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Mariupol City Officials: Possible Breakthrough In Evacuations; 22-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Killed While Fighting In Ukraine; 14 Tornado Reports Across Nebraska And Kansas; Ukrainian Girl Taken To Russian- Occupied Territory Now Free; Two Thirds Of Ukraine's Children Displaced During The Conflict; Manhunt Underway For Missing Corrections Officer, Inmate. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired April 30, 2022 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:34]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right. We begin this hour tracking two major stories.

First in the U.S., a string of violent storms tearing through Nebraska and Kansas. At least 14 reports of tornados touching down leaving a trail of destruction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHAD RUSSELL, ANDOVER FIRE CHIEF: We know that there was a direct tornado strike that started in Sedgwick County and traveled into Andover. We had many buildings in Andover take very tough damage. Total in the path -- there were 966 buildings, we believe. We do not have a damage assessment on how many of those were damaged.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I mean, the video is extraordinary. So far, only a handful of injuries are reported. More on this story in a moment.

But first, we're watching new developments overseas in Ukraine. Ukrainian forces withstanding Russia's merciless shelling in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia releasing new video today that they claim shows a submarine in the Black Sea firing cruise missiles at Ukrainian targets.

This as we're seeing exclusive new satellite images released this morning showing the devastation at a steel plant in Mariupol. It's where a last stand of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians are hunkered down, surrounded.

And there's also this just in to CNN just moments ago. City officials in Mariupol say there may be a possible breakthrough in the evacuation negotiations.

For more on that, let's go to CNN's Scott McLean live for us in Lviv. Scott, what are you learning?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey Fredricka. Well, earlier today, we heard from the Mariupol mayor's office who said that the United Nations and the International Red Cross were working to negotiate with the Russians and with the Ukrainians on some kind of an evacuation corridor.

Now we're hearing from the mayor's office that as you mentioned, there may be hope possibly for an evacuation corridor today.

What we know is that if that is to happen and it seems like it is not finalized at this point, it would lead from a point on the western edge of the city. The reasons for optimism are that the Ukrainians say that the Russians are allowing people who are in neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city, the so-called left bank, to move around to the opposite side of the river, potentially allowing them to link up with that evacuation corridor.

What is not clear at this stage of the game though is whether or not that includes these civilians who are trapped underneath that sprawling Azovstal steel plant facility.

And new satellite images show that is not a place that you want to be. Not a place that anyone would want to be.

Those images show that nearly every building on that sprawling campus has been destroyed. Some roofs are caved in. Some buildings have been reduced entirely to rubble.

What those images do not show though is the extent of the damage underground. I spoke yesterday with deputy commander of the Azov Regiment, part of the Ukrainian military that is leading the fighting in that area who said that some parts of the cellars and bunkers and tunnels underneath that plant have been blocked off by rubble and there are some areas that they cannot access. They don't know if there are people who may be trapped under there and still be alive, frankly.

Yesterday, the president -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that there was an operation underway in order to evacuate people, but he gave no details and nothing really seemed to materialize from that.

Last night, CNN spoke with the CEO of the company that runs the plant. He says that he has not had contact with anyone there for the last three weeks because there's inadequate communications there. But what he did say though is that they have managed to link up with some people who have managed to escape.

Here's what they told him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YURIY RYZHENKOV, CEO, METINWEST: They're telling us it's a humanitarian disaster. The city is being destroyed, a basically beautiful, thriving city was turned into a concentration camp by the Russians in less than two months. You can say it's genocide which is happening there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:04:54]

MCLEAN: Pretty strong words. Now, even if the civilians who are trapped under there manage to get out through diplomacy, through the U.N. or Red Cross, that still leaves the soldiers who are fighting there who say that the Russian troops have begun to storm the facility on the ground as well. The mayor's office told me yesterday that it would likely take a miracle to get them out and they say they will not leave without weapons in their hands, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Scott McLean, thank you so much.

All right. We're also now hearing from the family of an American citizen killed while fighting in Ukraine. 22-year-old Willy Joseph Cancel, a former U.S. Marine, died earlier this week.

