Police nab Tennessee killer after nine-day, multistate chase

Missouri authorities on Tuesday captured convict Jacob Allen Morley, nine days after he escaped from a Tennessee prison. Morley, age 28, had been serving a life sentence in the Northwest Correctional Complex for several crimes including first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, and evading arrest. 

He breached a perimeter fence at the facility on Oct. 25, ran away still wearing his uniform, and then allegedly stole a truck and drove to Illinois. The hunt for Morley involved federal agencies, including the FBI, along with state and local law enforcement from Tennessee, Illinois, and Missouri, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Investigators said they caught Morley after tracking a second truck he allegedly stole from a hunting camp in Marion, Ill. He may have hid in a shed on the property before stealing the truck, which contained three firearms, according to Tennessee officials. Law enforcement used automatic license plate reader databases to find the truck’s route west across Missouri from St. Louis to Kansas City. They followed the vehicle to a more rural area and eventually arrested Morley without incident near Norborne, Mo., according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Dig deeper: Read Daisy Sachoff’s report from last week on Morley’s escape.