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The manhunt for an escaped Alabama murder suspect who disappeared along with a female correction officer entered its fourth day Monday as authorities released the most recent images of the known criminal ahead of a scheduled press conference to answer questions surrounding the case.
Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday released the most current photo of inmate Casey White, seen clad in an orange jumpsuit walking alone and with a male correction officer down a hallway.
The agency said it had no significant updates to pass along and said a press conference is scheduled for Monday morning at 10:30 a.m. local time.
The 38-year-old was awaiting trial at the Lauderdale County Jail on two counts of capital murder in connection to the September 2020 brutal stabbing of 58-year-old Connie Ridgeway when he disappeared Friday. Authorities say White had already confessed to the murder ahead of the trial.
The escaped inmate, described as standing 6-foot-9-inches tall, weighing approximately 260 pounds, and having brown hair and hazel eyes, had already been serving time for a 2015 crime spree that authorities say involved a home invasion, carjacking, and a police chase.
The U.S. Marshals Service adopted the case on Sunday is offering up to a $10,000 reward for information leading to the capture of escaped inmate White, as well as the location of who the agency referred to as “missing and endangered corrections officer” Vicky/Vicki White.
Despite having the same last name, authorities say the two are not related.
Casey White, 38, escaped the Lauderdale County Jail on Friday and was last spotted with Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office Assistant Director of Corrections Vicki White on April 29. The two have no relation.
(Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Marshals Service)
“Casey White is believed to be a serious threat to the corrections officer and the public,” U.S. Marshal for North Alabama Marty Keely said Sunday. “Do not attempt to apprehend this fugitive.”
The 56-year-old White, who is an assistant director of corrections and has been with the department for 16 years, left the detention center with inmate White at approximately 9:30 a.m. Friday morning on the way to the courthouse for what she said was a mental health evaluation for Casey White.
The vehicle the two left the detention center in was located in the parking lot of a local shopping center.
About six hours passed before anyone realized the two were missing around 3:30 p.m.
At a press conference later Friday, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said Vicky White was armed when she left the jail with the inmate to head to the courthouse. Singleton also said there was no mental health evaluation for the inmate scheduled at the courthouse.
She was alone with the inmate, which the sheriff said violated department policy.
“Our policy is for any inmate with those kinds of charges to have two sworn deputies escort them. And that did not happen,” Singleton said.
Vicky White also told co-workers she had a doctor’s appointment scheduled, which was confirmed but the office said the deputy never showed, the sheriff said. Deputies tried to contact Vicky White, but her phone repeatedly went to voicemail.
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Singleton said his department was “aggressively investigating” the incident and would be looking into previous interactions between the two to “see if something else was going on.” Singleton told news outlets that Vicky White had turned in her retirement papers the day before she went missing.
White’s escape is still under investigation.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
