A manhunt continues for an “extremely dangerous” murder suspect and the jail boss believed to have helped him escape.
Inmate Casey Cole White (38) was shackled and handcuffed when he and Vicky White, the facility’s assistant director of corrections, left the Lauderdale County Detention Centre in Florence, Alabama, on Friday morning.
They have not been seen since. The patrol vehicle they were using was found in the car park at a nearby shopping centre.
Authorities have no idea where they are.
Anyone seeing the pair should not approach them, authorities warned.
US marshal Marty Keely said at a press conference on Monday: “We consider both of them dangerous and, in all probability, both individuals are armed.”
He said Casey White “will stand out” even if he has changed his appearance because he is 6ft 9ins tall and about 18½ stone.
Vicky White is wanted on suspicion of permitting or allowing an escape, said local sheriff Rick Singleton on Monday.
She is not related to Casey White, who was serving a 75-year sentence and awaiting trial for murder.
She told co-workers she was taking him to the courthouse for a mental health evaluation.
No evaluation was scheduled, said Mr Singleton.
Vicky White also broke a policy that required more than one official to be involved in transporting inmates – a rule officials emphasised for Casey White because of a previous escape attempt, added Mr Singleton.
The sheriff said video footage showed the pair leaving the jail and going straight to the car park.
“We know she participated. Whether she did that willingly or if she was coerced, threatened somehow to participate, [I’m] not really sure. We know for sure she did participate. Casey White . . . is an extremely dangerous person and we need to get him located and get him off the street,” he added.
Casey White was serving time for a string of crimes that included attempted murder, robbery and burglary.
While in prison, he allegedly confessed to stabbing a 58-year-old woman to death in 2015, causing him to be brought to the Lauderdale County jail for court proceedings.
The sheriff said authorities believe Casey White plotted an earlier escape in 2020, when they found a makeshift knife.
He could face the death penalty if convicted of murder.
Planned to retire
The US Marshals Service is offering up to $10,000 (€9,500) for information.
Mr Singleton said Vicky White had been an exemplary employee and jail employees are “just devastated”.
“This is not the Vicky White we know by any stretch of the imagination,” said the sheriff.
Vicky White had planned to retire and Friday was to be her last day.
Mr Singleton said she sold her home about a month ago and “talked about going to the beach”.
As an assistant director for corrections, Vicky White moved throughout the jail and had multiple opportunities every day to be in contact with any inmate, said the sheriff.
Her job duties also included co-ordinating the transport of inmates.
Vicky White’s mother, Pat Davis, said she was in shock and scared for her daughter.
“As a mother, I didn’t know how to act because I thought at first it was a mistake,” she said. She said she found it hard to believe her daughter would help an inmate escape.
“She’s never done anything. I bet she’s never even had a speeding ticket,” said Ms Davis.
Lauderdale County district attorney Chris Connolly said he was also shocked.
He last spoke to Vicky White on Thursday about transporting an inmate with a broken ankle to get medical care and nothing seemed unusual.
“She is somebody I would have trusted with most anything. She was one of those people you could call if you needed something to happen at that jail. She was the go-to person,” said Mr Connolly. – AP