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

Missing 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, said Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton. The inmate and the corrections officer are not associated.

Authorities said Casey White was being held on capital murder prices and two sworn deputies should have been with him always, including during transportation to court.

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

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

"Understanding the inmate, I believe she's in danger regardless of the circumstances... He was in jail for capital murder, and he had nothing to lose," Singleton stated.

Authorities are actually looking at all prospects of what occurred, together with if the corrections officer helped Casey White escape.

"Whether or not she assisted him or not, we don't know, and we cannot address that until we now have absolute proof that that is what happened. We are assuming at this level that she was taken against her will, until we can absolutely show otherwise," Singleton added.

Authorities stated they're nonetheless looking and investigating any interplay between the corrections officer and Casey White, as well as any phone calls he had obtained.

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

The sheriff said Casey White was by no means dropped off at court docket and Vicki White did not make it to the place the place she stated she was going to seek medical attention.

Authorities did not understand they had been missing until several hours later.

Her car, a 2013 Ford Taurus patrol automobile, was first spotted in a shopping mall car parking zone round 11 a.m. by somebody who was on a lunch break, Singleton mentioned.

Round 3:30 p.m., officers on the jail had been involved and tried to reach her, but her telephone saved 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 query now we have for Director White is why she violated coverage," Singleton mentioned.

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