Jacob Morley Drives Off in Stolen Planting Truck After Prison Fence Breach

Jacob Allen Morley, a 28-year-old inmate serving a life sentence for murder, escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, on Sunday. He stole a white 2008 Ford F-350 pickup truck during his getaway. The vehicle is marked with the name Lindamood Planting Company and carries an air compressor in the bed.

Prison staff discovered Morley missing from his cell block around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday. They immediately began an emergency count and searched the facility. Security video captured Morley cutting through a fence while still wearing his prison uniform. He left the complex on foot.

About 90 minutes later, cameras on Keystone Drive recorded Morley taking the truck. The location is roughly two miles south of the prison. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified the vehicle by its Tennessee license plate, 138BBQV. Officers described the truck as a heavy-duty model. Morley was not seen wearing a shirt during the theft in the footage.

The Tennessee Department of Correction placed Morley on the state's most wanted list. Agents advised the public to treat him as dangerous. He stands 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 240 pounds. He has brown hair and green eyes. Federal and state law enforcement agencies are currently assisting in the search.

Morley was convicted in 2025 of first-degree murder, burglary, vandalism, tampering with evidence, and evading arrest. His victim, Cody Birchfield, disappeared in early February 2022 after being last seen in Elizabethton. Investigators from the Carter County Sheriff's Office found signs of a violent crime inside Birchfield's home.

Police arrested Morley on March 2, 2022, after a chase that ended near the North Carolina border. They later found Birchfield's body beneath Morley's home. During the trial, Morley's former girlfriend, Landree Sheperd, testified that he told her, "he f, ing killed him." The manhunt continues across the region.

Officials are asking anyone with information about Morley's location to call 844-832-3463. No further details on the suspect's current status have been released as of Monday.