Truck stolen by escaped Tennessee inmate is found abandoned in Illinois, authorities say

An escaped Tennessee inmate convicted of murdering a co-worker stole a truck from a nearby farm and apparently made it to southern Illinois before abandoning it, authorities said Tuesday.

Jacob Morley, who was serving a life sentence for killing a co-worker four years ago, was found to be missing from the Northwest Correctional Complex late on Sunday.


The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released surveillance video from the farm, which is near Tiptonville and about a 2-mile walk through fields from the prison, showing Morley open the truck's unlocked driver's side door and drive off at about 1 a.m. Monday.

Firefighters in Hornbeak, about 12 miles east of the farm, said on social media that investigators confirmed their cameras captured footage of the truck driving by their station about 15 minutes later.

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The truck was found abandoned Tuesday in Marion, Illinois, about 120 miles north of the prison and roughly 90 miles southeast of St. Louis.

Marion Police Chief David Fitts said the truck appeared to have be left neatly parked behind a shopping center at 4 a.m. Tuesday, according to surveillance video. Someone reported it to police at about 11 a.m. Tennessee investigators said Morley still hasn't been found.

 He has vanished,  Fitts said.  We haven't had any reports of stolen vehicles or anything else suspicious around here. 

Authorities said Morley, 28, slipped through a fence in his prison clothes, but they haven't released additional details, including whether they think anyone helped him.

Morley is white, 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 240 pounds. He has brown hair and green eyes.

Morley is serving a life sentence for killing co-worker Cody Birchfield in 2022. Birchfield's body was found in a box under Morley's home after he had been missing for a few weeks. The two lived in Carter County, in eastern Tennessee.

Along with first-degree murder, Morley was convicted of agg
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