Tennessee manhunt targets fugitive who stole work truck after escape

Jacob Morley, 28, is on the run after escaping a Tennessee prison and stealing a heavy-duty pickup truck. The Tennessee Department of Correction confirmed the fugitive status on Sunday evening.

Morley served a life sentence for the 2022 murder of Cody Birchfield. He was convicted in 2025 for first-degree murder, along with burglary, vandalism, tampering with evidence, and evading arrest. The escape occurred at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville.

Prison staff found Morley missing at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday. They immediately performed an emergency count of the facility. Security footage shows him breaking through a fence while wearing his prison clothes.

Around 1 a.m. on Monday, video recorded Morley taking a vehicle on Keystone Drive. The location is roughly two miles south of the prison. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified the truck as a white 2008 Ford F-350. It carries Tennessee plate 138BBQV and displays the name Lindamood Planting Company on the side. An air compressor sits in the truck bed.

Officials describe Morley as 5 feet 11 inches tall and 240 pounds. He has brown hair and green eyes. The Bureau of Investigation advised that he be considered dangerous. He now appears on the state most wanted list. Federal and state agencies are assisting in the search.

The case began in early February 2022 when Birchfield disappeared from Elizabethton. Carter County Sheriff's Office investigators found signs of violent crime in his home. Police arrested Morley on March 2, 2022, after a chase that crossed into North Carolina. They later found Birchfield's body under Morley's home.

At trial, Morley's ex-girlfriend Landree Sheperd testified that he once admitted to killing Birchfield. People with information can call 844-832-3463.