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

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

Authorities stated Casey White was being held on capital homicide prices and two sworn deputies should have been with him at all times, including during transportation to court.

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

Singleton said that although Casey White was supposedly being transported for a psychological health analysis on the courthouse, they've since realized that no such evaluation or other courtroom hearing for him was scheduled for Friday.

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

Authorities are now all possibilities of what happened, including 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 have now absolute proof that that is what occurred. We're assuming at this level that she was taken against her will, except we can absolutely prove otherwise," Singleton added.

Authorities stated they're nonetheless searching and investigating any interaction between the corrections officer and Casey White, in addition to any telephone calls he had obtained.

When Vicki White escorted Casey White out of the jail, she advised the guard she was going to drop him off on the court docket and then go seek medical attention as a result of she wasn't feeling nicely.

The sheriff said Casey White was by no means dropped off at court and Vicki White didn't make it to the place where she mentioned she was going to hunt medical attention.

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

Her vehicle, a 2013 Ford Taurus patrol automotive, was first spotted in a shopping center parking zone around 11 a.m. by someone who was on a lunch break, Singleton said.

Around 3:30 p.m., officers at the jail have been concerned and tried to reach her, but her phone kept 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 couple of months, Singleton added.

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

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