A man serving a life sentence for killing a co-worker four years ago escaped from a prison in northwest Tennessee by getting through a fence, authorities said. Investigators later released surveillance video showing him stealing a truck in the early hours of Tuesday.
Jacob Morley, 28, was reported missing at about 11:30 p.m. Sunday from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, according to the Tennessee Department of Correction statement.
Tennessee Department of Correction via AP
Security camera footage showed Morley escaping in his prison uniform, officials said. Authorities have not disclosed how he managed to get through the fence or provided additional details about the escape.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation later released surveillance footage appearing to show Morley stealing a white 2008 Ford F-350 at about 1 a.m. local time Tuesday. The truck had Tennessee plates and a Lindamood Planting Company logo on its door. Investigators said it was taken from Lake County, which includes Tiptonville.
The bureau said Morley remained on its “most wanted” list as of Monday. Authorities are offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information that leads to his arrest. In a statement, investigators urged people in the area where the truck was stolen “to check home security systems, including doorbell cameras and trail cameras, for any sightings of Morley or the stolen truck.”
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Law enforcement agencies have searched buildings and other structures near the prison, officials said. The Northwest Correctional Complex is about 90 miles north of Memphis in an isolated, rural area of flat land near a bend in the Mississippi River, close to Missouri.
Morley is 5-foot-11 and weighs 240 pounds. He has brown hair and green eyes.
Morley was sentenced to life in prison for killing his co-worker, Cody Birchfield, in 2022. Birchfield had been missing for several weeks when his body was discovered inside a box beneath Morley’s home in Carter County.
In addition to first-degree murder, Morley was convicted of aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, vandalism and evading arrest. Authorities said he fled when deputies arrived at his home in 2022, leading police on a chase that ended in North Carolina.
The Northwest Correctional Complex has faced reports of violence in recent years, including attacks involving inmates and employees. In July, a grand jury returned dozens of indictments tied to five inmate killings, assaults on staff and prisoners, and other violent incidents.
The Northwest Correctional Complex has capacity for 1,776 men and can house minors convicted as adults, according to the Department of Correction. A 2023 audit of Tennessee prisons found that the department was struggling to fill positions at the facility, which had a 61% vacancy rate for correctional officers during that fiscal year.
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