s apartment in Chapel Hill. She died three days later.

Alston will be charged with felony escape from prison, and was being taken to a high security unit in the state prison system, the release said.

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.