Jacob Morley Captured in Missouri After Truck Stalls in Mud
The escaped Tennessee inmate, who had been on the run for ten days, was taken into custody near Kansas City after his stolen vehicle became stuck.
By Mateo Thompson ·
Jacob Morley, a Tennessee inmate serving a life sentence for murder, was recaptured Tuesday near Kansas City, Missouri. Authorities ended his ten-day escape after his truck became stuck in the mud. He was taken into custody around noon without incident.
Morley, 28, slipped out of the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, on Oct. 25. He escaped while wearing his prison clothes by slipping through a fence. He was serving a life sentence for the 2022 killing of his co-worker, Cody Birchfield, in Carter County, Tennessee.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol received information on Tuesday morning that Morley might be traveling west on Interstate 70. Troopers used automated license plate readers and undercover officers on a state highway to locate the vehicle. A Kansas City police helicopter also tracked the truck as it moved into Carroll County in northwest Missouri.
Sgt. Justin Ewing, a spokesperson for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, identified the vehicle as a metal flatbed work truck with a white cab. The truck was driven off the road and stuck in mud, according to Ewing. A trooper then placed Morley under arrest. Ewing described Morley as compliant during the arrest.
Officials recovered two rifles and a shotgun from the vehicle. They suspect the truck was stolen in Illinois. Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich said Morley is suspected of stealing a white farm truck from a property southwest of Marion, Illinois. Diederich added that Morley is also suspected of taking clothes and the three firearms from that farm.
Deputies found a handwritten note at the scene where the truck was stolen. The note contained an apology. The vehicle had a full tank of fuel plus extra fuel when it was taken. Diederich stated that information sharing between agencies was critical to apprehending Morley.
It is unclear where Morley intended to go. Ewing said authorities do not believe Morley stopped at any residences during his time on the run. He may have had connections in the Kansas City area, but no specific stops have been confirmed by officials.
Surveillance video showed Morley stealing a truck from a farm near the prison on the day of his escape. He abandoned that first vehicle last week in Marion, Illinois, which is about 120 miles north of the prison. He then switched to the white cab truck used in his final days on the run.
The escape is the latest issue for Tennessee’s prison system. A grand jury in July returned dozens of indictments for five inmate killings and other violent acts at the Northwest Correctional Complex. Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada resigned in September following the failed execution of Christa Pike. Strada served for less than three years.
Prison officials offered a reward of up to $17,500 for information leading to Morley’s arrest. The prison is located in Tiptonville, about 90 miles north of Memphis, in flat farmland near a bend in the Mississippi River. Law enforcement searched buildings and structures near the facility in the days following the escape.
