Tennessee prisoner had 5-hour head start before police were called

Jacob Allen Morley had a five-hour head start before local police were alerted to his escape from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee. Prison staff noticed the convicted murderer was unaccounted for at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, but Tiptonville Police Chief Joe England said his department did not receive notice of the missing inmate until 4:40 a.m. on Monday.

Surveillance footage shows Morley crossing the prison perimeter fence. Tennessee Highway Patrol dispatch audio places him at the facility until approximately 4 p.m. on Sunday. By 1 a.m. on Monday, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reported that Morley had taken a pickup truck from the 400 block of Keystone Drive, a location roughly two miles south of the prison.

Law enforcement officials found the abandoned truck in Marion, Illinois, early Tuesday morning. Morley was not with the vehicle. Chief England noted that the police department was not made aware of the potentially missing truck until 2:15 p.m. on Monday. The vehicle was confirmed missing at 2:30 p.m. that same day. The truck was stolen outside of city limits.

At 5:14 a.m. on Monday, officers at the scene confirmed the escape to the rest of the department. Prison officials formally notified Lake County Central Dispatch at 6:20 a.m. This notification triggered a coordinated search involving the Tennessee Department of Correction, the Lake County Sheriff's Office, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, and federal agencies.

A reward for information leading to Morley's capture stands at $15,000. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation broke down the funding: $7,500 from the governor's office, $5,000 from the U.S. Marshals, and $2,500 from the TBI. The agency describes Morley as 5 feet 11 inches tall and 240 pounds with brown hair and green eyes. He is listed on the state's most wanted list.

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. Investigators found indications of a violent crime in the victim's home. 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. Morley was also convicted of burglary, vandalism, tampering with evidence, and evading arrest.

Former federal prison warden Cameron Lindsay called the delay in notifying police 100% unacceptable. He stated that local law enforcement should have been contacted immediately once staff realized the inmate was missing. Retired FBI Special Agent Jonathan Gilliam said the community should have received an emergency text alert sooner to check for missing family members. The escape occurred less than a month after the botched execution of Christa Pike, who survived two doses of pentobarbital on Sept. 30. Governor Bill Lee suspended the state's remaining scheduled executions for the year to allow for an independent review.