Murder suspect, cop vanish during transport from jail to courthouse, Alabama police say

UPDATE: The Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement to local news outlets on Saturday, April 30, that evidence suggests corrections officer Vicki White may have helped the inmate, Casey Cole White, escape.

Vicki White transported Casey Cole White alone, which is a “strict violation of policy,” the sheriff’s office said during a news conference streamed by WHNT. She also said she was taking the inmate to a mental health evaluation that officials said they later discovered was not scheduled.

The sheriff’s office said its “primary focus” is locating the two, as Vicki White could be in danger, WHNT reported. Its “secondary focus” is investigating the escape.

“The question is: did she do so willingly or was she coerced into doing it by inmate White by threatening her and/or her family or other means,” the sheriff’s office said, according to AL.com.

The original story is below.

An Alabama sheriff’s deputy left to transport an inmate charged with capital murder to the courthouse on the morning of Friday, April 29. Then, both of them vanished, according to an Alabama sheriff’s office.

Hours passed before authorities realized the two had not arrived at their destination, according to the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office.

The vehicle they left in was found in the parking lot of a local shopping center, according to the sheriff’s office. No further information about the vehicle was provided.

The Lauderdale County Detention Center and Lauderdale County Courthouse are located less than a mile apart in Florence, Alabama. Florence is about 205 miles north of Montgomery.

Authorities are now searching for Assistant Director of Corrections for the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office Vicki White and the inmate, Casey Cole White, according to the sheriff’s office. The deputy and inmate are not related.

The two left for the courthouse at around 9:30 a.m. Eastern time, and authorities realized they were missing at around 3:30 p.m. the same day, according to the sheriff’s office.

This story was originally published April 29, 2022 at 6:46 PM with the headline "Murder suspect, cop vanish during transport from jail to courthouse, Alabama police say."