U.S. Marshals found an orange 2007 Ford Edge associated with Vicky White and Casey White, the missing former Alabama corrections officer and inmate, at a tow lot in Williamson County, Tennessee.
Investigators were notified of the vehicle on the lot Thursday at 11 pm Williamson is about two hours north of Florence, Alabama, where the fugitive investigation began on April 29.
Once on the scene, they determined that it was the vehicle used by Vicky White and Casey White, according to the US Marshals Office.
[Original story, published at 10:28 a.m. ET]
Casey White in 2015 threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend and her sister and said he wanted police to kill him, the Marshals Service said. Authorities have informed “potential targets” of him about his escape and threats against him and have taken “appropriate protective measures,” the agency said.
The “subjects must be considered dangerous and may be armed with an AR-15 rifle, handguns and a shotgun,” the agency said Thursday, adding that there is a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the location of the officer and $ 10,000 for information leading to the inmate’s capture.
Investigators are frantically searching for hundreds of clues from the public, some of which they say may have potential. More than 200 tips have come into the Marshals Service since Tuesday from across the country, said Chad Hunt, commander of the Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force.
“We’re looking at things coming from the Northwest to the Southwest and the Northeast and everything in between… and we have to look at each one because it’s going to be that little bit of advice that we think might be irrelevant.” it really opens up the case,” Hunt told CNN Thursday.
This investigation is unique, he said, because Vicky White helped the inmate escape.
“We were several hours behind schedule. It wasn’t a typical over-the-wall escape, so our investigation looks a little different than a typical chase where someone jumped the fence,” Hunt said.
Investigators are “following (advice) as aggressively as possible,” Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton told CNN Thursday. “Some of them look promising, but it takes time to get on with those things. Hopefully one of them will work for us and we can track them down.”
On the run for a week
Authorities continue to stress that Casey White must be considered “extremely dangerous.” He was in the Lauderdale County jail awaiting trial on the capital murder charges against him and was also serving a 75-year sentence for a series of crimes committed in 2015.
The officer and inmate left the Lauderdale County Detention Center on April 29 and have been at large ever since. The couple may have been in a romantic relationship and believe Vicky White likely willingly assisted in the inmate’s escape, authorities discovered during the week’s investigation.
There is an active warrant for the officer’s arrest on charges of allowing or facilitating flight in the first degree. The Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office is no longer serving as deputy director of corrections, the office said in a statement Wednesday. Although she was scheduled to retire on April 29, her papers were never finalized, she said.
To help the public identify the pair, the Marshals Service also released an image showing the height difference between the two, as well as their height compared to the Ford Edge SUV in which they are believed to have escaped.
Not ‘the Vicky White we know,’ says sheriff
Vicky White and Casey White’s relationship dates back to 2020, when the inmate was brought to Lauderdale County to stand trial on murder charges, according to the sheriff.
The couple had a “special relationship” that was confirmed, in part, by fellow inmates who told authorities that Casey White “was getting extra food on her trays” and “was getting privileges that no one else got. And this was all coming from her.” Singleton said.
The couple continued to communicate after Casey White was transferred back to state prison, the sheriff said. Casey White returned to the Lauderdale County Detention Center in February to attend court hearings in her capital murder case.
Then, on the morning of April 29, authorities say Vicky White asked that Casey White be prepared for transport. She said she would take him to court alone, which was a violation of department policy requiring inmates to be accompanied by two sworn officers at all times, Singleton said.
Investigators determined the two then drove to a shopping center parking lot, abandoned the officer’s patrol car and drove off in an orange or copper-colored 2007 Ford Edge SUV with minor damage to the left rear bumper, the US Marshals Service said. noting that it is not known if the car has a license plate and what its number could be.
Investigators believe Vicky White purchased the getaway vehicle in Rogersville, Lauderdale County, and parked it in the parking lot the night before the couple fled, according to Singleton. They’ve likely since abandoned the getaway car because the description has been widely shared, she said.
CNN’s Erin Burnett, Jamiel Lynch, Chuck Johnston, Amara Walker, Jade Gordon and Tina Burnside contributed to this report.