The search for the missing Alabama inmate and corrections officer

Tow truck driver Robert Kimes thought someone had abandoned their vehicle after experiencing mechanical issues, when he arrived to pick up a 2007 Ford Edge with his tow truck last Friday. 

"The vehicle was in the middle of the road blocking traffic," Kimes told CNN. "It looked like someone broke down and left it there."

Kimes said the vehicle, which was left on Banner Adams Road, was locked when he arrived to tow the car before transporting it to Heithcock Towing, where Kimes works.

The tow truck driver said he was looking at a story on a local TV station’s website showing the car used by corrections officer Vicky White and inmate Casey White to escape, when he immediately realized it was the car he towed nearly a week earlier.

The back bumper had damage in the left rear, which Kimes said he remembered was the same damage on the vehicle he towed last Friday.

Kimes said he texted his boss on Thursday around 9:30 p.m. and his boss alerted the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office of the possible connection to the nationwide manhunt.

Vicky White, a former assistant director of corrections for Lauderdale County in Alabama, had extensive knowledge of procedures used by the sheriff’s office, which "definitely played to her advantage," Florence Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said in the Friday news conference.

"I think this was a very well-thought-out plan," Singleton added.

White, a 56-year-old widow with no children, used aliases to purchase the vehicle used to escape alongside inmate Casey White and is likely using new aliases now, the sheriff said.

It is not known if she used those aliases during her communications with Casey White when he was in jail.

Officials believe Vicky White may have altered her appearance since her disappearance. The US Marshals Service released photos of Vicky White on Thursday showing what she looks like with her blond hair, and what she could look like with brown hair if she changed her appearance.

"It’s probably logical and reasonable to assume she has probably tried to alter her appearance," Singleton said.

Law enforcement agencies are relying on leads from the public to aid in their investigation, Singleton said, and urge anyone who sees something to call with tips "regardless how unimportant" they think it is.

"[We are] behind where we would like to be," the sheriff said. "We wish we had a lot more progress."

Officials learned the vehicle a former Alabama corrections officer and inmate had used to escape was discovered before law enforcement even knew the pair had disappeared, Florence Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said in a news conference Friday.

The Williamson County, Tennessee, Sheriff's Office contacted US Marshals on May 5 and told them the car had been located and towed on April 29, just hours after inmate Casey White and corrections officer Vicky White had left the jail in Florence, Alabama.

The vehicle, an orange 2007 Ford Edge, was found in a "sparsely populated" area not far from Interstate 65, about two hours north of Florence, Alabama, where the fugitive investigation began.

The tow company did not realize it had the same vehicle in their lot the inmate and corrections officer used to escape, until May 5.

"They found the car before we even knew they were gone," Singleton said. "There’s no fault or blame on anyone."

The pair were on foot when they lost their vehicle, but it’s still not known if they stole another vehicle or if they hitched a ride.

"Obviously they could have walked or someone could have picked them up," the sheriff said.

Singleton said there was nothing found inside the abandoned vehicle besides Vicky White's jail keys, handcuffs, and radio. Investigators also noted a "botched" attempt to spray paint the car.

When asked what he would say to the escaped pair, Singleton said, "You know we are going to find you. If you are safe right now. Get out while you can. Turn yourself into local authorities wherever you are."

The vehicle found in the search for missing Alabama inmate Casey White and corrections officer Vicky White was abandoned about four hours after leaving Florence Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said in a news conference on Friday.

Singleton said they had to leave the vehicle presumably because of mechanical problems.

“It was abandoned pretty much out in the middle of nowhere outside of a county road where it would obviously draw attention and be found,” he added.

Officials believe they know the direction Vicky White and Casey White went, but they are "back to square one" as far as figuring out what new vehicle the pair may be traveling in now.

Law enforcement officials are now canvassing the area for any witnesses and searching if there are any stolen vehicles reported in the area, he added.

More reward money has been added in the hope someone will come forward with information that leads to arrests in the week-old manhunt for Vicky White and Casey White.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced Friday afternoon rewards of $5,000 each for information leading to an apprehension and arrest in the case.

“Both Casey White and Vicky White pose a major threat to the public, and they must be apprehended. I am pleased to offer this support as law enforcement works diligently to get these dangerous criminals behind bars,” Ivey said.

In addition to the rewards announced by the Governor’s office, the U.S. Marshals Service is offering up to $10,000 for information leading to the capture of Casey Cole White, 38, and up to $5,000 for Vicky White (no relation), 56, the correctional officer who authorities believe helped Casey White escape April 29 from the Lauderdale County Detention Facility.

This makes the total reward for information leading to the capture of Casey White $15,000 and the total for Vicky White $10,000.

Officials are expected to hold a 3 p.m. ET news conference as the search continues for Vicky White and Casey White, the former Alabama corrections officer and inmate who have been on the run since last week.

As investigators keep sifting Friday through hundreds of tips from "all four corners of the United States" about the whereabouts of a fugitive Alabama inmate and the officer he escaped with, authorities have released new information that may help the public identify the pair, along with details of a deadly threat he allegedly once made.

Casey White in 2015 threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend and her sister and said he wanted police to kill him, the Marshals Service said. Authorities have advised his "potential targets" about his escape and the threats against them and have taken "appropriate protective actions," the agency said.

Meantime, image renderings by the Marshals Service show what corrections officer Vicky White, 56, who was blonde when she disappeared a week ago, would look like if she altered her appearance to have darker hair or a shorter hairstyle. Other photos show inmate Casey White's distinctive tattoos; he is 38.

The two are not related.

US Marshals found an orange 2007 Ford Edge associated with Vicky White and Casey White, the missing former Alabama corrections officer and inmate, in a tow lot in Williamson County, Tennessee.

Investigators were notified of the vehicle in the lot Thursday at 11 p.m. Williamson is about two hours north of Florence, Alabama, where the fugitive investigation began April 29.

Once on scene, they determined it was the vehicle used by Vicky White and Casey White, according to the US Marshals office.

Williamson County Sheriff Office spokesperson Sharon Puckett told CNN the vehicle used by the inmate and corrections officer was first found abandoned in a rural area of Williamson County last Friday.

The sheriff’s office responded to an abandoned vehicle call last Friday at 3 p.m. The vehicle was reported abandoned at the corner of Smithson Road and Banner-Adams Road in Bethesda, Tennessee.

The vehicle was found locked, with no tags and no identifying information, he added.

Puckett says officials have received the warrant and are processing the vehicle at a separate location but did not immediately know where the vehicle currently is.