Arrest warrant issued in Alabama for missing jail official

FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) — 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 even as they searched for the pair.

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

Vicky White 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 press conference.

Authorities noted his large size. He stands 6 feet, 9 inches (2.06 meters) tall and weighs about 260 pounds, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

U.S. Marshal Marty Keely said Casey White “will stand out” even if he is has changed his appearance.

The 38-year-old White was already serving a prison sentence for attempted murder and burglary and was set to go to trial next month for the stabbing death of a a 58-year-old woman to death, a charge in 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 on charges of permitting or allowing an escape. She is not related to the inmate.

“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.

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

The patrol vehicle the officer and the inmate were in when they left the detention center was found at a nearby shopping center parking lot, according to the sheriff’s office. Singleton said the inmate was handcuffed and shackled when he left the jail. He said video showed the pair left the jail and went straight to that parking lot.

The Marshals Service said people with information about Casey White’s location or Vicky White’s disappearance can call the service at 1-800-336-0102. Anonymous tips may also be submitted through the U.S. Marshals Tip App.