Police recaptured an escaped Tennessee inmate in Missouri on Tuesday after the convicted murderer spent more than a week on the run.
Jacob Morley escaped the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, on Oct. 25. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation apprehended Morley around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, the department announced in an X post.
Morley, 28, was first reported missing after surveillance cameras at the Tiptonville detention center showed he had made it over a perimeter fence while wearing his prison uniform. He then stole a truck from a farm near the prison, which he then drove roughly 120 miles to Illinois, abandoning it in Marion.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reportedly received information about Morley’s possible whereabouts around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The escaped prisoner’s vehicle was captured by Flock cameras traveling near Independence, Missouri.
This photo provided by the Missouri State Highway Patrol shows Jacob Morley on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, near Kansas City, Mo. (MSHP via AP)
" data-large-file="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/AP26307709342091.jpg?w=768" height="1024" width="768" src="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/AP26307709342091.jpg?w=768" alt="Jacob Morley " class="wp-image-4789888" srcset="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/AP26307709342091.jpg 1024w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/AP26307709342091.jpg?resize=225,300 225w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/AP26307709342091.jpg?resize=768,1024 768w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px">
Jacob Morley on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, near Kansas City, Missouri. (Missouri State Highway Patrol via AP)
While Morley was traveling on Interstate 70, multiple officers were suspicious he was armed. According to multiple reports, the inmate was being followed by a police helicopter before he drove off the roadway and became stuck. He was then arrested without incident.
Morley is serving a life sentence for the murder of Cody Birchfield, a co-worker, in 2022. Birchfield’s body was discovered in a metal container under Morley’s home in Carter County in eastern Tennessee. Court records report that Morley shot his co-worker in the back of the head.
After the discovery of Birchfield’s body, Morley led authorities on a chase that eventually concluded in North Carolina with an arrest. Morley was convicted last year of murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, and aggravated burglary related to Birchfield’s murder.
Morley’s escape is the latest mishap for the Tennessee Department of Correction, as last month, the agency failed to execute convicted murderer Christa Pike after she received two doses of lethal injection.
CHRISTA PIKE DESCRIBES PAIN IN FIRST PUBLIC STATEMENT SINCE BOTCHED EXECUTION
Pike, 50, was set to become the first woman put to death in Tennessee in over 200 years, but that ultimately didn’t happen. She survived two doses of pentobarbital before being hospitalized on a ventilator. Within a week, she was walking and talking.
Following Pike’s botched execution, Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada resigned from his post, saying it was “in the best interest of Tennesseans.”
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
