Tennessee inmate serving life sentence remains at large after prison escape
Qwenews.com – Tennessee authorities are searching for Jacob Morley, a 28-year-old inmate serving a life sentence who escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex late Sunday and later fled in a stolen pickup truck.
Prison personnel discovered at roughly 11:30 p.m. on October 25 that Morley was missing from the facility. Subsequent review of security footage showed that he had made his way beyond the prison’s outer barrier while still dressed in his correctional uniform.
“Breached the perimeter fence”
Officials have not explained how Morley was able to get through the fence or identified a possible weakness in the facility’s security system. The Northwest Correctional Complex, which is built to hold as many as 1,776 male inmates, is part of the Tennessee Department of Correction system.
Stolen truck identified in investigation
Investigators say Morley took a white 2008 Ford F-350 with Tennessee license plates at about 1 a.m. on October 26. Video collected by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation captured the theft, providing a key part of the timeline after the escape.
The Hornbeak Fire Department, located about 15 miles from the correctional complex, also recorded footage believed to show Morley driving past its building in the stolen truck at approximately 1:18 a.m. The sighting indicates he had moved away from the prison shortly after taking the vehicle.
Authorities have placed Morley on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Most Wanted list. A reward of up to $2,500 is available for information that results in his arrest.
Anyone with information about his whereabouts should treat the situation with caution and provide details to law enforcement rather than attempting contact. The search involves an inmate convicted of violent offenses who left custody without authorization.
Life sentence followed murder conviction
Morley received a life sentence after convictions for first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, evading arrest and vandalism. The murder conviction stemmed from the death of Cody Birchfield, whose disappearance was first reported in February 2022.
Birchfield’s body was found weeks later in a box beneath Morley’s house. The case also included a police pursuit that crossed state lines after deputies arrived at Morley’s residence in 2022. That chase ended in North Carolina.
The escape is the second involving a person in Tennessee Department of Correction custody within the past week. The latest incident places renewed focus on the sequence of events between an inmate leaving a secured area, staff recognizing the absence and law enforcement locating the person outside the facility.
For residents in communities near the prison and along the route linked to the stolen vehicle, the most useful identifying details are the suspect’s name, his prison clothing at the time he exited the facility and the description of the Ford F-350. The available video evidence may help investigators establish where the truck traveled after it passed the Hornbeak Fire Department.
Search continues
Morley had not been located as the search continued. Authorities have not said whether the Ford truck has been recovered, whether he changed clothing after leaving the prison or whether anyone else may have assisted him.
Investigators are working from prison surveillance, the pickup theft video and footage from Hornbeak to trace his movements. Those images establish a narrow early-morning window: Morley was gone from the correctional complex before staff recognized his absence, took the truck around 1 a.m., and was seen driving it near Hornbeak less than 20 minutes later.
The case now combines a prison-security investigation with a regional fugitive search. As officials seek Morley’s arrest, they are also expected to examine how a prisoner serving life was able to pass through the facility’s perimeter fence and leave the Northwest Correctional Complex.
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