Missing Alabama Corrections Officer May Have Helped Murder Suspect Escape From Prison

Alabama authorities are investigating the case of a corrections officer allegedly helping a murder suspect escape from jail after the two went missing during a drive to a "bogus" court appointment.

The two individuals went missing on Friday and have been identified as Vicki White, the assistant director of corrections for Lauderdale County, and Casey White, who was charged with murder. Officials said that the corrections officer told her colleagues that she would take the inmate to the county courthouse.

Missing Murder Suspect

Despite sharing the same surname, the two are not related, and authorities do not know of any relationship between them. The U.S. Marshals Service is now offering up to a $10,000 reward for information that could lead to discovering the whereabouts of the missing individuals.

Before going missing, Vicki said she would take Casey and help him get a mental evaluation. The corrections officer added that she was planning to get medical care herself after dropping the suspect off at the courthouse, saying she was not feeling well, as per CNN.

Later, concerned officers at the jail tried to reach Vicki that afternoon but could not reach her because her phone went straight to voicemail. That was the time that they discovered that the murder suspect was not returned to jail.

Now, the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office has released three new photographs of the escaped inmate. While authorities shared the new images on Facebook, they had no further updates regarding the investigation.

According to WAFF, the social media post also said that there was a scheduled press conference on Monday at 10:30 a.m. Authorities said they were looking at all possible scenarios, including that Vicki was in danger.

The murder suspect was charged with two counts of capital murder in 2020 for a murder-for-hire killing and was required to have two deputies with him at all times, said the sheriff. This requirement included transportation to the courthouse, which was supposed to only be a three-minute drive.

Involved Corrections Officer

On Friday, the sheriff said that Vicki's actions were against the rules and considered them a strict policy violation. The corrections officer's duties included scheduling the transportation of inmates to appear in court and arranging for them to be escorted by armed deputies. In other words, her responsibility was to implement the policy that she apparently violated.

However, the sheriff said that Vicki's involvement in the scenario was dramatically out of character. In his seven years of being the sheriff, he said that Vicki was voted as the office's employee of the year four times. She was chosen from more than 50 people who were working at the jail.

Sheriff Rick Singleton said that while Vicki most likely helped the inmate escape, she may have done so unwillingly. He raised the possibility that she was threatened or coerced into helping him do the dastardly deed.

A police officer spotted Vicki's abandoned patrol car among cars for sale at Florence Square at 11:34 a.m. on Friday. The shopping mall was two miles away from the jail. Officials are now reviewing video footage in the area after civilians have called with tips, saying that they saw Vicki and Casey in Lauderdale County, the New York Times reported.