Washington (AFP) - 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 said Tuesday.
Inmate Casey White and officer Vicky White -- who are not related -- both left the Alabama jail where he was being held to face murder charges on Friday.
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.
She had sold her house about a month earlier and told colleagues of her desire to go to the beach, he said.
Singleton told reporters that an arrest warrant had been issued for Vicky White "for permitting or facilitating an escape" of an inmate.
Casey White, who is 6-foot-9 (2.06 meters) and weighs more than 250 pounds (113 kilograms), was serving a 75-year prison sentence for a long series of offenses that included trespassing, violent car theft, and hit and run. He had also been charged with murder after admitting to having killed a 58-year-old woman in 2015.
"He has nothing to lose," Singleton said. "He is extremely dangerous."
A reward of up to $10,000 has been offered for any information leading to his arrest.