CNN'S Oren Liebermann has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: For Willy Joseph Cancel, this wasn't his war. The 22-year-old had already served his country in the Marines. But after Russia invaded Ukraine, Cancel's family says he felt the need to leave Tennessee and join the fight.

REBECCA CABRERA, MOTHER OF AMERICAN KILLED IN UKRAINE: Even before he left to go to Ukraine, you know, he was proud because he wanted to do the right thing and you know, fight alongside the underdogs and help them with things that he thought was important.

LIEBERMANN: Cancel's mother, Rebecca Cabrera, says her son was the one to stand up when everyone else stood back.

CABRERA: Everybody that he has come in contact with in his life said that they were proud to serve next to him, to be part of his life. And just everybody remember who he was. You know, he was a hero and you know, he was doing the right thing no matter how people feel about it.

LIEBERMANN: Cancel's mother says he started working for a private military contractor shortly before the war. Cancel agreed to go fight in Ukraine.

He arrived in a country still defending on multiple fronts in mid March. Russian forces inching towards Kyiv, carrying out more strikes on western Ukraine. His mother says she was told he fought with men from different countries before he was killed in action.

His body has not been recovered because of the danger. His new brothers in arms mourning his loss.

MIRO POPOVICH, U.S. CITIZEN FIGHTING IN UKRAINE: This makes me feel sad. And I'm grateful for his sacrifices. Unbelievable that he was able to go here and put an ultimate sacrifice for my home country of Ukraine.

LIEBERMANN: Cancel leaves behind a wife and a 7-month-old baby -- a family left without a father and a husband. His brother-in-law says he was the type to fight for what's right regardless of the outcome.

He's not the only one. Ukraine's military created an international legion for foreign fighters. A Ukrainian official said more than 20,000 volunteers and veterans from 52 countries wanted to join though how many served is unclear.

The U.S. has sent billions of dollars in weapons to Ukraine to help them fight Russia, but the White House says American citizens should stay out of this fight.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We know people want to help, but we do encourage Americans to find other ways to do so rather than traveling to -- rather than traveling to Ukraine to fight there.

It is a war zone. It's an active war zone. And we know Americans face significant risks, but certainly we know a family is mourning, A wife is mourning and our hearts are with them.

LIEBERMANN: Cancel's mother says the call was too great, the cause too important, one for which Cancel gave his life.

CABRERA: He knew they needed help. And it was just something that he felt that he could help in because he had the experience and the training and the knowledge to go and help them.

LIEBERMANN: Oren Liebermann, CNN at the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Joining us right now is Aaron David Miller. He's a CNN global affairs analyst and is also a former State Department Middle East negotiator. So good to see you.

So we're seeing relentless shelling in the east and civilians trapped in several areas and we continue to hear from the international community about talks about the potential of diplomacy with Putin, but is it clear by now that diplomacy or negotiations just don't seem plausible?

AARON DAVID MILLER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: You know, Fred, a successful negotiation is usually based on the degree of urgency that both sides attach to reaching some sort of deal. I'd tend to be a little more optimistic on the prospects of at some point an evacuation of civilians from Mariupol even though we've had so many false starts and it's an extraordinary human tragedy.

The broader issue of negotiating with Putin on ending the conflict I think simply is not in the cards. At least not for now.

And as far as Ukraine is concerned, you know, they are now trained on and equipped by the world's finest military particularly after the poor performance of the Russians in the field. That is to say the United States.

[11:09:56]

MILLER: So Zelenskyy's also under a fair amount of pressure to hold tough and to wait to see to determine how many additional gains Ukraine can make against the Russians. So sadly, the time for talking is not yet here or serious talking leading to agreement is not yet here.

WHITFIELD: So can Ukraine make the kind of gains possible to help end this conflict if it's not in the cards that Putin would, you know, give up?

MILLER: You know, I think the next two to four weeks will be critically important phase one of this operation. Russian effort to sort of thunder strike, decapitate the current government in Ukraine, shell and occupy Kyiv and other major populations here. That has not proven to be the case.

The Russians may be learning from their mistakes to some degree, but I know you talked to Mark Hertling this morning and he has doubts whether or not they are sufficiently in control of concentrating their forces. They have logistics and morale problems.

