May 03, 2022
Vicki White, an assistant director of corrections at the Lauderdale County Detention Center in Meridian, Mississippi, has been missing since April 29, 2022. She had been with the department for twenty five years before she vanished, along with an inmate she had said she was taking to a health evaluation.
Vicki White, along with inmate Casey White, left at 9:30am that morning with Casey in both handcuffs and shackles.
Policy states that two sworn deputies should escort an inmate of Casey White’s level, however, this protocol was not followed. According to a recent press conference, Vicki White was in charge of coordinating inmate transfers to the courthouse and this was likely why she was not questioned when escorting inmate White alone.
The pair disappeared and have not been seen since.
Vicki white told fellow officers that she was taking the inmate to a mental health assessment at a local courthouse, however, no such assessment had been scheduled. The pair left the detention centre in a vehicle that was later found abandoned in the parking lot of a nearby shopping centre and their absence was not noticed until around 3:30pm that afternoon.
There was a confirmed sighting of the patrol car by a civilian at around 11:00am.
Lauderdale County Sheriff, Rick Singleton, said in a press conference that he believes the two drove there in Vicki White's patrol car where they may have transferred to another less conspicuous vehicle they may have had waiting.
All attempts to contact Vicki via phone went straight to voicemail. She had said that she had not been feeling well and was going to a medical appointment after she dropped off the inmate, but she neglected to show up for any kind of appointment thereafter.
Casey White is described as 6"09 and 260lbs, white or white Hispanic with hazel eyes and a tattoo on his back left shoulder. He is to be considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.
Although both share the same surname, they are not related. Media outlets have speculated that the two may have been in a romantic relationship and believe that Vicki White may have helped Casey White escape. This has not been confirmed but when asked, Singleton said that they intended to “backtrack” to determine if there was anything more than an officer/inmate relationship between the two. Vicki White is a widow and has no children although she does have family in the local area.
Vicki White has been a model employee for over two and a half decades and her recent actions shocked her fellow work colleagues.
When asked if he thought Vicki White had aided the inmate in an escape or had been taken against her will, Rick Singleton said: "Knowing the inmate, I think she's in danger whatever the circumstances. And he has nothing to lose. And so, whether she assisted him or not, we don’t know. And we won’t address that until we have absolute proof. But that’s what happened. We are assuming at this point she was taken against her will unless we can absolutely prove otherwise. But regardless, even if she did assist, we think she is in danger.”
Casey Cole White was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of capital murder in the 2015 slaying of Connie Ridgeway. Ridgeway, who was 59 years old at the time of her murder, was allegedly slain at the hands of Casey White in her Meadowland apartment in Rogersville, Tennessee. It is alleged that White was hired to murder Ridgeway.
White had racked up a list of crimes around 2015, including breaking into a woman’s home and killing her dog. He also attempted to steal a man's vehicle, as well as a list of other crimes.
Inmate White was sent to Lauderdale County Detention Center in relation to his charges on capital murder, and was scheduled to return to the Department of Corrections the following week.
Vicki White was eligible to retire and had been discussing retirement for the last three or four months before she went missing. According to various news reports, White was supposed to retire the very same day she disappeared with Casey White in tow. She purportedly sold her home one month before.
A warrant has been issued for Vicki White for charges of permitting or facilitating escape in the first degree in connection with a capital murder suspect.
Singleton later said: “If she did this willingly, and all indications are that she did, I guess we're trying to hold on to that last straw of hope that maybe for some reason she was threatened and did this under coercion- but absolutely you'd feel betrayed.”
Investigators are looking for any surveillance footage that can aid them in their search for clues.
A reward of $10,000 is currently being offered by The U.S. Marshals Service to anyone who provides information leading to Casey White and Vicki White. Anyone with information is encouraged to call 1-800-336-0102.
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