Escaped Tennessee Killer Captured After Hiding in Illinois Shed

A convicted murderer who escaped from a Tennessee prison remained on the run for more than a week before Missouri authorities arrested him near Kansas City. Jacob Allen Morley, 28, was captured Tuesday after investigators tracked a stolen pickup truck using license plate cameras and a helicopter, ending a multistate search.

Morley had been serving a life sentence at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, when he escaped on October 25, 2026. The Tennessee Department of Correction confirmed his absence at approximately 11:30 p.m. and immediately launched an emergency search.

Prison officials said security footage showed Morley crossing the facility's perimeter fence while wearing his prison uniform. Investigators subsequently linked him to a stolen farm vehicle near the correctional facility.

Authorities believe Morley traveled approximately 127 miles to a farm near Marion, Illinois, where he sheltered in a shed occasionally used by hunters. Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich said investigators discovered evidence that Morley drank beer, prepared garlic bread and other food, and left a handwritten apology after taking another vehicle.

Diederich also said Morley apparently walked approximately three miles to reach the property after abandoning the first truck. Security cameras recorded him leaving the vehicle and walking near several locations along Route 13. Surrounding fields and wooded areas complicated efforts to locate him.

Investigators believe Morley also took clothing and three firearms from the property, including two rifles and a shotgun. The weapons were subsequently recovered from the pickup truck involved in his arrest.

Diederich acknowledged that investigators still could not explain Morley's movements after reaching Illinois.

"How he ended up in Marion is kind of a mystery," said Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich.

The sheriff added that investigators had found no evidence that anyone assisted Morley during his escape. A Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokesperson, Kim Wheeler-Elder, also stated that all "available information" about his movements while he was missing had been released.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol received information Tuesday morning that Morley might be traveling west along Interstate 70 in the Kansas City area. Authorities subsequently located the vehicle through license plate cameras before the Kansas City Police Department used a helicopter to follow it.

The pursuit ended after the truck became stuck in mud. Morley was arrested without resistance in Carroll County, near Norborne, Missouri, approximately an hour east of Kansas City. The Missouri State Highway Patrol confirmed that officers took him into custody "without incident."

According to the Williamson County Sheriff's Office, investigators established that the stolen vehicle was a white 2005 Ford pickup used for agricultural work.

"Investigators subsequently determined that the vehicle, a white 2005 Ford pickup truck utilized as a farm vehicle, had been stolen by 28-year-old Tennessee prison escapee Jacob Allen Morley," the Williamson County Sheriff's Office said.

The sheriff's office also described the coordinated law enforcement operation as "resulting in the apprehension of Jacob Allen Morley by the Missouri State Highway Patrol as he traveled through the Kansas City, Missouri, area."

Missouri authorities transported Morley to the Lafayette County jail in Lexington. A federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution had already been filed against him in Tennessee before his arrest. He subsequently faced another federal charge in Missouri for possessing firearms as a convicted felon.

A probable cause affidavit states that a deputy U.S. marshal interviewed Morley at the Lafayette County jail on Tuesday. During the interview, Morley admitted escaping from the Tennessee facility and stealing the Illinois pickup truck and three firearms.

Tennessee District Attorney General Danny Goodman Jr. said he intends to pursue additional charges. Authorities had not established when Morley would be transferred back to Tennessee.

Morley was convicted in 2022 of killing his former coworker, Cody Birchfield. Investigators discovered Birchfield's body inside a box beneath Morley's residence after the victim had been missing for several weeks.

When deputies approached Morley's residence during the original investigation, he fled and led officers on a chase that ended in North Carolina. His convictions included first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, vandalism and evading arrest.

When announcing the escape investigation, the Tennessee Department of Correction described the initial security response as follows: "At approximately 11:30 p.m. on October 25, 2026, staff at NWCX confirmed Morley was unaccounted for and immediately conducted an emergency count and search of the facility."

The agency also reported that surveillance footage "confirmed Morley breached the perimeter fence and exited the facility in his TDOC uniform," establishing how he initially left the prison grounds.