Convicted murderer Jacob Allen Morley was captured near Kansas City on November 3, 2026, ending a manhunt after he escaped from a Tennessee prison through a security fence.
Prison Escape at Northwest Correctional Complex
Morley, 28, escaped late October 25 from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee.
Staff did not notice he was missing until around 11:30 p.m., though surveillance footage showed him walking out of the jail at approximately 6 p.m. Security footage later revealed he breached the perimeter fence
and fled in his prison uniform, cutting through security barriers and hiding behind the main kitchen before stealing a white 2008 Ford F-350 truck in Lake County.
District Attorney Danny Goodman Jr. criticized the delay in notifying external law enforcement. According to Goodman, a correctional officer conducted a routine cell count at 9:30 p.m. Sunday.
Local law enforcement in Marion, Illinois, was not notified until 6:15 a.m. Monday, by which time Morley had already crossed state lines.
The biggest concern I have, obviously, is just the large gap between the time that someone was notified,
Danny Goodman Jr., District Attorney
Danny Goodman Jr. said that had authorities known as quickly as the department of corrections knew, it would have given two hours for local police to be patrolling, and there would have been a good chance they would have caught him before he got out of the county.
Stolen Truck Abandoned in Marion
The stolen Ford pickup truck, which bore the name Lindamood Planting Company on its side, sat in southern Illinois for more than a day.
Surveillance video showed the vehicle was abandoned around 4:40 a.m. Monday in Marion, Illinois, about a 130-mile drive north of the prison. Marion police Lt. Justin Dwyer said officers found the truck around 10 a.m. Tuesday and that surveillance footage indicated Morley headed toward a highway after abandoning it.
The Tennessee Department of Correction issued warnings as the manhunt expanded. The department stated Morley was considered dangerous and could be anywhere, urging the public to remain vigilant.
We ask the public to remain vigilant, check on family members and neighbors, and be alert for suspicious activity on your properties, including vacant homes, vacation properties, and outbuildings.
Tennessee Department of Correction
Capture in Carroll County
The multi-state search ended on November 3, 2026, when the Missouri State Highway Patrol utilized FLOCK cameras to track Morley.
At approximately 11:34 a.m., he was taken into custody in Carroll County, near Norborne, northeast of the Kansas City metro area. The Kansas City Police Department located the suspect vehicle and tracked him using a police helicopter, while the Missouri State Highway Patrol and multiple partner agencies effected the arrest.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation noted that Morley was placed on the state’s ‘Tennessee Most Wanted’ list with a $15,000 reward.
Morley Received a Life Sentence for Murder
Morley was serving a life sentence for the February 2022 killing of his coworker, Cody Birchfield, in Elizabethton, Tennessee.
Birchfield was found buried underneath Morley’s home in March of that year. Morley was convicted of first-degree murder in February 2025 and sentenced to life imprisonment that June, alongside convictions for aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, evading arrest, and vandalism.