A former Springvale man who was serving a life sentence for murdering an 8-year-old boy died Thursday at the Maine State Prison in Thomaston.

Milton Wallace, 82, died around 5 p.m. His death was attended by medical staff. The news release by the Maine Department of Corrections did not say whether it was related to COVID-19.

A spokesperson for the department did not respond to an email seeking more information Thursday night.

Wallace was sentenced to life in prison in 1973 for murder. He was also the subject of one of Maine’ most notable manhunts.

In 1981, Wallace and another inmate, Arnold Nash, were working on the farm at the Maine State Prison in Thomaston when they fled. They were sought for 22 days before being captured in Morrill, a Waldo County town about 30 miles north of the prison. They had been trying to get to Canada. The manhunt became known as the Moody Mountain manhunt.

The Maine Attorney General’s Office and the state Medical Examiner’s Office were notified about Wallace’s death.