A former Alabama jail official and the murder suspect she is accused of helping escape from custody were apprehended in Indiana after more than a week on the run, the Associated Press reports. Lauderdale County, Al., Sheriff Rick Singleton said the fugitives were caught near Evansville, In., after U.S. Marshals pursued their pickup truck. Casey White, 38, surrendered and Vicky White, 56, was taken to a hospital. “This has ended a very long and stressful and challenging week and a half. It ended the way that we knew it would. They are in custody,” Singleton said. Vanderburgh County, In., Sheriff Dave Wedding said officials had learned that the pair's vehicle was near the sheriff’s office. Casey and Vicky White fled in the vehicle and led police on a pursuit. U.S. Marshals collided with them “to try to end the pursuit,” Wedding said. Casey White was injured in the ensuing crash and Vicky White then shot herself. She died after being hospitalized.
The two had been the target of a nationwide manhunt since April 29 when Vicky White, the assistant director of corrections at the Lauderdale County jail, helped engineer the escape of Casey White, who was awaiting trial in a capital murder case. Vicky White had said she was taking the inmate to a mental health evaluation at the courthouse, but the two instead fled the area. Casey White was serving a 75-year prison sentence for attempted murder. “We got a dangerous man off the street today. He is never going to see the light of day again," Singleton said. He said it appeared the escape plan had been in the works for some time. Inmates said the two had a special relationship and she gave Casey White better treatment than other inmates. She sold her home and purchased the getaway car that authorities found abandoned in Tennessee. U.S. Marshals received a tip Sunday that the 2006 Ford F-150 pickup was seen at a car wash in Evansville. Investigators believe the truck was stolen in Tennessee and driven 175 miles to Evansville, The pair was likely able to go undetected for so long because of Vicky White's $90,000 in cash from selling her home, Lenny DePaul, former commander of the U.S. Marshals' New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, told USA Today.
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