An Alabama sheriff said Wednesday that a prison official visited a murder suspect in prison before helping him escape last week, and that her actions suggest their plan has been in the works for some time.
“We confirmed that there were visits and that there was communication between the two of them when he was in prison and she was still working here,” said Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton.
He said visits to the prison showed that the two had some relationship, probably up to two years before the escape. The visits came after the prisoner was transferred from the county jail in 2020 due to an alleged escape attempt then and before his return to prison in February for trial in the ongoing murder case against him.
A nationwide search is under way for Casey White, who is awaiting trial for murder, and Vicki White, assistant director of the Lauderdale County Jail’s correctional services, after the two disappeared on Friday. Singleton said the ongoing contact continued two years ago and that Vicki White’s actions, such as the recent sale of her house and the purchase of an apparently escape car, show that there is planning ahead.
The sheriff’s office said Tuesday it had found a “special relationship” between the two, but Singleton added that there was no evidence at the moment that it was a “physical or sexual relationship”. The two are not related, although they share a common surname, authorities said.
“The prisoners who told us on Saturday that they were in a relationship, their complaints were that he was receiving special treatment. He got more food on his plate. He received all these little things that are insignificant outside, but are a big deal for the prisoners, “he said.
Last Friday morning, 56-year-old Vicki White told colleagues that the 38-year-old prisoner should go to court for a mental health assessment. She escorted the prisoner herself, which the sheriff said was a violation of the department’s policy. That afternoon, when she did not answer the phone, authorities discovered that the two were missing and no such assessment was scheduled. Her patrol car was found abandoned in the parking lot of a shopping center.
The sheriff said Vicki White had been talking about retiring for three or four months and had suddenly dropped her papers recently. Singleton said authorities later discovered she had bought a 2007 Ford Edge and parked it Thursday night in the same mall where she apparently abandoned the patrol car.
“There is no doubt that some planning and some coordination is needed,” he said. “I feel like this has been going on for some time.”
He said authorities hope to locate the vehicle and determine the direction of the couple’s journey.
Authorities said Casey White, who is 6 feet 9 inches (about 2 meters) tall, should be recognizable by her size. “Now he is a master of disguise. “He can change his appearance, but the only thing he can’t change is the fact that he’s six feet and nine inches tall,” the sheriff said.
Authorities warned that anyone who saw the couple should not approach them, but call law enforcement.
Family members and colleagues said they were confused by the involvement of Vicki White, who worked for the sheriff’s office for 16 years, with the prisoner, who is already serving a 75-year sentence for attempted murder and other crimes.
“I just can’t imagine Vicky running away with this man,” her ex-mother-in-law, Francis White, said in a telephone interview Tuesday.
The sheriff said he was shocked by the actions of his former employee.
“Vicki White would be one of the last people in the world I thought would do something like that,” Singleton said.
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