An Alabama corrections officer and a capital murder suspect are missing after the officer said he was accompanying him to a court date — one that turned out not to exist.according to Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton.
Vicki White, deputy director of corrections for the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office, and inmate Casey Cole White, who are not related, left the detention center around 9:30 a.m. Friday, bound for the courthouse, and did not have been seen ever since. Sheriff Rick Singleton said.
Singleton said Vicki White, a sheriff’s office employee for 25 years, told her subordinates that she would take Casey White for a mental health evaluation and then seek medical attention herself.
He said investigators have since learned there was no scheduled mental health evaluation or other court appearance, and the officer never sought medical attention.
Authorities found the vehicle in which they left the detention center in the parking lot of a Lauderdale County shopping center.
Vicki White was armed with a 9mm pistol, Singleton said, and Casey White should be considered armed and dangerous. Singleton said that he believes Vicki White is in danger now.
The sheriff said anyone who sees them should contact 911 immediately and stay away from them.
Singleton described Casey White as 6 feet 9 inches tall. A “blue notice” issued by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said she is 6 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs 252 pounds. He was a Department of Corrections inmate, but had been taken to Lauderdale County to face capital murder charges.
It is not known if this is an assisted escape case or if Vicki White was perhaps overpowered and kidnapped, the sheriff said. He said investigators are trying to determine if there is a relationship between the two that others in jail were not aware of.
Singleton said the normal procedure for transporting a capital murder suspect would require two armed officers. He said Vicki White arranged for inmate transportation as one of her duties at the jail. She was a supervisor, he explained, so when she told her subordinates that she was transporting the inmate, they didn’t question her.
“Currently, investigators are trying to locate any video that might give us more information about what we’re dealing with,” Singleton said in a statement. “The fact that the two are missing was not realized until approximately 3:30 pm on this date (Friday).”
The News Courier in Athens, Alabama reported in April 2019 that Casey White was sentenced to 75 years in prison after being found guilty on two counts of first-degree kidnapping and attempted murder.
He was accused of trying to kill his ex-girlfriend and kidnapping his two roommates. He was also convicted of robbery in the first degree, robbery in the first and third degrees, theft of a vehicle, animal cruelty for shooting a dog and trying to elude.
He faced capital murder charges in the 2015 murder-for-hire of Connie Ridgeway after she was found dead in her home. Charges in the case were filed in September 2020, WAFF TV reported.
Reference-www.usatoday.com