So I think the future of a negotiation is going to be determined largely by events on the battlefield. And it's just too soon to make a prediction. The trendlines however seem to be in favor of at least Ukraine stopping or thwarting significant Russian advances, but again, it's still early days.

WHITFIELD: This upcoming G20 summit in Indonesia. Russia invited to attend. He says yes, he wants to be there. How important will it be for America, for the United States, and other countries to either boycott as long as Putin is indeed in attendance or make some other statement?

MILLER: You know, the G20's in November, Fred. And it's in Washington time, in crisis time -- that's an eternity. So many things can transpire in Europe.

Look, I mean the administration has a problem. They understandably and justifiably have taken extraordinary measures to isolate Russia politically. They've created a sanctions package which makes Russia the most sanctioned country in the world. Certainly in recent decades in terms of the application of sanctions.

But there's a certain reality. The president of Indonesia has not joined sanctions. Of the ten most populated countries in the world, only one I believe, the United States, is fully on board to isolate and sanction Russia.

Important countries like India, Brazil, Mexico. The Israelis are hedging with regard to protecting their interests in Syria. Saudi Arabia and the Emirates refuse to increase oil production because they don't want to alienate the Russians. So it's a real problem. And if in fact Zelenskyy agrees to go, I know he's been invited, I suspect the administration has a couple of options. They could send a lower level delegation. They could participate remotely in an effort to demonstrate or as I think (INAUDIBLE), President Biden will go because if he doesn't, then the absence of trying to create an American narrative and tell an American story would be critically important. So it's going to be a tough call as we approach November.

WHITFIELD: Ok, I also want to ask you about the release of American Trevor Reed in a prisoner swap deal with Russia. I mean thank goodness for his release, but still being held in a Russian prison are WNBA'S Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.

So how does Reed's release help further empower or perhaps even leverage the U.S. State Department's approach on releasing -- having the release of Griner and Whelan?

MILLER: You know, it really demonstrates that in this sort of crisis when it comes to these sort of issues, Russia and United States still maintain a channel.

The mystery -- look, this has building up for months. Both the White House and the State Department have been engaged in efforts to seek a deal. Paul -- I'm sorry -- Trevor Reed's health was declining. He's been exposed to active TB. I think he had been on a couple of hunger strikes. The Russians may well have concluded that they couldn't afford or didn't want to afford, given what they've done in Ukraine. Though it strikes me as straining the grounds of credulity, the breaking point to think that Vladimir Putin cares about the health of Trevor Reed.

But nonetheless they agreed to this. And in return, the United States traded -- appears to be a significantly large, in terms of drug supply, heroin dealer that they usually picked up in Liberia where he received most of his sentence.

[11:15:02]

MILLER: What this says about Griner and Paul Whelan however is really unclear. And I suspect it would be nice to see some sort of package deal to get both of those Americans out, but I think it's too early to make a judgment and I suspect the Russians will use Griner and Whelan as they've used Trevor Reed over the past several years.

WHITFIELD: Well, certainly everybody's hoping for their release really soon.

All right. Aaron David Miller, thank you so much.

MILLER: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come -- I mean, images hard to believe. Dozens of buildings levelled after massive tornados like this tearing through Kansas and Nebraska. We'll tell you where the powerful storm might be headed now after this.

[11:15:58]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Clean up is underway today after a slew of reported tornados struck Kansas and Nebraska. One powerful storm levelled dozens of buildings near Wichita with only a few minor injuries reported.

The Andover fire chief spoke out about the extensive damage last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSSELL: Unfortunately, we've been through this before and it will be years that we'll be recovering from this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar joins me live from the CNN Weather Center with the latest.

Allison, my goodness. I mean it seems like these storms, these tornados are becoming even more perfectly formed and we're starting to see more of them in broad daylight. What's going on?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right. And it would certainly seem that way the last few months. Both March and April had above average numbers of tornados. So for a lot of these communities, it may even feel like deja vu all over again.

It's been a very busy past 24 hours, total of 16 reported tornados. 88 wind gust reports and 60 hail reports. And keep in mind, those weren't just small hail. Some of them the size of baseballs and even softballs.

