Inmate who fled 350 miles to Missouri found after truck stuck in mud

Jacob Morley was arrested near Kansas City on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old man had been missing since October 25, when he escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in far northwestern Tennessee. Authorities tracked him down after his vehicle became stuck in mud. Troopers used roadside cameras and a helicopter to locate the truck in the Kansas City area. Morley was found compliant when officers arrived at the scene.

Morley had been serving a life sentence for the 2022 murder of his co-worker, Cody Birchfield. Surveillance video captured Morley slipping through a prison fence in his uniform on the day of his escape. He stole a truck from a farm near the facility and drove to Marion, Illinois. He abandoned that vehicle after driving roughly 127 miles. He then walked about three miles to a second farm in Marion, according to Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich.

Investigators found evidence that Morley spent time in a shed on the Marion property. He drank beer and prepared garlic bread there. He left a handwritten note apologizing for the theft. He also took clothes and three firearms from the property. Two rifles and one shotgun were later recovered from the truck he was driving in Missouri.

Sheriff Diederich said security cameras showed Morley walking away from his first abandoned truck. Footage also captured him at locations along Route 13. The terrain in that area includes fields and woods, which made it difficult for witnesses to spot him. Diederich stated that there is no evidence Morley received help from others while on the run. He noted that it remains unclear why Morley traveled to Marion and why he was driving in Missouri, more than 350 miles from his starting point.

Kim Wheeler-Elder, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, sent a text message saying all available information regarding Morley's whereabouts has been released. A deputy U.S. marshal interviewed Morley at the Lafayette County Jail in Lexington, Missouri, on Tuesday. Morley admitted to escaping prison, stealing the truck, and taking the firearms, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Morley was charged in federal court in Tennessee with one count of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. He was also charged in federal court in Missouri on Tuesday with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. No other charges have been filed in Missouri courts, according to online records. The Lafayette County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

District Attorney General Danny Goodman Jr. in Tennessee said in a phone interview that he plans to file additional charges. It is not yet clear when Morley will be returned to Tennessee. A Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesperson, Justin Ewing, confirmed that Morley was transported to the Lafayette County Jail on Tuesday. The patrol was informed on Tuesday morning that Morley might be traveling west on Interstate 70 in the Kansas City area.