A convicted murderer who broke out of a Tennessee prison more than a week ago is back behind bars. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced Tuesday that Jacob Allen Morley, 28, was in custody, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol said troopers took him in near Norborne in Carroll County, Missouri, at about 11:34 a.m.
“BREAKING: Jacob Allen Morley is in Custody,” the TBI wrote in a post on X. In a statement reported by CBS News, the bureau added: “Thank you to the public for your assistance, vigilance, and the tips provided during this investigation.”
BREAKING: Jacob Allen Morley is in Custody. More details soon! pic.twitter.com/7d66RN9bk8
— Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (@TBInvestigation) November 3, 2026
Plate-reader cameras and a helicopter
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Tennessee authorities contacted the patrol’s Missouri Information Analysis Center on Tuesday because “information obtained through FLOCK technology” indicated Morley might be traveling through the state, KSHB reported. KMBC reported that troopers learned around 9:30 a.m. that he might be heading west on Interstate 70 near Independence, and undercover officers then spotted the vehicle on Missouri Route 291 in Liberty with help from the cameras.
The Kansas City Police Department tracked the vehicle with its helicopter as it traveled east into Carroll County, KMBC reported, citing the patrol. When Morley tried to leave the road on County Road 515, the vehicle got stuck, and a trooper took him into custody without incident, according to the patrol. The patrol said officers believed he was armed with multiple weapons, and that no agency was ever in an active pursuit with emergency equipment on.
CBS News reported that authorities recovered three firearms from the truck that had previously been reported stolen.
A tip from an Illinois hunting camp
Investigators received a tip Tuesday morning that Morley had been hiding in a shed at a hunting camp near Marion, Illinois, and learned a truck had been stolen from that property, CBS News reported, citing the TBI. The U.S. Marshals Service’s Midwest Violent Fugitive Task Force was among the agencies involved in the capture, according to KMBC, and NewsChannel 5 in Nashville reported that Homeland Security Investigations also assisted.
Escape from a life sentence
Morley was serving a life sentence at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, for killing a co-worker four years ago, according to the Tennessee Department of Correction as cited by CBS News. KMBC reported that he was also convicted of aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, evading arrest and vandalism.
Correctional officers discovered he was missing at about 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 25, according to CBS News, and security footage later showed him slipping through a fence in his prison uniform. Authorities later released video of him stealing a white Ford F-350 from Lake County, which was found in Marion, Illinois, the outlet reported. The TBI had placed Morley on its Most Wanted list and warned that he should be considered dangerous, KMBC reported.
The case ends with no one hurt during the arrest, according to the highway patrol. Investigators told CBS News that more details on the escape and the multi-state search will be released as they become available, including how Morley got through the prison’s fence in the first place.
Sources
Sources cited
- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jacob-morley-escaped-tennessee-murderer-captured/
- https://www.kmbc.com/article/escaped-inmate-tennessee-missouri-captured-chase/74324171
- https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/tennessee-fugitive-recaptured-in-kansas-city-missouri
- https://www.newschannel5.com/news/escaped-tenn-convicted-murderer-jacob-morley-taken-into-custody-tbi-confirms
Sources
- Original post: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (@TBInvestigation) on X, Nov 3, 2026
Posts on X are shown as published by their authors; claims in them are attributed, not independently confirmed unless the article says so. If an embedded post does not load, these links open the originals.