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A North Carolina murderer who escaped from prison this week has been recaptured, authorities announced during a press conference Friday.

Ramone Alston, 30, escaped from custody around 7 a.m. Tuesday while being transported to a medical appointment at UNC Hospitals Hillsborough Campus. He managed to break free from his shackles and, while handcuffed, jumped from the vehicle in which he was being transported and ran into the adjacent woods.

Police advised the public to stay away from him because he is considered dangerous. “People make hasty decisions in a situation like this; he already made a very big hasty decision this morning,” Keith Acree, a spokesman for the Department of Adult Correction, told reporters.

Around 2 a.m. Friday, authorities arrested Alston about 100 miles away at a hotel in Kannapolis, North Carolina.

He was taken into custody without incident, police said.

Jacobia Crisp, a woman believed to have helped Alston escape, was taken into custody in Alamance County and charged with aiding and abetting escape. She has since posted bail, officials said.

During the press conference, police said they believe the relationship between the two began several months ago, developing over the phone and after Alston was taken into custody.

It’s unclear what kind of relationship Alston and Crisp had or how they met. Investigators said they are looking into whether anyone else helped him escape, Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood said.

Alston is charged with prison escape. He was taken to Granville Correctional Center, the most secure facility in the state prison system, where he will continue his sentence while awaiting trial on the charges.

He was serving a life sentence for the premeditated murder of Maleah Williams, who was outside playing with her toys on Christmas Day when she was struck by gunfire. Alston was convicted of the girl’s murder in 2015.

Officials said they would review the incident to determine if, and if so, changes needed to be made to the state’s prison system.

“We are conducting an internal investigation and debriefing to identify areas for improvement based on the lessons learned from this incident,” said Todd Ishee, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.

Authorities have offered a $50,000 reward to anyone with information on Alston’s whereabouts. Ishee said the agency will investigate whether anyone should benefit from the funds.

Hundreds of police officers helped search for Alston, using helicopters, search dogs and ground searchers.