Tennessee Prisoner: Jacob Allen Morley Captured in Missouri

Jacob Allen Morley, a 28-year-old man serving a life sentence for murder, is back in custody after fleeing a Tennessee prison more than a week ago. The Missouri State Highway Patrol apprehended him in Carroll County at 11:34 a.m. on Tuesday. Officials described the arrest as incident-free and said Morley was led out of a field in handcuffs.

Morley escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville around 11:30 p.m. on October 25. Security footage showed him cutting through the facility fence while wearing his prison uniform. He stole a vehicle from a nearby farm to leave the area. The prison, located about 90 miles north of Memphis, holds up to 1,776 inmates.

The search intensified after authorities received a tip that Morley was hiding at a property in Illinois. Investigators used automatic license plate readers to track a truck stolen from that location as it moved into Missouri. That lead prompted local agencies to join the pursuit. The Missouri State Highway Patrol noted that officers from the Kansas City Police Department, Independence Police Department, the FBI, US Marshals Service, and Homeland Security Investigations all participated in the operation.

During the search of the vehicle, officers found three firearms previously reported stolen. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation stated that members of the public provided information during the investigation. It was not immediately clear if the reward had been paid. The agency had initially offered up to $2,500 for information leading to his arrest. That amount increased by $15,000 on Wednesday as the search continued.

Morley was convicted of first-degree murder in connection with the 2022 death of his colleague, Cody Birchfield. Court records from Carter County indicate that Birchfield’s body was discovered inside a metal box under Morley’s home. A pathology report cited in court documents stated that Birchfield died from a gunshot wound to the back of the head. Bullet casings from the scene matched a gun found in Morley’s residence.

Morley was sentenced in June 2025 after his request for a new trial was denied in May of the same year. He also faced charges for vandalism, tampering with evidence, aggravated burglary, and evading arrest. His 2022 arrest followed a pursuit that crossed state lines into North Carolina. In July, a grand jury returned dozens of indictments related to assaults on staff and the murders of five inmates at the Northwest Correctional Complex.