Manhunt Widens for Escaped Killer as Police Say He May Have Left Illinois Town

The search for a convicted murderer who escaped from a Tennessee prison is expanding, with police in a small Illinois town saying he likely did not stay in the area where a stolen truck was recovered.

Jacob Morley, 28, has been at large since Sunday. He was serving a life sentence at Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, when he got out sometime before 11:30 p.m., according to officials there. Morley was convicted in 2022 of killing a co-worker.

Early Tuesday, a work truck that Morley is accused of stealing was found behind a business in Marion, Illinois. The town has about 16,000 residents and sits roughly 100 miles north of Tiptonville, authorities in Marion and Tennessee said.

Marion Police Chief David Fitts said Wednesday that investigators have found nothing around the truck to point to Morley's next move. No other vehicle thefts have been reported in Marion, and there have been no confirmed sightings. "What we have seen kind of leads us in the direction that he's not still here. But that doesn't mean that we've stopped looking," Fitts said.

Fitts said Morley has no known link to Marion or southern Illinois, and he suggested the town may simply have been a stop along the way. Interstate 57 runs through the middle of it. "Maybe he was low on gas and just pulled off. I don't know," he said. He added that Morley would struggle to go unnoticed locally because "his face is all over the news."

Morley was convicted of first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and aggravated burglary after a trial in February 2025, and he also pleaded guilty to theft of property. Court documents accuse him of shooting Cody Birchfield in the back of the head in 2022. Birchfield's body was found in a large metal box beneath Morley's residence, the documents say.

Birchfield's sister, Carrie Norman, said Wednesday that the escape "feels like a scary movie." She said the family must relive the ordeal because, while no one knows where Morley is, they know what he is capable of.

Also on Wednesday, the reward for information leading to Morley's arrest rose from $2,500 to $15,000. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said the amount combines funds from the Tennessee governor's office, the bureau and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Fitts urged residents not to try to catch Morley themselves. "Don't approach him. Call 911. We'll handle it," he said, adding that he is confident someone will eventually locate him.

The Tennessee Department of Correction said staff confirmed around 11:30 p.m. Sunday that Morley was unaccounted for and carried out an emergency count and search of the facility. Security video showed he breached the perimeter fence and left in his department uniform. The department has released no further details on how the escape happened, and it said Wednesday that the matter remains under investigation.