Jacob Morley Fugitive Steals Marked Ford F-350 After Tennessee Prison Escape
The 28-year-old murder convict is on the state's most wanted list after fleeing the Northwest Correctional Complex in a white work truck.
By Harper Laurent ·
A manhunt is active across Tennessee for Jacob Allen Morley, a 28-year-old inmate who escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville on Sunday. Morley, who is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder, fled the facility in a white 2008 Ford F-350 pickup truck.
Prison staff discovered Morley missing around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday and conducted an emergency search of the facility. Security footage showed the inmate breaching a perimeter fence while still wearing prison clothing. He was not located during the initial internal search.
At approximately 1 a.m. on Monday, video from the 400 block of Keystone Drive, located about two miles south of the prison, captured Morley taking a vehicle. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified the truck as a heavy-duty Ford F-350 with Tennessee license plate 138BBQV. Officials noted the vehicle bears the name Lindamood Planting Company on its side and carries an air compressor in the bed.
Morley is listed as 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 240 pounds. He has brown hair and green eyes. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has placed him on the state's most wanted list and advises that he be considered dangerous. Federal and state law enforcement agencies are assisting in the search for the fugitive.
Morley was convicted in 2025 of murdering Cody Birchfield, a crime that occurred three years prior to the trial. He also pleaded guilty to burglary, vandalism, tampering with evidence, and evading arrest. Birchfield was last seen in Elizabethton, Tennessee, in early February 2022. Investigators from the Carter County Sheriff's Office later found signs of a violent crime at Birchfield's home.
Morley was arrested on March 2, 2022, following a police chase that extended to the North Carolina state line. Birchfield's body was discovered underneath Morley's home after the arrest. During the 2025 trial, Morley's former girlfriend, Landree Sheperd, testified that the defendant once admitted to killing Birchfield, stating that he f, ing killed him.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about Morley's location to call 844-832-3463.
