CNN
By Chris Boyette, Isabel Rosales, Julianna Bragg, Vivian Phillips, Holly Yan
(CNN) — A truck stolen by a convicted murderer who escaped a Tennessee prison last weekend apparently sat in southern Illinois for more than a day before police found it, investigators said.
Now, authorities in multiple states are scrambling to find Jacob Morley, who “could be anywhere & is considered dangerous,” the Tennessee Department of Correction warned in a social media post Thursday.
“Check properties, including vacation homes & outbuildings, for anything unusual, and check on vulnerable individuals.”
Morley, 28, escaped late Sunday from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, in the northwestern corner of Tennessee, officials said.
Before fleeing the state, Morley stole a 2008 white Ford F-350 early Monday, investigators said. The truck was found abandoned Tuesday in Marion, Illinois – about a 130-mile drive north of the prison, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said.
Surveillance video shows the truck was apparently abandoned in Illinois around 4:40 a.m. Monday, Marion police Lt. Justin Dwyer told CNN. He said police found the truck around 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Video evidence so far indicates Morley headed toward a highway after leaving the truck, Dwyer said.
Marion police have reviewed a handful of grainy surveillance videos that match Morley’s description but haven’t been able to confirm whether he is still in Marion, according to Dwyer.
“We have continually searched neighborhoods, knocked on doors and followed every lead and tip that we receive. Although there is no indication he is still in Marion, we will continue to assume he is and will be on the lookout,” Dwyer said.
“All of our officers and detectives are well versed in Morley’s descriptors, photographs, etc., and will diligently canvass the area until we are confident he isn’t here or has been captured.”
Morley is the second inmate to escape this month from the custody of the Tennessee Department of Correction, whose commissioner resigned after the botched execution last month of Christa Pike, who’s now back in a maximum-security prison.
Morley is now on the TBI’s “Most Wanted” list, with a combined reward of $17,500 offered by the Tennessee governor’s office, the TBI and the US Marshals Service for information leading to his arrest.
Convicted killer vanishes in the dark
Morley was sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, evading arrest and vandalism.
He escaped through a fence at the prison in Tiptonville late Sunday, and staff realized he was missing around 11:30 p.m., the Tennessee Department of Correction said.
Security camera footage later revealed Morley “breached the perimeter fence” and fled wearing his prison uniform, the department said. He then stole the truck early Monday in Lake County, where Tiptonville is the county seat, the TBI said.
“Everybody is locking their car doors now,” local attorney Bridget Lawler said Wednesday. “My husband checked all of our doors before he went to bed.”
In Marion, a small Illinois city of about 17,600 people, one resident told CNN: “It’s a scary time.”
Marion police said they notified the public through local media outlets. But one resident said she didn’t get an alert from local authorities.
“No one that I have talked to has mentioned seeing it, either,” Lachelle Hartline told CNN. “We only got information through Facebook.”
Victim’s family worries what the fugitive might do next
Morley was convicted in the killing of Cody Birchfield, who was initially reported missing in February 2022, the Carter County Sheriff’s Office said. Birchfield’s body was found weeks after he went missing, in a box under Morley’s house, The Associated Press reported.
Birchfield’s older sister said her brother was always there for his family. “It didn’t matter when, where, or what you needed,” Carrie Norman told CNN affiliate WCYB.
After learning her brother’s killer had escaped, “You feel sick to your stomach,” Norman said. “It’s all those feelings come rushing back.”
A cousin of Birchfield’s, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons, told CNN that Morley’s life sentence gave the family “a small sense of closure and the reassurance that justice had been served.” But learning of his escape has reopened their “deepest wounds.”
The cousin said the family’s primary concerns are public safety and keeping attention on Morley’s escape, urging anyone with information to tell authorities.
But the victim’s family also wants to make sure Birchfield is never forgotten.
“Above all, we want Cody to be remembered not for the tragedy of his death, but for the warmth, kindness, and decency of his life,” the cousin said.
Another cousin of Birchfield’s, who also asked to speak anonymously for safety reasons, told CNN they’re worried about the safety of Birchfield’s father and sister, who still live in the same area.
“If that man can do that to my cousin,” the family member said, “what’s he going to do to the next individual?”
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