Now, unfortunately for a lot of the clean up efforts that are going to take place today, you're going to have to contend with some pretty gusty winds. Wind (INAUDIBLE) and high wind warnings across some of those same areas that were hit yesterday -- 30, 40, even 50 mile per hour wind gusts.

Today, the same system continues. We're just seeing it shift a little bit off towards the east. Basically anything from Milwaukee all the way down towards Waco and Austin, Texas have the potential for strong to severe thunderstorms. This yellow area more of the target point -- Chicago, St. Louis, Little Rock. Damaging winds, large hail and tornados all possibilities.

We have showers and thunderstorms already ongoing right now, but you're really going to start to see the potential for those severe storms ramp up this afternoon once you get that heating of the day to start to build.

They will continue into the evening hours. So please make sure you have a way to get emergency alerts before you go to bed tonight. This is a multiday event because we have another system that moves in tomorrow. So the potential for tomorrow exists basically focused across areas of eastern New Mexico, areas of the Texas and Oklahoma panhandle, then by Monday, we see it start to spread north as well as spread east.

Again, the two systems -- here's that first one. This is the one across the Midwest pushing into areas of West Virginia and Ohio tomorrow.

There's that secondary system beginning to slide in. And that's going to be a factor not only Sunday, but also Monday. And unfortunately, Fred, some of those same areas that were hit yesterday are likely going to see the potential for more severe weather on Monday.

WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness and there's more.

All right. Thank you so much, Allison Chinchar.

All right. Coming up, two-thirds of children in Ukraine have now been forced to leave their homes. Next, we'll talk to a UNICEF spokesperson about what he is seeing on the ground in Ukraine right now.

[11:22:57]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Millions of Ukrainians have been displaced since the war started but one of them has been reunited with her family in Kyiv. She's a 12-year-old girl who was taken to Russian-occupied territory after bombs killed her father in Mariupol.

CNN's Matt Rivers has her harrowing story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For Kira Obedinsky, her new iPad is everything. She's 12, after all. But the shiny screen is also a welcome distraction from an ordeal no 12-year-old should have to ever endure because just a few weeks ago the young Ukrainian wasn't safe like she is now in Kyiv, but in a hospital run by Russian-backed separatists, forcibly separated from her family.

When the Russians first invaded Mariupol, Kira's dad, Yeben (ph) was still alive. Her mom had died just after she was born and when Russian bombs started to fall, They sheltered in a neighbor's basement, she recalls.

"But they hit the house where we were staying," she says. "We were buried in the cellar. Then the rescuers took us out of the wreckage."

Her dad did not emerge, Kira told us. Now an orphan, she started to walk to try and find safety amidst chaos. And then another explosion from a mine.

"My friend saw something on the ground," she says, "and she hit it accidentally with her boot." The military came after the explosions and took us to a hospital because we were bleeding."

But in some ways, her journey was just beginning. In the chaos, she was picked up by soldiers she says spoke Russian and eventually brought to a Russian-held area in Donetsk.

"I was taken there at night," she says. "They took shrapnel out of me, out of my ear. I screamed and cried a lot."

It was shortly after this happened that CNN first learned about and reported Kira's story because Russia paraded it on state TV.

State propaganda showed images of Kira in a Donetsk hospital and said she was being treated well. Convinced she was being mistreated, her family went public with her story and it worked. A deal between Russia and Ukraine allowed her grandfather to travel to Russia and bring her back to Kyiv where she told us what Russian state TV did not.

[11:29:52]

RIVERS: "It's a bad hospital there. The food there is bad. The nurses scream at you. The bed is bent like this. There wasn't enough space for all of us inside."

None of that came out on Russian state TV. Her injuries have largely healed now though she'll stay in the hospital a little longer. It was there that someone gave her that iPad after a presidential visit came bearing gift this week.

She didn't love all that attention though so for now, she says she just wants to see her cat and spend time with her grandfather, recovering from the horrors of war one game at a time.

