Update: A warrant was issued for the correctional officer around mid-day Monday after authorities initially classified her as “missing and endangered,” according to CNN.
Authorities are searching for an alleged murderer after he escaped an Alabama prison Friday while heading to a courthouse with a correctional officer initially considered “missing and endangered.”
The U.S. Marshals Service offered Sunday a $10,000 reward for any information “leading to the capture” of escaped Lauderdale County Jail inmate Casey White. White, 38, was charged in 2020 with two counts of capital murder in the “brutal stabbing” of 58-year-old Connie Ridgeway, according to authorities. He later confessed to the crime, authorities said.
White was already serving time for a 2015 “crime spree that involved home invasion, carjacking, and a police chase,” the U.S. Marshals Service said.
White disappeared Friday along with 56-year-old Assistant Director of Corrections Vicky White. The two are not related. (RELATED: Suspect Named In Missing Toddler Case Gripping Multiple Countries After 15 Years)
USMS is offering up to $10,000 for information leading to the capture of escaped Lauderdale Co. jail inmate, Casey White, and the location of missing and endangered corrections officer, Vicky White. Submit tips at 1-800-336-0102 or https://t.co/vS0w4N9rNp pic.twitter.com/IELaGt310K
— U.S. Marshals (@USMarshalsHQ) May 1, 2022
The Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office said the pair left the detention center around 9:30 a.m. and had not been seen since. Authorities did not realize they were missing until 3:30 p.m. that afternoon.
The vehicle they left the jail in was later found abandoned in a local shopping center parking lot, according to the police.
Sheriff Rick Singleton said at a press conference Officer White was armed when she left the jail and was taking White for an alleged mental health check, despite there not being one scheduled, according to The Associated Press (AP). Officer White and the inmate were alone, which violates department policy, according to the report.
“Our policy is for any inmate with those kinds of charges to have two sworn deputies escort them,” Singleton reportedly said. “And that did not happen.”
It is unclear how White managed to escape.
“Casey White is believed to be a serious threat to the corrections officer and the public,” U.S. Marshal Marty Keely said in a statement earlier Monday prior to the warrant for the officer existing.
“Do not attempt to apprehend this fugitive,” Keely added.
Singleton said authorities tried several times to contact Officer White but calls went straight to voicemail, according to the AP.
Singleton reportedly said the department is “aggressively investigating” the incident and would also review any interactions the pair may have had before to “see if something else was going on.”
Officer White put in her retirement papers Thursday, Singleton said, according to the AP.
