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 (3-kilometer) 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 (19 kilometers) 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.

The truck was found abandoned Tuesday in Marion, Illinois, about 120 miles (193 kilometers) north of the prison and roughly 90 miles (145 kilometers) southeast of St. Louis, but Tennessee investigators said Morley still hadn’t been found.

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 (1.8 meters) tall and weighs 240 pounds (109 kilograms). 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 aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, vandalism and evading arrest. When Morley saw deputies at his home, he led officers on a chase that ended in North Carolina, authorities said.

Prison officials have offered a reward of up to $2,500 for Morley’s arrest. They said law enforcement agencies have searched buildings and other structures near the prison, which is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Memphis in flat farmland near a bend in the Mississippi River.

The escape is the latest of a string of problems in Tennessee prisons.

Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada announced his resignation after less than three years on the job following the failed execution of Christa Pike on Sept. 30.

Pike remained alive after being given two massive doses of pentobarbital, the drug Tennessee uses in lethal injections. Her lawyers said it appears the IVs in her arms were never properly inserted into her veins or blew out quickly, keeping the drugs from entering her bloodstream. The state is conducting an independent investigation into its death penalty system and what happened to Pike.

Meanwhile, several violent attacks between inmates and by employees have been reported in recent years at Northwest Correctional Complex. A grand jury in July returned dozens of indictments for five inmate killings and other violent acts.

In a hearing before a Tennessee Senate subcommittee last month, prison officials said they had 470 open jobs among its 6,000-person workforce. They also warned a 2022 law requiring inmates to serve more of their sentences was increasing prison populations and could lead to overcrowding.

Jeffrey Collins, The Associated Press