The orange 2007 Ford Edge SUV was in a tow lot in Williamson County, Tennessee, about two hours north of Florence, Alabama, where the fugitive investigation began, the US Marshals Service said Friday.
It was taken there last Friday, when Williamson County Sheriff’s Office authorities responded to an abandoned vehicle and found the car locked, with no tags and no identifying information, sheriff’s office spokesperson Sharon Puckett told CNN.
The tow truck driver who picked up the Ford vehicle remembered it when he saw a local TV story this week about the missing officer and inmate and alerted his boss, who contacted authorities.
The new information means the couple likely abandoned their vehicle less than four hours after they left Florence on April 29, perhaps due to mechanical problems, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said during a news conference Friday.
But now authorities are back to “square one” when it comes to what the pair may have done next, and are working to determine whether the pair stole another vehicle or got a ride with someone else, the sheriff said.
“It really doesn’t leave us a lot, we just know what direction they were headed, they headed north from here,” the sheriff said. “After Friday afternoon, when they abandoned that car, which direction they went from there, we don’t know.”
Investigators also know Vicky White had money with her when they disappeared, and are working to find out more details, Singleton added. She may also be using different aliases and identities, the sheriff said.
The sheriff said Vicky White’s handcuffs, jail keys and radio were found in the car. There had also appeared to be an attempt to spray paint the vehicle, the sheriff said.
The officer and the inmate, who may have had a romantic relationship, have been on the run since they left the Lauderdale County Detention Center on April 29.
There is an active warrant out for the officer’s arrest on charges of permitting or facilitating escape in the first degree. She is also no longer employed as assistant director of corrections by the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office, the office said in a statement Wednesday. While she was set to retire April 29, her papers were never finalized, he said.
Authorities release photos and rendering
Other photos show inmate Casey White’s distinctive tattoos; he is 38. The two are not related.
To help the public identify the pair, the Marshals Service also released an image showing the height difference between the two, as well as their height compared to the Ford Edge SUV.
The “subjects should be considered dangerous and may be armed with an AR-15 rifle, handguns and a shotgun,” the agency said Thursday, adding there is a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the location of the officer and $10,000 for information leading to the capture of the inmate. On Friday, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey also announced rewards of $5,000 each for information leading up to the capture and arrest of the inmate and the officer, saying they pose a “major threat” to the public.
Casey White in 2015 threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend and her sister and said he wanted police to kill him, the Marshals Service said. Authorities have advised his “potential targets” about his escape and the threats against them and have taken “appropriate protective actions,” the agency said.
Casey White should be considered extremely dangerous, authorities have said. He was in the Lauderdale County jail awaiting trial for the capital murder charges against him and was also serving a 75-year sentence for a series of crimes committed in 2015.
More than 200 tips have come into the Marshals Service since Tuesday from across the country, said Chad Hunt,…