Hunt for ‘dangerous’ murder suspect and jail boss ‘who helped him escape’

A MANHUNT continues for an “extremely dangerous” murder suspect – and the jail boss believed to have helped him escape.

Inmate Casey Cole White, 38, was shackled and handcuffed when he and Vicky White, the facility’s assistant director of corrections, left the Lauderdale County Detention Centre in Florence, Alabama, on Friday morning.

They have not been seen since – with the patrol vehicle they were using found in the car park at a nearby shopping centre. Authorities have no idea where they are.

US marshal Marty Keely said: “We consider both of them dangerous and, in all probability, both individuals are armed.”

He said Casey White “will stand out” even if he has changed his appearance because he is 6ft 9ins and around 18-and-a-half stone.

Ms White is wanted on suspicion of permitting or allowing an escape, local sheriff Rick Singleton said.

She is not related to Casey White, who was serving a 75-year prison sentence and awaiting trial for murder. She told co-workers she was taking him to the courthouse for a mental health evaluation. No evaluation was scheduled.

Ms White also broke a policy that required more than one official to be involved in transporting inmates – a rule officials emphasised for Casey White because of a previous escape attempt, Mr Singleton added.

The sheriff said video footage showed the pair leaving the jail and going straight to the car park.

He said: “We know she participated. Whether she did that willingly or if she was coerced, threatened somehow to participate, (I’m) not really sure.

“Casey White is an extremely dangerous person and we need to get him located and off the street.”

Casey White was serving time for crimes that included attempted murder, robbery and burglary.

While in prison, he allegedly confessed to stabbing a 58-year-old woman to death in 2015, causing him to be brought to the Lauderdale County jail for court proceedings.

Authorities believe Casey White plotted an earlier escape in 2020, when they found a makeshift knife.

He could face the death penalty if convicted of murder.

The US Marshals Service is offering up to $10,000 (about £8,000) for information. Mr Singleton said Ms White had been an exemplary employee and jail employees are “just devastated”.

“This is not the Vicky White we know by any stretch of the imagination,” the sheriff said.

Ms White had planned to retire and Friday was to be her last day.

Mr Singleton said she sold her home about a month ago and “talked about going to the beach”.