Jacob Morley: Tennessee fugitive steals work truck after Tiptonville prison escape
Authorities launched a search for the 28-year-old murder convict after he breached a fence and took a white Ford F-350 from a nearby commercial lot.
By Madison Cooper ·
Jacob Allen Morley is on the run after escaping from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, and stealing a white 2008 Ford F-350. The Tennessee Department of Correction confirmed the escape on Sunday night, placing the 28-year-old man on the state's most wanted list. He is currently serving a life sentence for the 2022 murder of Cody Birchfield.
Prison staff noticed Morley was missing during a check around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday. An emergency search of the facility followed immediately. Security footage reviewed by officials shows Morley cutting through a fence while still wearing standard prison clothing. By 1:00 a.m. Monday, video from the 400 block of Keystone Drive, located roughly two miles south of the prison, captured him taking the pickup truck.
The stolen vehicle is a heavy-duty Ford F-350 with the Tennessee license plate 138BBQV. The side of the truck bears the name Lindamood Planting Company, and the bed contains an air compressor. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation advises the public to treat Morley as dangerous. He stands 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighs 240 pounds, and has brown hair and green eyes.
Morley was convicted in 2025 of first-degree murder, burglary, vandalism, tampering with evidence, and evading arrest. The crime occurred in early February 2022, when Birchfield vanished after being last seen in Elizabethton. Investigators from the Carter County Sheriff's Office later found signs of a violent crime inside Birchfield's home. Morley was arrested in March 2022 following a police chase that reached the North Carolina border. Birchfield's body was discovered beneath Morley's residence shortly after the arrest.
During the trial, Morley's former girlfriend, Landree Sheperd, testified that Morley admitted to killing Birchfield. She recalled him saying, "he f, ing killed him." Federal and state law enforcement agencies are now assisting in the search. Officials have set up a dedicated hotline at 844-832-3463 for anyone with information regarding his location.
The Tiptonville facility is the site of the escape, and the stolen truck is the primary vehicle of interest in the ongoing manhunt. No further details regarding specific search zones have been released as of the latest official statement.
Source: Fox News