Matt Rivers, CNN -- Kyiv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: After a meeting with Ukraine President Zelenskyy this week, the U.N. Secretary General said they would redouble efforts to save lives and reduce human suffering in Ukraine. The war has displaced nearly two-thirds of Ukraine's 7.5 million children and killed more than 160 according to UNICEF.

Joining me right now is James Elder. He's the global spokesperson for UNICEF and is joining us from the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

James, good to see you. I mean this is not your first trip to Ukraine, but perhaps you can describe for us, you know, what has changed in your journeys there.

JAMES ELDER, GLOBAL SPOKESPERSON, UNICEF: Gosh. Yes, look, not much has changed in a way. I think that it's still defined by a huge level of stress in a place like this because the air raid sirens just keep pushing people underground and these are people who have been living bunkers and living in a war zone so they know what an air raid siren should mean. And supplies, at least that's kicking off hugely. I see that. I've just been to see the sort of supplies UNICEF is giving out -- water medicines, blankets, counselors.

But then also, just sorrow, Fredricka. Just endless sorrow. Again this morning, another missile hitting a Ukrainian area -- hitting Ukrainian flats, a block of flats. Three young children, two 5, I think and one 7, all injured, all in a hospital where there's not enough doctors now. So you know, stress and sorrow keep defining my time in Ukraine.

WHITFIELD: Yes. I mean, it's hard to believe how anyone really is keeping it together. And then even seeing the story, you know, from my colleague there on the 12-year-old. I mean, just what strength so many young people and, of course, you know, ages of all kinds, are demonstrating.

You have actually been documenting your current trip in a daily video diary. Even posting on Twitter. And yesterday, you shared your meeting with a teenage brother and sister and their cats at the train station there in Dnipro.

I mean they're smiling. It's just hard to believe how such young people are able to, I guess, exhibit so much hope despite so much that they have been through. Tell us about them.

ELDER: Yes, spot on. There was a real steeliness with this boy and girl, brother and sister and they were clearly very close. You could see that. and so for them, they wanted out, you know. It gives me a chill to think about them. They just wanted to get out now.

They were forced now to leave their home. They had given up on that constant bombardment of where they lived not far from here and they just wanted to get out. Their mother, they don't have a dad, their mother had just bought a home for them.

You can imagine a single mom, we see it around the world. She saved up and she bought a home. She hadn't wanted to leave. And it got to a point where it was just not safe. Doesn't feel safe anywhere so it was time to go.

So the brother and his sister, Tim and Genia (ph) and the two cats were ready to go. They wanted to go to Poland. They want to go and said, they just want peace. They want to be surrounded by, you know, the sound, one of them said to me again by the sound of birds. Maybe the cat wants that as well. But the sound of birds. Not the sound of missiles.

So they both were and it was lovely to see the way they connected and strengthened each other. One sentence with the mother and she was in tears. She could see a bigger struggle ahead for her and the kids.

WHITFIELD: CNN.com also has a photo essay about the refugee mothers who were choosing to return to Ukraine deciding that they would rather risk living in a conflict zone than be refugees in another country. Have you heard that kind of story from people? ELDEWR: What I've certainly heard is -- I mean I came across that

border again. So I didn't see a lot of people returning, but I've certainly seen a large enough number to be significant of people coming from the west, which was meant to be safe, safer certainly than here, coming back here.

And that's because for them, just a lack of financial ability to stay somewhere else. They need to be working or they need to be not paying for rent in two places. So that's happening more and more.

[11:34:49]

ELDER: It's one of the reasons why with all the things UNICEF is doing, those obvious things, you imagine, of medical equipment and blankets and food and water, is cash assistance. Getting cash to those people, those most vulnerable is really key to give them the power to choose where they stay in this horrible scenario.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. So James, too, you know what I mean, this war, you know, when you look at the whole big picture, it comes after more than two years in a pandemic where kids experienced loss, isolation, you know, many missed kind of coming of age moments.

How do you see all of this potentially impacting these young people long-term?

ELDER: We have to stop the war or the impact grows day in and day out. The way you paint that then, Fredricka, it's like the four horsemen of the apocalypse, you know. We've had the pestilence and the pandemic and these children in this country had a lot to do with there. A lot lockdowns and every child around the world knows that.

