Tennessee Manhunt: Escaped Killer Jacob Morley Still at Large as Reward Hits $17,500

Print Date: Oct 31, 2026 || Published Date: Oct 31, 2026

Tennessee Manhunt: Escaped Killer Jacob Morley Still at Large as Reward Hits $17,500

The Tennessee manhunt for escaped killer Jacob Morley is still active days after he slipped out of a state prison, with the reward for information leading to his arrest now standing at $17,500 and the stolen truck he fled in found abandoned across the state line in Illinois. The Morley manhunt, which began when prison staff found the 28-year-old missing late on Sunday, October 25, 2026, has become a multi-state search involving local, state and federal officers — and, so far, no sign of the man himself.

Key Points

Jacob Allen Morley, 28, serving a life sentence for first-degree murder, was found missing from Northwest Correctional Complex in Lake County at about 11:30 p.m. on October 25, 2026.
Security footage showed Morley breaching the prison's perimeter fence and leaving in his prison uniform; how he got through the fence remains unclear.
At about 1 a.m. on October 26 he stole a white 2008 Ford F-350, marked with Lindamood Planting Company on its side, from the 400 block of Keystone Drive in Lake County.
The truck was found abandoned just after 1 p.m. on October 27 in Marion, Illinois, about 120 miles north of the prison, with no sign of Morley.
The reward now totals $17,500: an original $2,500 from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, $10,000 added by Governor Bill Lee on October 28, and $5,000 from the US Marshals Service.

What Happened

Prison staff at Northwest Correctional Complex, in the far north-western corner of Tennessee about 80 miles from Jackson, discovered Morley was unaccounted for at about 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 25, and launched an emergency count and search of the facility, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) said. A review of security camera footage later showed Morley breaching the facility's perimeter fence and leaving while wearing his TDOC uniform. The department has not explained how he got through the fence.

Within hours, Morley had a vehicle. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) said surveillance video showed him taking a white 2008 Ford F-350, Tennessee tag 138BBQV, at about 1 a.m. on October 26 from the 400 block of Keystone Drive in Lake County. The truck belonged to Lindamood Planting Company and was reportedly left unlocked, with an air compressor in the bed. At about 1:18 a.m., the Hornbeak Fire Department, about 15 miles from the prison, captured video of Morley passing in front of its building in the stolen truck.

Then the trail went cold. Just after 1 p.m. on October 27, the TBI announced that the truck had been found abandoned in Marion, Illinois, about 120 miles north of the Tennessee prison. There was no sign of Morley, and investigators said they had received no reports of other suspicious activity in the Marion area. “He has vanished,” Marion Police Chief David Fitts said.

Morley was added to the TBI's Most Wanted list after the agency joined the search on October 26. The TBI is asking residents to check home security systems, including doorbell cameras and trail cameras, for sightings of Morley or the stolen truck. Anyone who sees him should call 911 or the TBI immediately at 1-800-TBI-FIND, and should not approach him. TDOC's own tip line is (844)-832-3463.

Background/Context

Morley was sentenced last year to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, evading arrest and vandalism. He was convicted in the killing of Cody Birchfield, who was initially reported missing in February 2022 in Carter County, in north-eastern Tennessee. Birchfield was Morley's co-worker. Morley was arrested in North Carolina in early March 2022 after deputies approached his home and he led them on a chase that ended across the state line.

Northwest Correctional Complex can house up to 1,776 male inmates, according to TDOC. Morley is described by the department as approximately 5 feet 11 inches tall and 240 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes. He was wearing his prison uniform when he left the facility, though investigators have not said what he may be wearing now, days later.

The escape landed in an already difficult month for Tennessee's prison system. It came the same month that TDOC Commissioner Frank Strada resigned following the failed execution of Christa Pike, which left her unconscious and on a ventilator at a hospital. Morley was also the second inmate to escape from TDOC custody in less than a week: Gregory Redden, 63, slipped his handcuffs and leg shackles and walked out of Nashville General Hospital on October 21, where he had been taken for a weekly treatment, according to Metro Nashville Police.

The reward has grown as the search has dragged on. The TBI originally offered $2,500 for information leading to Morley's arrest. On October 28, Governor Bill Lee increased the state reward to $10,000, with an additional $5,000 contributed by the US Marshals Service, bringing the total on offer to $17,500 — a figure that reflects both the seriousness of Morley's conviction and the concern that a man with nothing to lose remains unaccounted for.

Tennessee Manhunt: Why the Trail Matters

The geography of the case is what makes it worrying for investigators. The abandoned truck in Marion, Illinois, sits about 120 miles north of the prison — a straight run up through western Kentucky and southern Illinois — but it tells officers only where Morley stopped driving, not where he went next. He could have had help, switched vehicles, or simply walked away from the truck into a town where, days later, no one has reported seeing him.

