EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The escaped Alabama inmate and former corrections officer who aided his getaway were hiding out in an Indiana city for days before a tip from a car wash led to their capture, the local sheriff said Tuesday.
Former corrections officer Vicky White, 56, shot herself and later died, and inmate Casey White, 38, surrendered after authorities briefly chased the couple Monday afternoon, ending the multistate search that began when the pair fled from an Alabama jail last month.
Casey White signed an extradition waiver and sheriff’s deputies from Alabama are making arrangements to pick him up in Indiana, Vanderburgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding said Tuesday. Wedding said Casey White wasn’t going be charged in Indiana, as he would face more serious charges in Alabama.
Police have said Vicky White and Casey White, who are not related, had a “jailhouse romance,” but have provided few clues as to why Vicky White helped the man who was facing a murder charge and serving a 75-year jail sentence on other violent offenses.
Over the weekend, law enforcement officials around Evansville, Indiana, began putting together the pieces that the pair may be in the area,  Wedding said.
Casey White told investigators he and Vicky White stopped in Evansville to “get their bearings straight and then figure out their next place to travel,” Wedding said. They booked a hotel room for two weeks in the area, Wedding added. Authorities said they also have surveillance video from a car wash where Casey White and Vicky White switched vehicles. 
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Members of a fugitive task force pursued the two Monday afternoon after they were spotted leaving their hotel, Wedding said.
Police rammed the car the two were driving and flipped it, and Vicky White shot herself, Wedding said. An autopsy was pending Tuesday afternoon, Wedding added. Armed with several firearms, Casey White told detectives he intended to start shooting during the chase, but his car being flipped prevented him from doing so, Wedding added.
Casey White was serving a 75-year prison sentence for kidnapping and attempted murder charges after he was convicted of trying to kill his ex-girlfriend and kidnapping her two roommates. He also was set to go on trial next month on capital murder charges in a 2015 murder-for-hire slaying and could face the death penalty if convicted.
“We got a dangerous man off the street today. He is never going to see the light of day again,” said Sheriff Rick Singleton of Lauderdale County, from where the pair fled in Alabama. But Singleton expressed uncertainty around what prompted Vicky White’s involvement.
“I had every bit of trust in Vicky White. She has been an exemplary employee. What in the world provoked her, prompted her to pull a stunt like this? I don’t know. I don’t know if we’ll ever know,” Singleton said Monday.
The search for Casey White and Vickey White began in late April after Vicky White told coworkers she was taking Casey White to a courthouse appointment. But the couple never returned. Police later established that the pair had a “special relationship” and were planning their escape.
Evansville police chief Billy Bolin said Tuesday a vehicle Casey White and Vicky White used was first spotted in the area of Evansville on May 2 when a police officer was doing a routine check of license plates in a parking lot to see if any vehicles were reported stolen.
Authorities got a call on May 4 about the vehicle at a carwash, but police could not immediately tow it, Bolin said. At that point in time, Bolin said police did not establish a connection between the vehicle and the couple that had fled Alabama.
However, Wedding said police had surveillance video that showed a pickup truck being left at the carwash and a Cadillac car being taken from the carwash. 
The owner of the car wash provided security camera footage, which showed a man who looked like Casey White standing next to the vehicle. The Marshals had described White as 6 feet, 9 inches and weighing approximately 330 pounds. 
“It wasn’t until over the weekend where it looked like more of a possibility that they had been here for sure. And once again, after six days, it was just hard to believe they were here. I wouldn’t think somebody on the run would stay in a community like Evansville for six days,” Wedding said.
Authorities were able to track Casey White and Vicky White to the hotel when an Evansville police officer noticed the Cadillac in its parking lot on Monday, Wedding said.
Wedding said investigators do not believe Casey White and Vicky White have any prior connection to Evansville. He said police recovered $29,000 from their vehicle. They also had at least four handguns and an AR-15, he added.
Officers who pursued Casey White and Vicky White in the car chase suffered minor injuries, Wedding said, but he said the officers’ actions prevented further injuries.
“They knew they were going up against a dangerous felon,” Wedding said.
The search was “back at square one” last week, Singleton said, after an abandoned 2007 orange Ford Edge was located in a Tennessee towing lot.
Singleton said Vicky White had used an alias to purchase the car, but it was abandoned and towed April 29, the day the pair went missing.
‘BACK AT SQUARE ONE’:Alabama police find abandoned SUV but escaped inmate, officer still missing
Surveillance video from the Lauderdale County Detention Facility showed Vicky White escorting Casey White to her patrol vehicle and leaving on April 29. The patrol car was found abandoned at a shopping center later that day.
Vicky White’s last day on the job was April 29. She had put in for retirement and recently sold her home for more than $90,000, authorities said.
“This escape was obviously well-planned and calculated. A lot of preparation went into this. They had plenty of resources, had cash, had vehicles,” Singleton said.
When Vicky White left the jail with Casey White, she told coworkers she was taking him to a mental health evaluation. But no such appointment was scheduled, and Vicky White was breaking department policy by transporting Casey White alone, authorities said.
‘SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP’:Alabama officer Vicky White, escaped inmate Casey White had ‘special relationship,’ sheriff says
Police later revealed the relationship between Casey White and Vicky White. Singleton said the connection stemmed back two years and included visits and phone calls beyond Vicky White’s work hours. Casey White also received special privileges other inmates didn’t have, he said.
Contributing: Christine Fernando, N’dea Yancey-Bragg and Cady Stanton, USA TODAY; Associated Press

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