Authorities capture escaped Tennessee inmate in Missouri after 9-day manhunt

By Dalia Faheid, Chris Boyette, Isabel Rosales, Maria Aguilar Prieto, CNN

(CNN) — A nine-day, three-state manhunt for a convicted murderer who fled both by foot and with two stolen vehicles came to an end Wednesday when the Tennessee prison escapee got stuck in the mud in Missouri and was captured.

Jacob Morley was serving a life sentence for the murder of his co-worker Cody Birchfield, who was reported missing in February 2022 before he was found in a box under Morley’s house weeks later, The Associated Press reported. He was convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, evading arrest and vandalism.

The 28-year-old convict was serving his sentence at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, a small town in the northwestern corner of Tennessee, when he escaped on October 25.

More than a week later, a tip led investigators to a shed at a hunting camp and a stolen vehicle outside of Marion, Illinois, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations said. Investigators recovered a handwritten note apologizing for the theft and connecting Morley to the crime scene.

Using FLOCK cameras, police tracked Morley traveling south on Missouri Route 291 in the stolen vehicle, more than 300 miles from Marion. As state and local law enforcement moved in, the search came to an end.

At around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Morley got stuck after trying to drive off the roadway. He was taken back into custody by state troopers in Carroll County, near Norborne, Illinois – about 50 miles northeast of Kansas City, Missouri, State Highway Patrol said.

It has been a turbulent few months for the Tennessee Department of Correction. Morley was the second inmate to escape TDOC custody in October, following 63-year-old Gregory Redden, who escaped from Nashville General Hospital on October 21 before being apprehended. The department has also recently faced scrutiny following Christa Pike’s failed execution in September, which led Commissioner Frank Strada to step down from his position.

Inmate breaks out of Tennessee prison

At 9:30 p.m., a correctional officer conducted the first routine cell count of the night. When the officer knocked on Morley’s cell and asked how many inmates were inside, another inmate falsely claimed there were two. Morley, however, was not there, according to District Attorney Danny Goodman Jr.

It was another two hours before jail staff confirmed he was missing, Goodman said.

Footage later reviewed by investigators showed Morley had made his way outside, cut through the security fences while in his prison uniform and hid among pallets and a trash cart behind the main kitchen, Goodman said.

Security video also showed Morley stealing a white 2008 Ford F-350 with Tennessee plates around 1 a.m. on October 26, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations. Less than 20 minutes later, the Hornbeak Fire Department’s security cameras captured Morley driving past the station, which is about 15 miles from the Northwest Correctional Complex.

Prison staff alerted an internal investigator at around 2 a.m., but local and state authorities were not notified of the escape until several hours later. State agencies and the district attorney’s office were not informed until 5:30 a.m., and local law enforcement later still, Goodman said.

By the time authorities were alerted and a multi-agency search began, Morley had already crossed state lines into Illinois.

Morley was “considered dangerous and could be anywhere,” officials said.

An abandoned truck and a lost trail

In the early hours of October 26, Morley abandoned the stolen truck more than 130 miles from the prison, in Marion, a small city of about 17,600 people in Williamson County, Illinois.

Security footage later obtained by police showed Morley walking away from the farm truck and towards a highway, Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich told CNN on Tuesday.

“He walked away from that scene … and walked down the state highway, and we’ve got images of him progressively as he moves along that but ultimately lose him and the ability to follow where he went,” Diederich said.

The truck was discovered by authorities over 24 hours after being abandoned, Marion police Lt. Justin Dwyer told CNN.

After that, Morley was not seen again for eight days.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation added him to its “Most Wanted” list and announced a reward of $17,500 for information leading to his arrest.

As the search continued, authorities issued warnings to residents, leaving members of the community on edge.

“It’s a scary time,” local attorney Bridget Lawler said on October 28. Lawler said neighbors were locking cars and home doors at night.

The escape also reopened painful memories for Birchfield’s family.

A cousin of Birchfield’s, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons, told CNN before Morley’s capture that his life sentence gave the family “a small sense of closure and the reassurance that justice had been served.”

But learning of his escape has reopened their “deepest wounds.”

After learning her brother’s killer had escaped, Carrie Norman said she felt sick to her stomach. Norman told CNN affiliate WCYB that “all those feelings” came “rushing back.”

Tip leads investigators to a hunting camp and a second stolen truck

For days, investigators could not establish whether Morley had stayed in Marion and hidden somewhere or left.

After reviewing a handful of grainy surveillance videos and following up on numerous tips that ultimately led nowhere, authorities had run out of leads, Diederich said.

That changed Tuesday morning, when investigators received information suggesting that Morley had been hiding in a shed at a hunting camp, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said.

That same morning, a farm truck was reported stolen from a farm near the property. The farm was in a rural area outside Marion, surrounded by extensive wooden land that is used for hunting, Diederich explained.

The person who stole the truck had left behind a handwritten note.

“He had left a letter with specific information in that letter, basically just saying ‘sorry I stole your truck,’ and you know, ‘tell my mom I love her’ and stuff like that, but it had some specific information on it,” Diederich said.

Police passed the note to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, which was able to connect it to Morley and confirm he had stolen the vehicle.

Investigators concluded Morley had remained in the Marion area for several days, potentially hiding out in the wooded area before stealing the truck.

“We’re talking about hundreds and hundreds of acres, and it adjoins the national forest, so he could have probably been in a deer stand or a hunting cabin that’s not occupied, and then subsequently came to this farm at this hunting club and then stole a vehicle,” Diederich said.

Investigators determined the truck had been stolen at around 2 a.m. Tuesday, he added.

This time, authorities had a way to track Morley’s movements.

Manhunt comes to an end

TBI investigators put the truck’s license plate information into databases and were able to determine it had travelled westbound on Interstate 70 between St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, approximately 340 miles from Marion, Illinois, according to the agency. The truck also had a tracker authorities were able to use, Diederich said.

After enlisting the help of MSHP and using FLOCK cameras to track his most recent movements, undercover officials located him traveling south on Missouri 291.

Law enforcement from various state and local agencies began to close in, the highway patrol said in a statement, and the Kansas City Police Department located him in its helicopter.

Morley then attempted to drive off the road and became stuck, according to the highway patrol. At that point, a state trooper approached him and was able to take him into custody without incident.

Morley was apprehended around 11:30 a.m. in Carroll County, near Norborne, Missouri – about 50 miles east-northeast of Kansas City, MSHP said. Three stolen guns were found in the truck when police approached him, Diedrich said.

Morley will be charged with escape, vandalism and theft in Tennessee, according to Goodman.

He will likely face additional charges in Illinois and Missouri, Goodman Jr. added.

Morley’s capture on Tuesday brought an end to a days-long sense of worry in the community.

“Wild. Shocking. I’m glad he got caught,” Josh Malone, owner of Little Creeks Outdoors, a business in Marion, just off Interstate 57, told CNN in a phone interview.

Malone said his clubhouse is on the farm where the truck was stolen. He noted that someone had recently stolen clothing from his business.

Malone burst out laughing during the phone interview as he pulled up CNN.com’s story about Morley’s capture. He noticed something unexpected in the capture photo – the escaped inmate was wearing a camouflage hoodie bearing the logo of Malone’s business, “LCO Marion, IL.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

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