Escaped Tenn. Murderer Captured in Mo. After Multi-State Manhunt

A convicted murderer serving a life sentence was captured near Norborne after escaping from a Tiptonville prison and allegedly stealing multiple vehicles during a weeklong multi-state manhunt.

By Ethan Erickson

Source St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Nov. 4, 2026

2 min read

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Convicted murderer Jacob Morley was captured in Missouri after spending more than a week on the run following his escape from a Tennessee prison.
Investigators say Morley stole a second pickup truck from a southern Illinois farm, and Flock camera data helped law enforcement track his movements into Missouri.
Multiple local, state and federal agencies assisted in Morley's arrest; he is serving a life sentence for a murder conviction.

Escaped convicted murder Jacob Morley — The multi-state manhunt for Jacob Morley ended in Missouri after authorities used technology, interagency cooperation and investigative leads to track the escaped inmate's movements.

A convicted murderer who spent more than a week on the run after he escaped from a Tennessee prison was captured Tuesday in Missouri after officials say he stole a farm truck in rural southern Illinois.

Jacob Morley, 28, escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville on Oct. 25, getting out through the prison’s fence while wearing his prison uniform.

Authorities say Morley then stole a white 2008 Ford F-350 that was left unlocked with the keys in the ignition. That truck eventually turned up abandoned Oct. 26 about 130 miles away in Marion, Illinois, which is about 100 miles southeast of St. Louis.

Law enforcement officials on Friday asked for help from anyone who was at a Marion truck stop who may have seen him around the time the first truck was abandoned.

Authorities got their break early Tuesday when the Williamson County Sheriff's Department said deputies responded to a report of a Ford pickup stolen from a farm southwest of Marion that they say Morley stole.

The department said it worked in coordination with numerous other law enforcement agencies, resulting in police determining, based on Flock camera data, that Morley was likely traveling through Missouri.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol, along with the help of other agencies, captured Morley at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday near Norborne in Carroll County, about 60 miles northeast of Kansas City.

The Kansas City Police Department, Independence Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Career Criminal Task Force, U.S. Marshals Service, and Homeland Security Investigations assisted with the arrest, the MSHP said in a release.

“This apprehension represents the culmination of an extraordinary collaborative effort involving local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies across multiple states," Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich said in a statement.

Morley is serving a life sentence for the killing of a coworker whose body was found in a box under Morley's home.

Before his trail went cold for a week, the hunt for Morley got off to an inauspicious start. A report from a Tennessee television station indicates Morley was already in Marion before prison officials even notified outside law enforcement agencies about his escape.

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