Retired FBI agent says abandoned truck signals fugitive Morley is laying low

Jacob Allen Morley, a convicted murderer serving a life sentence, escaped from a Tennessee correctional facility on Sunday, triggering a multi-state search for the 5-foot-11, 240-pound man.

Staff at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville noticed Morley missing from his unit around 11:30 p.m. Surveillance footage later confirmed he crossed the prison's perimeter fence. By 1 a.m. on Monday, video from the 400 block of Keystone Drive showed him taking a pickup truck located two miles south of the facility.

Law enforcement officers discovered the abandoned vehicle in Marion, Illinois, early Tuesday morning. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation confirmed that the U.S. Marshals Service and Illinois State Police are assisting in the hunt. An Illinois State Police spokeswoman stated that her agency has offered its assistance to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Jonathan Gilliam, a retired FBI special agent, analyzed the timeline for Fox News Digital. He noted that the truck was found 2.5 hours north of the prison. Gilliam suggested that Morley is likely hiding or seeking a replacement vehicle to continue his escape.

The specific vehicle Morley used was a work truck, a detail Gilliam emphasized. He described the vehicle as screaming work truck and noted it would have been easy to identify. If Morley secured a more nondescript vehicle that no one has reported missing, Gilliam said he could travel a considerable distance without detection.

Gilliam argued that Morley's lack of money limits his range unless he commits another crime to obtain resources. The agent observed that Morley moved north, away from family resources located to the east. This direction suggests the fugitive is prioritizing distance from the prison over leveraging local connections.

Morley is currently on the Tennessee most wanted list. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation advised the public to consider him dangerous. Beyond his first-degree murder conviction, he was also found guilty of burglary, vandalism, tampering with evidence, and evading arrest.

Morley is serving a life sentence for the 2022 murder of Cody Birchfield. Birchfield disappeared in early February 2022 after being last seen in Elizabethton, Tennessee. Investigators from the Carter County Sheriff's Office found indications of a violent crime inside his residence. Morley was arrested on March 2, 2022, after a police chase crossed into North Carolina. Birchfield's body was later found underneath Morley's home.

During the trial, Morley's former girlfriend, Landree Sheperd, testified that the defendant admitted to killing Birchfield. She stated that he said he f, ing killed him. People with information about Morley's whereabouts are encouraged to call 844-832-3463.