Escaped Alabama inmate, jail official had ‘special relationship,’ sheriff ’s office says

FLORENCE, Alabama — An escaped Alabama inmate had a “special relationship” with the jail official authorities believe assisted in his escape, a sheriff’s office said Tuesday.

A manhunt was underway for Casey White, who was awaiting trial on a capital murder case, and Vicky White, a jail official, after the pair vanished after leaving the Lauderdale County Detention Center on Friday morning. The two are not related, authorities said.

On Friday morning, Vicky White, 56, told co-workers the 38-year-old inmate needed to go to the courthouse for a mental health evaluation. She was escorting the inmate alone, which the sheriff said is a violation of department policy. That afternoon, when she was not answering the phone, authorities discovered the two were missing, and no such evaluation had been scheduled. Her patrol car was found abandoned in the parking lot of a shopping centre.

A warrant was issued Monday for Vicky White’s arrest on charges of assisting in an escape.

Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said Monday that Vicky White had announced plans to retire and the day she disappeared would have been her last day at work.