And then the destruction of this war going on right now, which shows no sign of abating and no respect for boys and girls and civilians.

Then hunger, we see that -- another one of those horsemen. Hunger, of course, we see that because it's meant to be a bread basket for wheat and crops around the world in places where UNICEF is still desperately worried from Yemen to Ethiopia, you know. And that's why we've never stopped from those countries I mentioned.

But for the boys and girls here, they need respite. And I know viewers get sick of us saying it but, you know, the bombs have to stop. We're not going to -- these children will not have that psychological respite and a chance to get back into a classroom and be with friends and be in places that should be safe -- a playground, a hospital -- until those bombs stop and they're not stopping as I said.

More children injured this morning. So until that, an aid agency like us, we're just doing triage here.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Because long after the bombs stop, the suffering -- they're traumatized for a very long time. So the suffering continues just in a different form.

James Elder, yes, thank you so much for joining us and thank you for the work that you're doing. Appreciate it.

ELDER: Thanks Fredricka.

Coming up, a manhunt this country is underway in Alabama (AUDIO GAP) and an inmate go missing on their way to the courthouse. I'll talk to the Lauderdale County sheriff right after this.

[11:37:17]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

There's a manhunt underway right now in Alabama for a capital murder suspect and a corrections officer who was supposed to be escorting him from the jail to the courthouse. Officer Vicki White was transporting inmate, Casey White -- no relation -- trying to transport that person to court for a mental evaluation, but neither of them showed up.

Later that day, Officer White's patrol car was spotted in a shopping center parking lot around 11:00 a.m. And at around 3:30 p.m., other officers tried to contact her but her phone went straight to voice mail.

Lauderdale Sheriff Rick Singleton says Officer White is likely in danger. Well, he's joining me right now.

Sheriff, so good you could be with us. Boy, is this a very strange manhunt underway. Now, do you have reason to believe that there was some cooperation between the two as to why they're both now missing?

Sheriff, are you able to hear me? Oh, my goodness. We are going to try to reestablish that connection. Oh, wait a minute now. I'm hearing he might be able to hear me.

So, sheriff, if you're able to hear me right now, what's the situation --

SHERIFF RICK SINGLETON, LAUDERDALE COUNTY, ALABAMA: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- all right, Sheriff Singleton, as to, you know, do you believe that the corrections officer and the inmate have a planned escape here?

SINGLETON: Well, we don't know for sure. That's certainly something we're looking into. We're really approaching this from three different angles.

One, you know, was she overpowered and kidnapped. And the other, of course, obvious question is did she assist the inmate in escaping. And if she did, did she do it willingly or was she coerced or threatened somehow to help him escape.

WHITFIELD: Ok. And why would you believe that potentially she may have assisted him? And at the same time, what tells you that potentially it could also be a kidnapping in terms of one of the three scenarios you see?

SINGLETON: Well, the whole scenario with her transporting him to court for an appointment or court appearance that did not exist. He was not scheduled to be in court that morning for any reason.

And also, of course, our policy is that any inmate on charges he was in our detention center for, be escorted by two sworn deputies. Director White is in charge of coordinating those transports.

She knew the policy. She knew she was not to leave there alone with him. And so that tells us that you know, something was up. She carried him out of the detention center to a scheduled court appearance that was nonexistent.

[11:44:55]

SINGLETON: So you know, we don't know if she was coerced, threatened to carry that plan out or if she did it willingly, or of course, you know, if somehow he overpowered her in the four blocks from the detention center to the courthouse and took control of the vehicle and her.

WHITFIELD: Ok. And so now that we report that the vehicle that they were both in was spotted at a parking lot in a shopping center, that might also infer that there might be some video cameras around, right? Surveillance videos.

Have you learned anything about their whereabouts after getting out of the vehicle, a willingness or direction that you all now are able to search?

SINGLETON: We have not. And it's really given us a roadblock in our investigation. We don't really know what kind of vehicle they may be in. We have obviously searched out all the video security footage in the area. Other locations that we've gotten tips where they might have been seen here or there locally that morning, but we've not been able to turn up any evidence that shows them getting in another vehicle.

