Missouri troopers catch escaped Tennessee inmate after nine-day chase

Missouri State Highway Patrol officers arrested Jacob Allen Morley on Tuesday near Kansas City, ending a nine-day manhunt for the escaped Tennessee inmate. Morley, 28, was taken into custody without incident while traveling through the Kansas City area. The capture concludes a multi-state pursuit that began when Morley fled a prison in Lake County on October 25.

The investigation broke earlier Tuesday morning in rural Williamson County, Illinois. At approximately 7:34 a.m., deputies responded to a report of a stolen white 2005 Ford pickup truck. The vehicle, described as a farm truck, was identified as the second vehicle Morley had stolen during his escape. Investigators confirmed he had left southern Illinois in that truck and was heading west.

The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office worked with the Illinois State Police, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and Missouri authorities to track Morley’s route. They shared vehicle descriptions and location data to coordinate the final approach. Morley had been placed on the TBI’s Most Wanted list, with a reward of up to $17,500 offered for his arrest.

Morley originally escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Lake County on October 25. An inmate falsely covered for him during a 9:30 p.m. headcount, and officers noticed he was missing at 10:00 p.m. Investigators determined Morley cut through perimeter fences after hiding among pallets and a trash cart behind the prison’s main kitchen. Around 1:00 a.m. on October 26, he stole a 2008 Ford F-350 utility truck and drove to Illinois.

Surveillance footage showed Morley abandoning that first truck in Marion, Illinois, around 4:40 a.m. He evaded heavy law enforcement searches in the area for more than a week before stealing the farm truck on Tuesday. Authorities also investigated whether Morley was linked to an armed bank robbery in Dane County, Wisconsin, while he was on the run.

Morley is serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole for the 2022 murder of his coworker, Cody Birchfield, in Carter County, Tennessee. Friends and family of Birchfield issued public warnings after the escape, describing Morley as a dangerous killer who would not hesitate to strike again. Extradition details and formal charges regarding his escape and vehicle thefts have not yet been announced.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the arrest. The case is now moving toward the next stages of legal processing in Missouri.