Missing Alabama Prison Guard Dead, Escaped Inmate in Custody After 10-Day Nationwide Manhunt

A photo combination shows Casey Cole White (L) and Assistant Director of Corrections Vicky White in April 2022. U.S. Marshals Service, Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office via AP

An Alabama corrections officer, Vicky White, is dead, and her partner, a capital murder suspect, Casey White, has been captured and is in custody after a 10-day manhunt, according to reports.

The pair were captured late on Monday in Indiana, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton told a press conference. He said he didn’t know why they were in Indiana.

The two, who fled law enforcement, are not family but are in a romantic relationship, officials suggested last week. They have been on the run since April 29, sparking a nationwide manhunt, after Vicky White, former Assistant Director of Corrections of the Lauderdale County Detention Center in Florence, Alabama, claimed she was taking Casey White for a mental evaluation.

Casey White, 38, surrendered himself without incident and was returned to custody, while Vicky White, 56, was found injured, Singleton said.

According to multiple reports, Indiana authorities said Vicky White was taken to the hospital with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. She died shortly after 7 p.m. on Monday at Evansville Deaconess Midtown Hospital, Vanderburgh County Coroner Steven W. Lockyear confirmed.

The Vanderburgh County Coroner’s Office concluded on Tuesday that Vicky White died by suicide.

A police pursuit started when the pair were spotted in a Cadillac near a local sheriff’s office on Highway 41. The chase ended in a crash near Evansville Airport.

Prior to Vicky White’s death, Vanderburgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding told reporters the pursuit lasted “less than a few minutes.”

“We gained information that a vehicle matching the description of a suspect vehicle was near our sheriff’s office, so the U.S. Marshals Task Force and deputy sheriffs went to the area,” Wedding also said.

“The Marshals Task Force officers intercepted them, actually collided with them to end the pursuit. When this occurred, [Vicky White] shot herself and [Casey White] was injured, not too seriously,” he said.

An emergency status conference has been scheduled for Casey White on Tuesday at midday at the Lauderdale County Courthouse, reported WHNT.

The U.S. Marshals Service was offering cash rewards for information leading to the capture of the two fugitives. Authorities said Vicky White sold her home a month ago, and she was supposed to retire on April 29, the day the two disappeared.

Casey White was charged with capital murder in September 2020 for the 2015 stabbing death of 58-year-old Connie Ridgeway, who was killed in her own home. At the time of his disappearance on April 29, Casey White was awaiting trial after saying he was paid to kill Ridgeway. He was already serving 75 years for a 2015 crime spree that involved home invasion, carjacking, and a police chase.

Update: This article was updated to include an Indiana coroner’s determination of the cause of death of Vicky White.