NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Department of Correction and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are asking residents to check their properties and stay alert as the search for escaped inmate Jacob Allen Morley, a convicted murderer, enters its second week.
Morley, 28, escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Lake County early on Monday, Oct. 26. During the escape he stole a white Ford truck with a flatbed marked with Lindamood Planting Company. The truck was later found abandoned in Marion, Illinois, which pushed the search across state lines.
Morley is serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole for the 2022 killing of Cody Birchfield in Carter County. He was convicted of first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and aggravated burglary. He is described as between 5 feet 7 inches and 6 feet tall, between 240 and 270 pounds, with green eyes and brown hair.
Officials are asking truck drivers and other travelers who were at or near the Pilot Travel Center on Vernell Road in Marion, Illinois, between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. on Oct. 26 to review any dash camera video. They want to hear from people who saw someone matching Morley’s description, noticed suspicious activity around the truck stop or captured anything unusual on camera. “Even if something seemed insignificant at the time, it could be a critical piece of information for investigators,” the department said.
The agencies also urged Tennesseans and people in surrounding states to check vacation homes, lake houses, hunting cabins, sheds, barns, garages and other outbuildings for anything that looks unusual or out of place. They encouraged people to check on elderly relatives and neighbors and other vulnerable people.
Tennessee and Wisconsin authorities are looking at a possible connection between Morley and an armed robbery at the Bank of Deerfield in Dane County, Wisconsin, in which a gunman restrained two employees and left with cash before taking a Lincoln MKZ from the parking lot. The vehicle was later found empty. The TBI says it knows of the Wisconsin robbery but has not confirmed any link to Morley.
Anyone with information should call 1-800-TBI-FIND or 911 immediately. Officials say residents should not try to approach or confront him.