TIPTONVILLE, Tenn. — A statewide manhunt is underway in Tennessee after a convicted murderer serving a life sentence escaped from a state prison late Sunday night and remained on the loose Monday afternoon, officials said.
The escapee is Jacob Allen Morley, 28, an inmate at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Lake County, in the far northwestern corner of Tennessee near the Missouri border, about 100 miles north of Memphis.
Morley is described as 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighing about 240 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) says he should be considered dangerous and has added him to the state's Most Wanted list. A reward of up to $2,500 is offered for information leading to his arrest.
Prison staff discovered Morley was unaccounted for at about 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 25, triggering an emergency count and a full facility search, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) said.
Security camera footage later showed Morley breaching the perimeter fence and leaving the facility still wearing his prison uniform.
State troopers and the Tennessee Highway Patrol have deployed aerial support to assist local, state and federal officers, and buildings near the prison have been searched and cleared.
Morley was sentenced to life in prison last year after being convicted in Carter County of the 2022 first-degree murder of Cody Birchfield. Birchfield was first reported missing in February 2022; after Morley was arrested in North Carolina in March 2022, Birchfield's body was found hidden under Morley's house.
His record also includes convictions for aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, evading arrest and vandalism.
Morley is the second inmate to escape TDOC custody in less than a week. On October 21, Gregory Redden, 63, slipped his handcuffs and leg shackles during a medical visit at Nashville General Hospital and walked out. He was recaptured several hours later.
Do not approach him. Officials urge anyone with information to call: - 911 (emergency) - TDOC: (844) 832-3463 - TBI: 1-800-TBI-FIND
Is Jacob Morley still at large? As of Monday afternoon, October 26, officials said Morley remained at large and the search was ongoing.
Where did the escape happen? At the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville / Lake County, northwestern Tennessee, near the Kentucky and Missouri borders.
Is there a reward? Yes — up to $2,500 for information leading to his arrest, according to officials.
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