2,500 Dollar Reward Posted After Inmate Flees 120 Miles in Stolen Truck

Jacob Morley, a Tennessee inmate serving a life sentence for murder, fled his prison and traveled 120 miles to Illinois in a stolen truck before vanishing, authorities said Tuesday. The escape has prompted a search across state lines and a reward offer of up to $2,500 for his capture.

Morley was discovered missing from the Northwest Correctional Complex late on Sunday, October 25. Surveillance video released by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation shows the 28-year-old opening the unlocked driver’s side door of a farm truck near Tiptonville at approximately 1 a.m. on Monday, October 26. The farm is located about two miles from the prison. Firefighters in Hornbeak, Tennessee, stated that their cameras recorded the vehicle passing their station 15 minutes after Morley drove away.

The truck was located on Tuesday, October 27, in Marion, Illinois. Marion Police Chief David Fitts reported that surveillance footage showed the vehicle parked neatly behind a shopping center at 4 a.m. A resident notified police at 11 a.m. Fitts noted that investigators have not identified any other suspicious activity or stolen vehicles in the area. He described the situation by stating, “He has vanished.”

Authorities indicated that Morley escaped by slipping through a fence while still wearing his prison clothes. Investigators have not yet determined whether he received assistance during the escape. Morley is white, five feet 11 inches tall, and weighs 240 pounds. He has brown hair and green eyes.

Morley is serving a life sentence for the 2022 killing of co-worker Cody Birchfield. Birchfield’s body was discovered in a box under Morley’s home in Carter County after weeks of him being missing. Morley was also convicted of aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, vandalism, and evading arrest following a police chase that ended in North Carolina.

Prison officials have searched buildings and structures near the facility, which sits in flat farmland about 90 miles north of Memphis. The escape adds to recent challenges faced by the Tennessee Department of Correction. Commissioner Frank Strada resigned in late September following the failed execution of Christa Pike. A grand jury also issued dozens of indictments in July for five inmate killings and other violent acts at the Northwest Correctional Complex.

Prison officials testified before a Tennessee Senate subcommittee in September that they had 470 vacant positions within a 6,000-person workforce. They warned that a 2022 law requiring inmates to serve longer sentences is increasing prison populations and could lead to overcrowding conditions.