Alabama jailer sought in inmate’s escape

FLORENCE, Ala. — Authorities issued an arrest warrant Monday for a corrections official who they say helped an inmate arrested on a murder charge escape from an Alabama jail.

The inmate, Casey Cole White, 38, disappeared Friday after he left the Lauderdale County jail in Florence on Friday morning with Vicky White, the facility’s assistant director of corrections. They have not been seen since.

Vicky White, 56, told co-workers she was taking the inmate to the courthouse for a mental health evaluation. But Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton later said no such evaluation was scheduled.

“Casey White, as you’ve heard me say over and over and over, is an extremely dangerous person, and we need to get him located and get him off the street,” Singleton said Monday at a news conference.

Authorities noted his large size at 6 feet 9 and about 260 pounds. U.S. Marshal Marty Keely said Casey White “will stand out” even if he has changed his appearance.

White was already serving a prison sentence for attempted murder and burglary and was set to go to trial next month in the stabbing death of a a 58-year-old woman, for which he would face the death penalty if convicted.

The U.S. Marshals Service is offering up to $10,000 for information.

Singleton said Monday that they had issued an arrest warrant for Vicky White, who is not related to the inmate, on charges of permitting or allowing an escape.

“We know she participated, whether she did that willingly or if she was coerced, threatened somehow to participate in the case, not really sure. We know for sure she did participate,” Singleton said. The sheriff said they were shocked.