By Steve Gorman

(Reuters) – Alabama authorities issued Monday an arrest warrant for the female corrections officer, who disappeared from Alabama jail along with the suspect. It was originally believed that she had been held hostage by him when he fled last week.

Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton stated that both Casey White (38-year-old inmate) and Vicky White (56-year-old accused escape partner), are now considered dangerous and armed fugitives.

U.S. The U.S. Marshals Service treated the manhunt for these two men, who were not related as one its most important investigations.

Casey White is charged with capital murder for September 2020 stabbing deaths. White has been serving time already for a crime spree that included home invasions and carjacking in 2015. He was last seen leaving Muscle Shoals in Alabama on Friday.

According to Singleton, at the time, he had been handcuffed, and chained in Vicky White’s custody. White was supposed to be transporting White by patrol car to the county courthouse to conduct a mental assessment.

Vicky White told Singleton that she had planned to give the prisoner over to the other court deputies, and then she would go to a private medical appointment as she felt sick.

Singleton claimed that the mentally exam and Vicky White’s claim she felt unwell were all part of the scheme. She also said Vicky White asserted that Vicky White was the only officer armed enough to transport the inmate. This violated protocols which require every inmate to have at least two deputy officers during transfer.

The patrol car that was left at a mall parking lot had been found abandoned by the police officer. Authorities discovered the couple were missing. Sheriff stated that investigators had received tip from the public that an inmate and officer changed to another vehicle.

Although Vicky White could have helped Vicky escape under duress, he stated that investigators are also investigating whether they had developed a romantic relationship before Vicky White was released.

Singleton stated Friday would have been her final day at work before retiring. Vicky White was a veteran 17-year old corrections officer who had already sold her home a month prior.

He told reporters that “Nobody expected this to happen.” Vicky White’s colleagues, who have known her for decades, said that she would not do this unknowingly. “She has always been an outstanding employee.”

Singleton stated that Casey White was suspected of planning an escape from the same prison in 2020. He had been moved from a state jail to the county lockup Feb. 25, 2019, for pre-trial proceedings in relation to Connie Ridgeway’s murder.