Alabama authorities are searching for a corrections officer and inmate who never made it to court docket

Lacking Assistant Director of Corrections Vicki White broke protocol when she escorted inmate Casey White from jail this morning to apparently take him to the courthouse in Lauderdale County, stated Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton. The inmate and the corrections officer are usually not related.

Authorities mentioned Casey White was being held on capital murder fees and two sworn deputies should have been with him always, together with during transportation to court docket.

Vicki White coordinates all transports from the detention middle to court and subsequently knew the protocol, the sheriff added.

Singleton mentioned that though Casey White was supposedly being transported for a mental well being evaluation on the courthouse, they have since learned that no such evaluation or other court docket hearing for him was scheduled for Friday.

"Realizing the inmate, I feel she's in peril whatever the circumstances... He was in jail for capital homicide, and he had nothing to lose," Singleton mentioned.

Authorities are now looking at all possibilities of what happened, together with if the corrections officer helped Casey White escape.

"Whether or not she assisted him or not, we do not know, and we won't handle that until we have now absolute proof that that is what happened. We're assuming at this level that she was taken in opposition to her will, until we can absolutely show in any other case," Singleton added.

Authorities stated they're still searching and investigating any interplay between the corrections officer and Casey White, as well as any cellphone calls he had received.

When Vicki White escorted Casey White out of the jail, she informed the guard she was going to drop him off at the court docket after which go search medical attention as a result of she wasn't feeling effectively.

The sheriff said Casey White was never dropped off at court docket and Vicki White did not make it to the place the place she stated she was going to hunt medical consideration.

Authorities didn't understand they had been missing till several hours later.

Her automobile, a 2013 Ford Taurus patrol car, was first noticed in a shopping mall parking lot around 11 a.m. by somebody who was on a lunch break, Singleton stated.

Round 3:30 p.m., officers on the jail have been concerned and tried to reach her, however her phone stored going straight to voicemail. They then realized Casey White had not been returned to the jail.

Vicki White has been with the division for 25 years and is eligible for retirement -- which she has talked about doing in the previous few months, Singleton added.

"All precautions have been in place. The question now we have for Director White is why she violated policy," Singleton stated.

Casey White is 6'9" tall is being considered armed and dangerous. Vicki White "was armed with a 9 mm handgun, which suggests we're assuming he's armed," Singleton added.