Ala. Sheriff: Co-Workers Saw Missing Corrections Officer as 'Mother Figure'

Law enforcement officials are looking for clues to narrow the search area for the Alabama corrections officer who has been charged with helping a capital murder suspect escape the jail in Florence.

Vicky White and Casey White – who are not related — are believed to be on the run together after Vicky White facilitated Casey White’s escape on April 29 from the Lauderdale County jail.

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“What we really need is to know what area of the country they might be so we can focus,” Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said Thursday.

“Right now, we’re having to basically literally do a nationwide search. I mean, they’ve had six days now. We’re having to do a nationwide search. And we’ve got boots on the ground across the country, following up on tips and leads for us through the U.S. Marshal’s fugitive task force.

“So it’s just a matter of time. We’ll get them. Obviously, the sooner the better.”

Asked if he thought Vicky White and Casey White were still in north Alabama, Singleton said, “I don’t think there are but obviously they very well could be. We don’t really have a clue where they’re at.”

Singleton said the rust-colored Ford Edge Vicky White and Casey White were believed to be using has not been located, and it’s unclear if they have ditched the car after law enforcement inadvertently released a description or if they are still using it.

Locating the car is a priority, the sheriff said, to possible help narrow the search area.

“I don’t know what their game plan was,” Singleton said. “It’s obvious this was very well planned out. It could be they’re just holed up somewhere waiting for things to die down.”

Law enforcement is still soliciting information about Vicky White and Casey White. A $10,000 reward has been posted for information leading to the arrest of Casey White and $5,000 for information leading to Vicky White’s arrest.

The U.S. Marshal Service released a rendering of what Casey White and Vicky White might look like if seen together. Casey White is 6-foot-9 and weighs about 330 pounds. Vicky White is 5-foot-5 and weighs about 145 pounds with blonde hair and has a waddling gait.

Singleton said the sheriff’s office is still reeling from the fact that Vicky White is believed to have played such an integral role in Casey White’s release.

A retirement party was being planned for Vicky White on the day of the escape.

“I think some of them had gotten gifts for her and different things because they all respected her but some of them almost looked at her as a mother figure,” Singleton said.

“They’re just devastated. We brought counselors in for the employees.

“Corrections officers are the real unsung heroes of the criminal justice system with what they have to put up with day in and day out. And it’s a very tough job. And it’s not just anybody can do that job. To find one as good as Vicky White was just rare – someone who could make a career out of it.”

Keeping corrections officers on staff is a challenge, the sheriff said.

“I don’t know how many corrections officers we’ve been through just since I’ve been sheriff in just seven years,” Singleton said.

“The pay is pathetic. And the work environment is probably one of the worst work environments you could ask for.

“Just a month ago, we hired a young man. He reported work at six o’clock and at noon, he got his lunch break left, never came back. He called and said he won’t be back. He couldn’t handle it. It just took six hours.”

Meanwhile, Vicky White had worked as a corrections officer for 17 years.

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