US Marshals on Sunday offered a $10,000 reward for information that helps capture the Alabama inmate who vanished with a corrections officer as she transported him to court for an appointment that was never on the books.
Accused murderer Casey Cole White and Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office Assistant Director of Corrections Vicki White were last seen at about 9:30 a.m. Friday when they left the local jail, authorities said.
A manhunt was launched for the two, who are not related though they share the same last name.
The escaped inmate “is believed to be a serious threat to the corrections officer and the public,” Marty Keely, US Marshal for the Northern District of Alabama, said in a statement.
“Do not attempt to apprehend this fugitive,” said Keely.
Casey Cole White, 38, was charged with two counts of capital murder in September 2020 for the stabbing death of 58-year-old Connie Ridgeway, the Marshals said. He was already in jail at the time for a 2015 crime spree conviction involving a home invasion and car jacking.
The vehicle Vicki White was transporting the inmate in was found in a shopping center parking lot on Friday around 11 a.m., and the sheriff’s office said it was not aware that the two were missing until mid-afternoon.
The correction officer told colleagues she was bringing the inmate to a mental health evaluation — but there was no such appointment on the court’s schedule, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said Friday.
White had also said that after dropping the prisoner off, she was going to seek medical attention because she didn’t feel well, Singleton said.
She was alone when she transported the accused murderer, “a strict violation of policy,” the sheriff said a press conference.
White, a 25-year veteran of the department, is in charge of coordinating all the transport from the detention to the court, so she knew she was violating the policy, but probably wasn’t questioned by subordinates, Singleton said.
“I can tell you that every employee in this office is shocked,” he told reporters, describing department-wide “disbelief.”
The sheriff’s office realized White was missing when she wasn’t answering her phone and calls went straight to voicemail.
Authorities said they are investigating whether White and the inmate had a prior relationship.