Escaped inmate Casey White captured, jailer Vicky White dead after U.S. Marshal chase in Indiana

Escaped inmate Casey White and jailer Vicky White, who have been on the run since April 29, were taken into custody in Indiana on Monday afternoon.

The two led U.S. Marshals on a chase after they were spotted at a motel near Evansville, Indiana. The Cadillac they were in wrecked, leaving Casey White, who was driving, with minor injuries. Vicky White, who reportedly suffered from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, was taken to a hospital for treatment, where she later died.

Vanderburgh County, Indiana Sheriff Dave Wedding said during a news conference that Vicky White shot herself when U.S. Marshal's crashed into the Cadillac the couple was in.

Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said the announcement that the two were in custody had been delayed briefly so a deputy could deliver that news to Vicky White's mother first.

'Convinced she orchestrated this': Vicky White flew under the radar before escape with Casey White

Casey White's escape with Vicky White: How it unfolded, where the investigation stands

Vicky White told colleagues she was taking Casey White for a mental health evaluation at the courthouse on the morning of April 29. She left with the cuffed and shackled 6-foot 9-inch tall inmate — against jail policies that call for two armed officers for such as escort — in a marked unit. Because she was their supervisor, Singleton said, no one questioned the breach of policy.

Rather than going to the courthouse, she drove to a strip mall and abandoned the sheriff's unit there. Investigators now know they got into a 2007 Ford Edge that Vicky White had purchased sometime before, and apparently left it in the parking lot in an area where vehicles for sale are often left overnight.

She'd stayed the night before in a hotel within walking distance of the parking lot.

That vehicle was found within hours, but no one realized it. It had been towed from a rural Williamson County, Tenn. road at 1:40 p.m., but authorities didn't know that till last Thursday night.

Some details differed in the press conferences: Wedding provided information that Vicky White shot herself; Singleton said he didn't know the source of her injuries.

Singleton indicated they were in a Ford truck; Wedding said the pair was in a Cadillac.

Earlier today U.S. Marshals linked a Ford F-150 to the missing duo; it was found May 3 abandoned at an Evansville car wash. Security cameras captured images of man near the truck.

Evansville is about 219 miles from Florence, Singleton said; no details were released about how the couple went from the truck to the Cadillac crashed in what Wedding described as a brief chase.

Singleton said a tip from a citizen last night led to the hotel where the couple was staying.

Wedding indicated Casey White's unique physique -- he's 6 feet 9 inches tall -- was to law enforcement's advantage.

"Because he's wasn't a normal-sized human being," he said, he stood out.

Singleton said it was his understanding that Casey White surrendered after the crash.

And the sheriff's vowed: Casey White will be brought back to Lauderdale County, and despite overcrowding in the jail, Singleton said he will be locked in a cell alone. He said Casey White would be kept in handcuffs and shackles even when he's in that cell.

"If he wants to sue me, so be it," Singleton said.

"He's not getting out of this jail again."

Singleton and Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connelly indicated plans have been made already to deal with White's return.

Whenever Casey White is brought back "if it's at 2 o'clock in the morning" a judge will come in for an immediate arraignment, and White will go back to state prison.

"It ended the way we knew it would," the sheriff said. "They were caught." Most escapes are spur of the moment, he said. With this one, however, "they had the cash, the vehicles, the resources to pull this off."

Singleton said he was grateful no citizens or law enforcement officers were hurt as a result of what he described as a "long, stressful, challenging" period of time -- one unlike anything he's experienced in 50 years in law enforcement.

The lesson learned: that you don't know who to trust, he said, because he trusted Vicky White.

"You just don't know people sometimes," Singleton said.

Contact Gadsden Times reporter Donna Thornton at 256-393-3284 or donna.thornton@gadsdentimes.com.

Houston Harwood and Jon Webb from the Evansville Courier & Press contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Casey White in custody; Vicky White dead after chase in Indiana