West Tennessee prison escapee captured near Kansas City after stealing another truck in southern Illinois

The convicted murderer who escaped from a Tennessee prison on October 25 was taken into custody in Missouri on Tuesday after eluding capture for 9 days.

According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Jacob Allen Morley was arrested near Kansas City.just before noon. 

The Missouri Highway Patrol received information from TBI around 9:30 a.m. that Morley was traveling on Interstate 70 near Independence.

Earlier Tuesday, investigators received a tip that Morley was believed to have been hiding in a shed at a hunting camp in the Marion, Illinois area. Authorities also learned that a truck had been stolen from the property.

The stolen vehicle was found using Flock cameras, and eventually spotted by undercover officers on Missouri 291 in Liberty. The Kansas City Police Department used a helicopter to follow the vehicle into Carroll County, where Morley tried to drive through a field, but got stuck.

According to the Williamson County, Ill. Sheriff’s Office, they responded to a report at 7:30 on Tuesday morning about a 2005 Ford pickup truck stolen southwest of Marion. Investigators believed that vehicle had been stolen by Morley, who had abandoned his original stolen truck in Marion a week ago..

The Williamson County sheriff said they worked with Illinois State Police and law enforcement agencies across multiple jurisdictions to track Morley’s movements across Illinois into Missouri.

Following Morley’s arrest, authorities recovered three firearms that had previously been reported stolen inside the vehicle.

The 28-year-old Morley escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, TN on Sunday, October 25. He was serving a life sentence for the 2022 murder of Cody Birchfield in east Tennessee. 


(Photos: Missouri Highway Patrol)