Alabama corrections official Vicky White faces two new charges in connection with inmate Casey White's escape
Former Alabama corrections official Vicky White is facing two new charges in connection with her alleged role in the escape of capital murder suspect Casey Cole White, officials said Monday. The pair, who are not related, have been missing for more than a week, despite a massive manhunt to locate them that has now expanded to Indiana.
Vicky White, who had already been charged with permitting or facilitating escape in the first degree, is now also charged with forgery in the second degree and identity theft, according to a warrant shared with CBS News by the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office. A spokesperson for the sheriff's office told CBS News that the charges are related to her alleged use of an alias to buy a 2007 Ford Edge used in the pair's escape.
The new charges come more than a week after the pair were first reported missing on April 29. Vicky White told her colleagues that morning that she was taking Casey White to the courthouse for a mental health evaluation. But her patrol vehicle was found in a parking lot hours later — and by 3:30 p.m., officials realized that both she and Casey White were missing.
Authorities later said there had been no scheduled mental health evaluation, adding that it appears Vicky White — who was supposed to retire at the end of the day — drove her patrol vehicle to the parking lot where it was later found immediately after leaving the courthouse with Casey White.
Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said it appears Vicky White left the Ford Edge in that same parking lot the night before the escape. The pair was last seen in the vehicle in Rogersville, Alabama, on the day they disappeared.
Singleton said the pair had a "special relationship" and that they were in contact over the phone for months before Casey White's escape. Singleton said there is currently no evidence that the relationship was physical or sexual.
Authorities spent much of last week searching for the Ford Edge before announcing on Friday that it had been towed by authorities in Tennessee the day the pair disappeared. It took the tow shop multiple days to realize the car was the one sought by Alabama authorities.
Singleton said the car was found "in the middle of nowhere" at about 2 p.m. that day.
"They found the car before we even knew [Vicky White and Casey White] were gone," Singleton said last Friday.
He added that due to the car's location and the speed with which the pair abandoned it, investigators believe the car had mechanical problems.
Also Monday, the U.S. Marshals Service said investigators had traveled to Evansville, Indiana — about 175 miles from where authorities found the Ford Edge — to follow up on a tip about another abandoned vehicle the pair is believed to have used.
The Marshals Service said it had been told that a 2006 Ford F-150 had been found at a car wash in Evansville. It provided surveillance camera images that show a man standing near the car wearing a hat, sunglasses, a pink shirt and tan pants, but the Marshals Service did not definitively identify the man as Casey White.
Authorities did not say if they found anything in the vehicle, and did not confirm the F-150 had been used by the pair.