Tennessee convicted murderer who escaped prison captured near Kansas City
Jacob Morley, the convicted murderer who escaped a Tennessee prison last month, has been taken into custody near Kansas City, Missouri, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced Tuesday.
Morley had escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) announced on Oct. 26.
According to the Williamson County Sheriff's Office in Illinois, authorities responded to a report of a stolen vehicle on Tuesday morning, southwest of Marion, Illinois.
"Investigators subsequently determined that the vehicle, a white 2005 Ford pickup truck utilized as a farm vehicle, had been stolen by 28-year-old Tennessee prison escapee Jacob Allen Morley," the sheriff's office added.
The sheriff's office highlighted coordinated efforts with law enforcement partners resulting "in the apprehension of Jacob Allen Morley by the Missouri State Highway Patrol as he traveled through the Kansas City, Missouri, area."
The Missouri State Highway Patrol confirmed they took the suspect into custody in Carroll County, Missouri, near Norborne, Missouri, which sits about an hour east of Kansas City.
According to MSHP, authorities received information from the TBI that Morley may have been traveling through the state. After authorities located the vehicle using license plate cameras, the Kansas City Police Department followed the vehicle with a helicopter.
Morley was eventually taken into custody "without incident," according to MSHP.
According to TDOC, Morley was serving a life sentence for a conviction in Carter County, Tennessee, for crimes including first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, evading arrest and vandalism.
"At approximately 11:30 p.m. on October 25, 2026, staff at NWCX confirmed Morley was unaccounted for and immediately conducted an emergency count and search of the facility," the agency said when it announced his escape on Oct. 26.
Security cameras "confirmed Morley breached the perimeter fence and exited the facility in his TDOC uniform," officials said.
After Morley allegedly stole a truck in Tennessee after his escape, the vehicle was found in Marion, Illinois, the TBI announced on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
After the stolen truck was recovered, little information emerged about Morley's whereabouts until his arrest on Tuesday.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
