Casey Anthony Hidden In DOC Computers

Anthony's Name Removed From Department Of Corrections Public Databases After Reporting Error

LABELLE, FL. -- A notification about Casey Marie Anthony, now under probation for four counts of bad check writing, of being taken back into prison custody last week, has now officially been described as an error as the result of a "computer glitch."

According to Vine Services, a subcontractor to the Florida Department of Corrections, Victims' Services unit a computer error occurred, sending out a message to hundreds of people on a list to receive a message if Casey Anthony's court supervision status changed.

Anthony was acquitted of the murder of her 2-year old daughter Caylee, but later convicted of lying to law enforcement about the locations her her daughter. She was given time served for the four counts of providing false information.

Anthony, then convicted of four counts of check fraud unrelated to the murder case, is scheduled to be released from supervised probation on August 23rd, a year after her conviction.

A July 26 message (shown above) indicated offender number "X70160", Casey Anthony "has returned to custody as of 7/26/2012." A check with Vine's online website confirmed she was allegedly "in custody" on that date.

However, later in the day, Anthony was shown to be "under supervision" on Vine's website. But by the next day, all traces of Casey Anthony's name had been removed from the public database of Vine as well as the online offender and prisoner look-up pages of the Florida Department of Corrections.

When calling Vine, the next day on July 27th, asking for information about whether Anthony was in custody or not, the operator "Betty" confirmed Anthony was in custody according to her records. But, later when Vine was called again to confirm, they could not find any Casey Anthony or offender X70160 on their computers at all, as if she had never been in custody or even convicted.

A request was made to have Vine supervisor Tara McKinney call and explain why Anthony's name was no longer online or available for their own employees to find, but no response was received.

Ann Howard, Director of the DOC's Office of Communications did later say the report of Anthony being "in custody" was incorrect, and this week her office indicated they had received an apology from Vine of their error in sending out a false message.

Explaining why Anthony's name was no longer on any public databases they said today "The Department has a right to remove an offender's name from the database for their protection."

Florida's Victim Services unit Program Director Gil Barnes, said today that Anthony's name had been removed last week from the Vine database for "her protection," and when asked why her name was removed only after almost a year, said a software'data revision made it necessary. He didn't know how many other offenders or prisoners names might have been removed by the Department of Corrections in addition to Anthony's but said her's probably was not the only one.

How removing Casey Anthony's name provides "protection" to her is still a mystery, as no location for her was ever publically given, nor what facility she might be assigned to, only whether she is "under supervision" or not, or in custody.

All other offenders and prisoners on the public databases have locations provided for the public, but because of court orders, Anthony's location is still kept secret.

Vine, with offices in Kentucky, keeps track of prisoners and offenders around the country so as to allow crime victims to be advised of the changing status of offenders, i.e. in jail or prison, under supervision, or released, and where they are.

Vine is owned by Apriss, Inc. and has the contract with Florida and many  other states to access jail and prison databases, publishing prisoner and released offender's information to the public.

Subscribers to the Vine Link service can receive immediate notifications of changes in offender status by email or phone, or on their website.

Casey Anthony has been hiding out in undisclosed locations for the last year, although "sightings" have reportedly been made in places ranging from small town Okeechobee, Florida to Bellaire, Ohio.

To Find Offenders and Prisoners Online:

Vine Link Search Page For Florida Offenders and Prisoners (Searches are available there for most states)
Search Department of Corrections Offender Database

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