A man serving a life sentence for killing his co-worker four years ago has escaped from a prison in northwest Tennessee. Jacob Morley slipped through a fence. Following his escape, Morley allegedly stole a truck from a nearby farm and apparently made it to southern Illinois before abandoning it, authorities added in an update on Tuesday. Officials noticed his escape from the Northwest Correctional Complex late on Sunday (Oct. 25).
Authorities said Morley, 28, slipped through a fence in his prison clothes. However, they haven’t released additional details, including whether they think anyone helped him. Morley is white, 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 240 pounds. He has brown hair and green eyes.
Additionally, Jacob Morley is serving a life sentence for killing co-worker Cody Birchfield in 2022. Birchfield’s body was found in a box under Morley’s home after he had been missing for a few weeks. The two lived in Carter County, in eastern Tennessee. Along with first-degree murder, Morley was convicted of aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, vandalism and evading arrest. When Jacob Morley saw deputies at his home, he led officers on a chase that ended in North Carolina, authorities said.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released surveillance video from the farm Jacob Morley breached. It is near Tiptonville and about a 2-mile walk through fields from the prison. The footage shows Morley opening the truck’s unlocked driver’s side door and driving off at about 1 a.m. Monday. Firefighters in Hornbeak said on social media that investigators confirmed their cameras captured footage of the truck driving by their station about 15 minutes later. The station is about 12 miles east of the farm.
Someone found the truck abandoned Tuesday in Marion, Illinois, about 120 miles north of the prison and roughly 90 miles southeast of St. Louis. Marion Police Chief David Fitts said the truck appeared to be left neatly parked behind a shopping center at 4 a.m. Tuesday, according to surveillance video.
Someone reported it to police at about 11 a.m.
Tennessee investigators said they still haven’t found Jacob Morley.
“He has vanished,” Fitts said. “We haven’t had any reports of stolen vehicles or anything else suspicious around here.”
Prison officials have offered a reward of up to $2,500 for Morley’s arrest. They said law enforcement agencies have searched buildings and other structures near the prison, which is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Memphis in flat farmland near a bend in the Mississippi River.
Associated Press writer Jeffrey Collins contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.
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