Florence, Alabama (AP)
The U.S. Marshals Service said Sunday it is offering up to $ 10,000 for information on a fugitive inmate and a “missing and threatened with disappearance” penitentiary officer who went missing Friday after they were released from a prison in northern Alabama.
Casey Cole White, 38, was jailed on a charge of murder with the death penalty at the Lauderdale County Detention Center in Florence, Alabama, about 75 miles (121 kilometers) west of Huntsville.
Prisoner and Assistant Director of Corrections Vicki White, 56, left Lauderdale County Jail on Friday morning to go to a nearby courthouse, the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post on Saturday. Investigators said they were not related.
“Casey White is believed to be a serious threat to penitentiaries and the public,” US Marshal in North Alabama Marty Keeley said in a statement on Sunday.
While in state jail for other crimes in 2020, Casey confessed to the death of Connie Ridgeway in 2015, according to WHNT-TV.
Vicky White has been with the department for 16 years. At a news conference on Friday, Singleton said she was armed when she came out of jail with the inmate and headed to the courthouse to, she said, assess Casey White’s mental health. She was alone with the inmate, which the sheriff said violated departmental policies.
“Our policy is that any prisoner with such charges be accompanied by two jurors. And it didn’t happen, “Singleton said.
Singleton also said the court building did not provide an assessment of the prisoner’s mental health.
The car in which the officer and the prisoner were on their way out of the detention center was found in the parking lot of a nearby shopping center, the sheriff’s office said.
Vicky White also told colleagues that she was scheduled to see a doctor, which was confirmed, but the office said the deputy never showed up, the sheriff said. Officials said no one realized they were missing just six hours after they were released from prison. Deputies tried to contact Vicki White, but her phone repeatedly went to voicemail.
Singleton said his department was “aggressively investigating” the incident and would study previous interactions between them to “see if anything else is happening.” Singleton told news agencies that Vicki White had filed for retirement the day before she went missing.
The sheriff told AL.com on Sunday that there were no new developments in the investigation. The Associated Press called the sheriff’s office, but a phone message there said the office was closed Sunday.
The Marshals Service said Casey is 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 meters) tall and weighs about 260 pounds (118 pounds). He has brown hair and brown eyes.
The Marshals Service said people with information about Casey White’s whereabouts or Vicki White’s disappearance could call the service at 1-800-336-0102. Anonymous tips can also be sent through the US Marshals Tip App.
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