Alabama officials have discovered the abandoned car of a prison officer who flouted department guidelines when she picked up a top murder suspect for a mental health exam — what her staff later found out was never planned.
In a news conference Saturday night, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton announced that Vicky White’s police vehicle, a 2013 Ford Taurus cruiser, was sighted in a mall parking lot around 11 a.m. Friday.
About an hour and a half earlier, Singleton said Vicky, an assistant director of the department’s correctional facilities, broke protocol when she picked up Casey Cole White, 38, from a detention center without other MPs present.
She had her 9mm handgun with her at the time and told others she was taking Casey White – who is not related to her – for a mental health evaluation ahead of a scheduled court hearing. However, no such evaluation is planned for this day.
Casey was facing the death penalty for the October 2015 murder of 58-year-old Connie Ridgeway at her home in Rogersville, Alabama.
But according to Sheriff’s Department guidelines, Singleton said, two sworn deputies should have been with Casey at all times — including during transport to court or the mental health evaluation.
And since Vicki coordinated all transports out of the detention center, Singleton said she would have known of that protocol — but, given her seniority, likely would not have been questioned by her subordinates.
“All precautions have been taken,” Singleton told reporters Saturday night. “The question we have for Director White is why she went against policy.”
Deputy Sheriff’s Correctional Facility Superintendent Vicky White went missing Friday night after rescuing Casey Cole White (no relative) from prison
Lauderdale Sheriff Rick Singleton announced Saturday that Vicky’s squad car was found abandoned in a parking lot about an hour and a half after she broke protocol to transport Casey
Vicky has been with the sheriff’s department for 25 years and had recently spoken out about resigning, he said, with Law and Crime reporting that she filed her pension papers on Thursday.
Singleton said he and his deputies were “shocked and in disbelief” at her disappearance, noting that she had been a model worker and had been named supervisor of the year.
Officers now believe Vicky was kidnapped against her will but will continue to investigate any interaction between her and Casey White and any calls he may have received.
“Knowing the inmate, I think she’s in danger whatever the circumstances,” Singleton said. “He was in prison for capital murder and had nothing to lose.
“Whether or not she helped him, we don’t know, and we won’t be addressing that until we have absolute proof that that happened,” he added, noting, “We’re assuming at this point.” she was kidnapped against her will. unless we can prove otherwise.’
The FBI and US Marshalls are now also assisting the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency in their search for the couple.
Connie Ridgeway is pictured with her sons Austin and Cameron. She was murdered in October 2015 by what her killer described as a hitman. No motive was ever given
Singleton said Saturday that sheriff’s department officers first became suspicious around 3:30 p.m. Friday when officers at the jail found Vicky had never returned.
They repeatedly tried to call her, he said, but her phone always went to voicemail.
That’s when they discovered that Casey had never returned to prison.
He is described as 1.90 meters tall and is believed to be armed and dangerous.
Casey was first arrested in December 2015 for the October murder of Ridgeway, who was found stabbed to death in a murder that shocked the small town of Rogersville — about 50 miles west of Huntsville.
It is still unclear why she was killed.
People said she was known for her kindness and willingness to help others, and the community held a vigil in her memory every October for many years.
Casey’s arrest at the age of 32 finally came after he became involved in a crime spree in Tennessee and Alabama.
In one night, he staged a home invasion, two carjackings, and multiple shootings that killed a dog and injured a woman.
The crimes were followed by a car chase, with speeds reaching more than 100 miles per hour, WHNT reported.
It ended with a stolen car getting stuck in a field south of Huntsville and officers – who he obviously knew well – begged him to put down his gun and turn himself in.
White got out of the vehicle with a gun and threatened to shoot officers and himself unless he could speak to Limestone Sheriff Mike Blakely.
Body cam footage shows MPs attempting to get White to surrender by offering him smokeless tobacco and Sun Drop citrus soda while awaiting Blakely’s arrival.
Police take Casey White into custody in December 2015 after a rampage shooting across Tennessee and Alabama that ended in a 100 mph chase and his stolen car got stuck in a field
White is seen during the hearing in the 2020 Ridgeway murder case
Casey White has been found guilty on a total of nine charges, including attempting to kill his ex-girlfriend and kidnapping her two roommates. Other charges included first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, third-degree burglary, burglary and vehicle break-in, cruelty to animals for shooting a dog, and attempted escape.
He was sentenced to 75 years in prison in April 2019.
In June 2020, he wrote to Lauderdale County requesting a meeting with the sheriff’s office and confessed to killing Ridgeway — and provided a detailed description of the crime scene.
He said he was paid to kill her, although no motive for hiring a hitman was ever revealed.
In October 2020, 37-year-old Casey White appeared for a court hearing, requesting to remain in the Lauderdale County Jail rather than go back to jail, the WAFF reported.
His application was denied after authorities said they believed he was planning to escape from the Lauderdale County Jail.
They had found a makeshift knife hidden in the showers and suspected White intended to use it to force someone to let him out.
“We received information yesterday that he had a hoe and intended to escape today and take a hostage,” Lauderdale County District Attorney Connolly said during the hearing.
“Our MPs did a great job.
“Found the stem this morning and removed this threat so obviously we are not able to place someone like that in our prison for that long so we’re glad the judge ordered him to go back to correctional facility.”
White, after confessing, then pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.