A multi-state manhunt for convicted murderer Jacob Morley has entered its sixth day, as a Tennessee prosecutor revealed that the escapee had already reached another state before prison officials alerted outside police forces.
Morley, 28, is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder and broke out of the Northwest Correctional Complex in Lake County, in the far north-west of Tennessee, late on Sunday 25 October. He has been added to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Most Wanted list, and officials say he should be considered dangerous.
How he got out
According to the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC), staff found Morley was unaccounted for at about 11.30pm on Sunday and carried out an emergency count and search. Security cameras showed he had breached the perimeter fence and left the prison still wearing his TDOC uniform.
A more detailed timeline set out by District Attorney General Danny Goodman Jr of Tennessee’s 29th Judicial District, and reported by WBBJ, paints a more troubling picture. It says Morley was missed at a 9.30pm cell count after another inmate falsely told an officer that two men were in the cell, and that his absence was discovered at 10pm. Morley had hidden among pallets and a trash cart behind the main kitchen before cutting through the fences, the timeline says.
At around 1am he is said to have stolen a white 2008 Ford F-350 utility truck from a local company and driven towards Illinois. According to the DA, an internal TDOC investigator was alerted at 2.20am, but the TBI, the Tennessee Highway Patrol and his own office were not told until 5.30am, and the local sheriff’s department not until 6.15am. By then, Mr Goodman said, Morley was already in Marion, Illinois.
Truck sat for 30 hours
The stolen truck was found abandoned in Marion at about 10am on Tuesday. CNN, in a report carried by ABC7 Chicago, said surveillance footage showed it had been left there at around 4.40am on Monday, meaning it sat unnoticed for nearly 30 hours.
Marion police said there was no sign he was still in the area but they would keep looking. “We will continue to assume he is and will be on the lookout,” said Lt Justin Dwyer.
The bank robbery question
Investigators are also examining whether Morley could be linked to an armed robbery at the Bank of Deerfield in Dane County, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, in which two employees were restrained and cash was taken. The Dane County Sheriff’s Office has said he has not been eliminated as a suspect, but the TBI has stressed it has no confirmation that he was involved. No link has been established.
Who is Jacob Morley?
Morley was convicted in Carter County, in north-east Tennessee, of first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, evading arrest and vandalism. The murder conviction relates to the 2022 killing of Cody Birchfield, who was reported missing in February of that year. Mr Birchfield’s family have spoken of their fear while he remains free; one cousin told CNN they feared for whoever he might encounter next.
TDOC describes him as 5ft 11in, about 240lb, with brown hair and green eyes.
CNN reported that he is the second inmate to escape TDOC custody this month, and the escape comes weeks after the department’s commissioner resigned following a failed execution, adding to pressure on the state’s prison system.
What happens next
The reward for information leading to his arrest has risen to $17,500 (about €15,000), made up of $7,500 from the Tennessee governor’s office, $5,000 from the TBI and $5,000 from the US Marshals Service, WSMV reported. Neighbouring states have been alerted.
The TBI is urging people to check holiday homes, cabins, sheds, barns and other outbuildings, and to look in on vulnerable neighbours. Anyone who sees Morley is told not to approach him but to call 911 immediately; tips can be given to 1-800-TBI-FIND.
Questions are also likely over the gap of several hours between the escape and outside police being called in, which the DA’s timeline has now brought into the open.
Sources
- Tennessee Department of Correction: TDOC & Law Enforcement Work to Apprehend Escaped Inmate Jacob Allen Morley (26 October 2026, updated)
- WBBJ: New timeline details escape of convicted murderer Jacob Morley from Tenn. prison (30 October 2026)
- CNN (via ABC7 Chicago): Truck stolen by Tennessee prison escapee sat in Illinois for more than a day before it was found (29 October 2026)
- WSMV: What we know as escaped Tennessee murderer Jacob Morley continues to evade capture (30 October 2026)
Featured image: photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash.
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