Manhunt for escaped Tennessee murder convict crosses state lines after the truck he stole is found abandoned in Illinois
A photo from a wanted poster released Monday shows surveillance images of inmate Jacob Allen Morley taken during his escape late Sunday.
By Chris Boyette, Isabel Rosales, Julianna Bragg and Vivian Phillips, CNN
(CNN) — The search for a convicted murderer who escaped from a Tennessee prison has crossed state lines after authorities found his stolen getaway truck in southern Illinois.
The white 2008 Ford F-350 with Tennessee plates that Jacob Morley, 28, stole after his escape was found abandoned early Tuesday in Marion, Illinois, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said.
Marion police investigators have reviewed a handful of grainy surveillance videos that match the description of Morley but have not been able to confirm whether he is still in Marion, according to Lt. Justin Dwyer.
“At this point we have continually searched neighborhoods, knocked on doors and followed every lead and tip that we receive. Although there is no indication he is still in Marion, we will continue to assume he is and will be on the lookout,” Dwyer said.
“All of our officers and detectives are well versed in Morley’s descriptors, photographs, etc., and will diligently canvass the area until we are confident he isn’t here or has been captured,” he said.
Morley’s “whereabouts remain unknown, and locating him continues to be an urgent priority for law enforcement,” the TBI said Tuesday.
“Our law enforcement partners in surrounding states have been notified to be on the lookout,” the TBI said in a statement to CNN on Wednesday, adding its agents “continue to assist our local, state, and federal partners in locating Jacob Morley.”
“Illinois State Police is aware of the situation and has offered its assistance to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation,” police said in a statement Wednesday.
Morley escaped through a fence at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, late Sunday. Staff realized he was missing around 11:30 p.m., according to the Department of Correction.
Security camera footage later revealed Morley “breached the perimeter fence” and left the facility wearing his prison uniform, the department said. He then stole the truck early Monday in Lake County, according to the TBI.
He had been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, evading arrest and vandalism.
In Marion, Illinois, a small city of about 17,600 people, one resident told CNN, “It’s a scary time.”
“Everybody is locking their car doors now,” Bridget Lawler, a local attorney, said Wednesday morning. “I know my husband checked all of our doors before he went to bed.”
Another resident said she did not receive an alert from local authorities. “No one that I have talked to has mentioned seeing it either. We only got information through Facebook,” Lachelle Hartline told CNN.
The Marion Police Department said it notified the public through local media outlets.
Morley is the second inmate to escape in October from the custody of the Tennessee Department of Correction, whose commissioner resigned following the botched execution and hospitalization last month of Christa Pike, who’s now back in a maximum-security prison.
Morley was convicted in the killing of Cody Birchfield, who was initially reported missing in February 2022, according to the Carter County Sheriff’s Office.
Birchfield’s body was found weeks after he went missing, in a box under Morley’s house, The Associated Press reported.
Birchfield’s older sister said her brother was always there for his family. “It didn’t matter when, where, or what you needed,” Carrie Norman told CNN affiliate WCYB.
Finding out her brother’s killer had escaped was jarring, she added.
“You feel sick to your stomach … it’s all those feelings come rushing back,” she said.
A cousin of Birchfield’s, who asked not to be named for safety reasons, told CNN that Morley’s life sentence gave the family “a small sense of closure and the reassurance that justice had been served.” But learning of his escape has reopened their “deepest wounds.”
The cousin said the family’s primary concerns are public safety and keeping attention on Morley’s escape, urging anyone with information that could help authorities to come forward.
But the family also wants the focus to remain on Birchfield.
“Above all, we want Cody to be remembered not for the tragedy of his death, but for the warmth, kindness, and decency of his life,” the cousin said.
Another cousin of Birchfield’s, who also asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons, told CNN they’re worried about the safety of his father and sister, who still live in the same area.
“If that man can do that to my cousin, what’s he going to do to the next individual?” the cousin said.
Morley is now on the TBI’s “Most Wanted” list, with a combined reward of $15,000 offered by the Tennessee governor’s office, the TBI and the US Marshals Service for information leading to his arrest.
The-CNN-Wire
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