Tennessee Man Hunted After Stealing Truck to Flee Prison

Jacob Morley, 28, was spotted on security cameras cutting through a chain-link fence at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, while still wearing his orange prison jumpsuit. By the time staff noticed his absence around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, he was already two miles south, climbing into a white work truck.

Morley is serving a life sentence for the 2022 murder of Cody Birchfield. The Tennessee Department of Correction confirmed the escape in a statement, noting that an emergency headcount immediately followed the discovery. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) placed Morley on the state's most wanted list, describing him as dangerous.

The getaway vehicle is a 2008 Ford F-350 with the license plate 138BBQV. The truck bears the name Lindamood Planting Company on its side and carries an air compressor in the bed. TBI footage shows Morley taking the vehicle from the 400 block of Keystone Drive around 1 a.m. Monday.

The fugitive stands 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 240 pounds. He has brown hair and green eyes. Alongside the first-degree murder charge, Morley was previously convicted of burglary, vandalism, tampering with evidence, and evading arrest.

The case against Morley centered on the disappearance of Birchfield in early February 2022. Birchfield was last seen in Elizabethton, Tennessee. Carter County Sheriff's Office investigators found signs of a violent crime inside the victim's home. On March 2, 2022, police chased Morley to the North Carolina border before making the arrest. Birchfield's body was later recovered from beneath Morley's house.

At the 2025 trial, Landree Sheperd, Morley's former girlfriend, testified that he once told her he had killed Birchfield. Federal and state law enforcement agencies are currently assisting in the search. The public can report information at 844-832-3463.