Escaped Tennessee inmate captured in Missouri after week-long manhunt

Jacob Allen Morley, a convicted murderer who escaped from a Tennessee prison more than a week ago, has been captured in Missouri after a multi-agency manhunt, authorities said.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said a tip led officers to an Illinois property where Morley was believed to be hiding. Investigators then tracked a stolen truck’s number plate through Missouri using automatic plate-reader technology. Missouri State Highway Patrol officers arrested Morley in Carroll County at 11.34am local time on Tuesday, the bureau said.

Three firearms previously reported stolen were recovered from the truck. The patrol said the search involved local police, the FBI, the US Marshals Service and Homeland Security Investigations.

The Tennessee Department of Correction said security footage showed Morley, 28, climbing through a prison fence at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville at about 11.30pm on 25 October. He was serving a life sentence for the 2022 killing of his colleague Cody Birchfield and was later reported to have stolen a vehicle from a nearby farm.

Morley was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced in June 2025. His request for a new trial was denied in May. A reward of up to $2,500 had been offered for information leading to his arrest; the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced a further $15,000 increase on Wednesday. It has not said whether any reward will be paid.

Authorities said the arrest followed information from members of the public. The bureau did not specify whether the tipster would receive a reward.