Alabama officials issue warrant for corrections officer who went missing with inmate

• An arrest warrant has been issued for an Alabama corrections officer who disappeared with an inmate last week.
• Vicky White, assistant director of corrections at Lauderdale County, was about to retire before allegedly helping the inmate escape.
• Inmate Casey White, who is unrelated to the officer, was sentenced in 2019 to 75 years in prison and is scheduled for trial in a different case.

Alabama officials have issued an arrest warrant for corrections officer Vicky White, who disappeared with inmate Casey Cole White from the Lauderdale County Detention Center in Florence last week. 

Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton told CNN that they are still looking into the case, but that they’re considering Vicky White to be an accomplice. While they don’t know for sure if it was “willful,” there has been no evidence that the officer was kidnapped or forced into facilitating the escape.

Vicky White is facing charges including permitting or facilitating the escape of an inmate.

The officer reportedly informed colleagues on Friday morning that she was taking the inmate to a courthouse for a mental health evaluation. There was no such schedule for that, however. Transporting the inmate alone was also a violation of department policy, which was instituted as a precaution amid the belief that Casey White was planning an escape.

The officer was armed while the inmate was handcuffed and shackled when they left the jail. They weren’t reported missing until about six hours later. Authorities tried to contact the officer but to no avail.

Video footage showed the pair leaving the jail and heading to a nearby shopping center’s parking lot, where the police vehicle was found.

Possible previous interactions between the two are being investigated. Despite having the same last names, the two are not related.

Vicky White has served the department for 16 years. The assistant director of corrections was in charge of coordinating the transport of inmates, among other duties that gave her several opportunities to interact with inmates. Still, colleagues described her as an “exemplary employee.”

It was supposedly her last day on Friday after she turned in resignation papers. She also sold her home about a month ago and talked about going to the beach.

A $10,000 reward has been offered by the U.S. Marshals Service for information leading to the location and capture of the pair. Authorities have repeatedly warned that inmate Casey White is “an extremely dangerous person.”

White stands at 6 foot, 9 inches, and weighs about 260 pounds. He has hazel eyes, brown hair, and tattoos on his back and left shoulder blade. Officials said he may have tried to change his appearance but he can still be easily identified by his height and build.

White, 38, was convicted of two counts of first-degree kidnapping and attempted murder and sentenced to 75 years in prison in 2019. He also confessed to the fatal stabbing of Connie Ridgeway, 58, in her home in 2015. The trial for that case is scheduled for next month. He could be facing the death penalty.

Information can be sent through the U.S. Marshals Tip App or via call at 800-336-0102.

Source: USA Today