FOG BLOG U.S. NEWS LOG: WARRENT ISSUED FOR CORRECTIONS OFFICER VICKY WHITE WHO DISAPPEARED W/ INMATE

Warrant issued for corrections officer who disappeared with inmate on day she was set to retire

The officer, Vicky White, is wanted on a charge of permitting or facilitating the escape of capital murder suspect, Casey White, from the Lauderdale County Jail in Alabama. A warrant has been issued for an Alabama corrections officer who disappeared with an inmate Friday — the day she was set to retire — authorities said Monday.

The officer, Vicky White, is wanted on a charge of permitting or facilitating the escape of capital murder suspect Casey White from the Lauderdale County Jail, Sheriff Rick Singleton said at a news conference. Vicky and Casey White aren’t related.

"We know she participated" in his escape, Singleton said. "Whether she did that willingly or was coerced or threatened, we're not really sure, but we know for sure she did participate." Vicky White, 56, the facility’s assistant director of corrections, had talked about retiring for months, musing about all the time she’d spend on the beach, Singleton said. She had sold her house, and her last day of work as a Lauderdale County corrections officer was supposed to be Friday.

"This is not the Vicky White we know by any stretch of the imagination," Singleton said. "Everybody thought she was going to retire."

"Nobody saw this coming," he added.

The Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday that investigators, by talking with inmates at the jail, confirmed there was a "special relationship" between Vicky and Casey White.

Casey White, 38, was charged with two counts of capital murder in September 2020 in the stabbing of Connie Ridgeway, 58, and he was already in jail in connection with a 2015 home invasion, carjacking and police chase, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. He confessed to stabbing Ridgeway and was awaiting trial at the Lauderdale County Jail when he disappeared, according to the agency.