An "extremely dangerous" murder suspect and the female corrections officer who US authorities say helped him escape from jail were carrying on a "special relationship," officials have said.
Early on Friday, inmate Casey White and officer Vicky White, who are not related, both left the Lauderdale County Jail where he was being held to face murder charges.
The corrections officer, 56, told colleagues they were headed to court for a psychological evaluation of the 38-year-old prisoner - however, they never arrived, and suspicion rapidly grew.
"Investigators received information from inmates at the Lauderdale County Detention Center over the weekend that there was a special relationship," said the sheriff's office.
The day the pair escaped was also Vicky White's last day on the job before retiring after 17 years of corrections experience, according to Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton.
Yesterday, Mr Singleton told reporters that an arrest warrant had been issued for Vicky White "for permitting or facilitating an escape" of an inmate.
He said Casey White, 38, was "handcuffed and shackled" as he was put into a squad car, and that the corrections officer convinced colleagues she was the only firearm-certified officer available to transport White.
The US Marshals Service, a federal agency that assists in searches for violent fugitives, has deemed Casey White a "serious threat" to the public and to the corrections officer.
It has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to his capture.
Officer was retiring from job
Sheriff Singleton said there were several facts about Ms White that suggested potential signs of her involvement, including the escape occurring on what was described as her final day of work.
"She was to retire that day," Mr Singleton said of the "exemplary" officer with 17 years of experience in corrections. "Nobody saw this coming."
Ms White sold her house about a month earlier and had told colleagues of her desire to go to the beach, Mr Singleton said.
"We just hope that this has a good ending."
Casey White was charged in 2020 with capital murder in the stabbing death of a 58-year-old woman.
He confessed and was awaiting trial in the Alabama jail when he disappeared, the US Marshals Service said.
"He has nothing to lose," Mr Singleton said. "He is extremely dangerous."