WHITFIELD: And then what can you tell me about Corrections Officer Vicki White? I mean, she's a long time veteran, right, of the county. And then what can you tell me about the inmate, Casey White -- and no relation, right?

SINGLETON: No relation. Vicki White has been employed with the sheriff's office for 16 years, almost 17 years and she's hired out as a corrections deputy, was promoted to sergeant, and in 2015 when I took office, she was promoted to assistant director of operations.

She does a tremendous job. All of her co-workers, all the employees in the sheriff's office, the judges all have the utmost respect for her. She has an unblemished record. She's an exemplary employee so we're very concerned for her safety.

The inmate, Casey White, was serving 75 years in our Department of Corrections for a crime spree that he committed over in our neighboring county, Limestone County in 2015. He was brought back here for court appearances on a charge that we have for him here on capital murder. Also in 2015, we had a victim murdered in the east end of our county. Her home was burglarized. She was killed.

He asked for an investigator to come talk to him in 2019. That investigator went through the prison and interviewed him and he confessed to that murder. So he was brought back here for four scheduled court appearances, but he did not have a scheduled appearance yesterday.

WHITFIELD: And then, Sheriff Singleton, a district attorney had reported that Casey White intended to escape and take a person hostage back in 2020. Is there anything you can tell us about that?

SINGLETON: Other than we discovered that plan and you know, as a result, he was shipped back to the Department of Corrections at that time. You know, again, we had a policy in place and we reiterated that policy with him, that he was to always have two deputies escort him wherever he went.

WHITFIELD: All right, curious indeed. Sheriff Singleton, please keep us updated as your investigation takes any turns. Thank you so much.

SINGLETON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back.

[11:48:34]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. The FDA and the CDC are investigating baby formula maker Abbott Nutrition after reports of consumer complaints and babies getting sick. Abbott has recalled and held back several powdered formula products made in its Sturgis, Michigan facility while safety testing continues.

Friday it said it would release some product lots that were put on hold. The FDA says products made in Sturgis from late January to early March may carry a risk of contamination.

In North Central New Mexico an air quality is alert is now in effect because of the thick smoke from a series of wildfires, some have started in early April. Almost 160,000 acres have burned across the state.

Residents in San Miguel and Mora Counties are now under mandatory evacuation orders as of Friday as the Calf Canyon and Hermit's Peak fires continue to threaten homes.

A beekeeper went the extra mile to save thousands of bees misdirected to Hartsfield Jackson Airport here in Atlanta. And according to the Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association, the bees were supposed to go to Alaska but they ended up in Georgia. And when beekeeper Edward Morgan, Jr. arrived he found many insects dead or starving. Morgan says he knew that survivors wouldn't make it to Alaska, he spent hours finding people who could place them in local hives.

All right. An all new "CNN ORIGINAL SERIES: NOMAD WITH CARLTON MCCOY", the masters sommelier and celebrated chef searches for the true heart of a city through its food, music, art and of course, the people.

Here is a preview of Carlton's trip to Paris.

[11:54:51]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLTON MCCOY, CELEBRATED CHEF: This isn't like a tour or anything like that. I'm here to meet with someone super special, Chef Francis Oge. He's a chef de partie here at the Palace kitchen.

CHEF FRANCIS OGE, CHEF DE PARTIE: The house doesn't work like a regular restaurant or regular hotel. This is the First House of France and we are like a display for the world.

MCCOY: Chef Oge is a first generation immigrant. He grew up in the suburbs but he now cooks for the president and his wife.

It is a pleasure to meet you. I'll be here honestly I was sort of like fan boying out on your Instagram. I also love like very ornate classical French cuisine. Like it is about as classic as you could get. Food that people don't really know how to cook any more.

Today, he's preparing an old school French dish that we both love.

OGE: (INAUDIBLE)

MCCOY: Mint, like a thousand leaves.

OGE: Yes. Exactly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Ok, yum. I'm hungry now.

All right. Be sure to tune in the all new "CNN ORIGINAL SERIES NOMAD WITH CARLTON MCCOY" premieres tomorrow at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific only on CNN.

The NEWSROOM continues right after this.

[11:56:01]

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