The timing matters too. Morley escaped on a Sunday night, stole the truck within about 90 minutes, and was filmed passing Hornbeak at 1:18 a.m. — a fast, purposeful sequence that suggests planning rather than impulse. The open question, the one TDOC has not answered, is how a life-sentence prisoner breached a perimeter fence at a facility holding nearly 1,800 men. Until that question is answered, the escape is not only a manhunt but a security review, and other facilities in the state will be watching its conclusions.

The second escape in a week compounds the pressure. Redden's walkout from a hospital, in handcuffs and leg shackles, and Morley's fence breach are different failures, but together they paint a picture of a corrections system under strain in the same month its commissioner resigned. That context is why the governor's office raised the reward personally: the case has become a test of whether the state can find a dangerous fugitive quickly, and of public confidence in the system that lost him.

Reactions/Quotes

Marion Police Chief David Fitts summed up the frustration of the Illinois end of the search, saying investigators had not received reports of other suspicious activity in the area and adding: “He has vanished.” The TBI, in its public appeals, has been blunt about the risk: “If you spot Morley or the vehicle, do not approach. Call 911 or 1-800-TBI-FIND immediately.”

TDOC has advised anyone with knowledge of Morley's whereabouts to call 911, TDOC at (844)-832-3463, or the TBI at (800) TBI-FIND, and has said it is working with local, state and federal law enforcement to apprehend him. The agency has also urged the public not to approach him and instead to alert law enforcement.

Governor Bill Lee's decision to raise the reward to $10,000 on October 28, with the US Marshals Service adding $5,000, was reported by the Tennessean as part of an updated account of the search. The TBI's own social-media updates have tracked each development — the truck theft video on October 26, the Marion recovery on October 27 — and its appeal for doorbell and trail-camera footage shows investigators still hoping a member of the public holds the next lead.

Why It Matters

For communities in north-west Tennessee, western Kentucky and southern Illinois, the case is a live safety warning: a convicted murderer serving life, with a history of evading arrest and a chase that already crossed one state line, remains unaccounted for. The instruction from every agency involved is the same — do not approach, call 911 — because Morley has already shown he will run, and did so from a prison sentence with no release in prospect.

For Tennessee's corrections system, the escape is a credibility test. Two escapes in a week, a commissioner's resignation, and an unanswered question about a perimeter fence add up to scrutiny that will not end when Morley is caught; it will continue into whatever review TDOC publishes about how he got out. The $17,500 reward is, in part, an acknowledgement of that pressure: the state is paying more because the public needs a result.

For the family of Cody Birchfield, the manhunt reopens a case that ended with a life sentence last year. A conviction is supposed to be the end of the story; an escape, even a temporary one, forces the victim's family and community to live with the uncertainty all over again, and that human cost is the reason the search has stayed in the headlines days after the escape itself.

What Happens Next

The search continues across state lines, with the TBI, TDOC, local police and federal marshals involved, and the public appeal for camera footage still open. The most likely next developments are either a sighting — from a doorbell camera, a trail camera, a traffic stop — or a further reward increase if the trail stays cold. Investigators will also be working the Marion end backwards: who, if anyone, met Morley there, and what vehicle, if any, he left in.

Separately, TDOC faces questions about the fence breach at Northwest Correctional Complex and about the circumstances of Redden's hospital escape a few days earlier. Any findings from those reviews will matter for the state's other facilities, and for the legislature, which will want to know whether the two escapes share a cause or were simply a bad week.

Until Morley is in custody, the advice stands: check cameras, report sightings to 911 or 1-800-TBI-FIND, and do not approach him.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Jacob Morley? Jacob Allen Morley, 28, is serving a life sentence for the first-degree murder of his co-worker Cody Birchfield in Carter County, Tennessee, plus aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, evading arrest and vandalism.

When did he escape? Prison staff found him missing from Northwest Correctional Complex in Lake County at about 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 25, 2026; footage showed him breaching the perimeter fence in his prison uniform.

What happened to the stolen truck? Morley stole a white 2008 Ford F-350 at about 1 a.m. on October 26; it was found abandoned in Marion, Illinois, about 120 miles north of the prison, just after 1 p.m. on October 27, with no sign of him.

How much is the reward? $17,500 in total: $2,500 originally from the TBI, $10,000 added by Governor Bill Lee on October 28, and $5,000 from the US Marshals Service.

What should I do if I see him? Do not approach him. Call 911 or the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND, or TDOC at (844)-832-3463.