A convicted murderer who escaped from a Tennessee prison last week was captured in Missouri on Tuesday after his suspected getaway truck became stuck off a rural road, ending a multi-state manhunt.
Jacob Allen Morley, 28, was taken into custody by a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper around 11:30 a.m. in Carroll County, about 60 miles east of Kansas City. Authorities said he was apprehended without incident after his vehicle got stuck while attempting to evade law enforcement.
Manhunt Ends With Rural Capture
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation had received a tip earlier Tuesday that Morley was hiding in a shed at an Illinois hunting camp. Investigators tracked a stolen vehicle from that location and alerted Missouri authorities when they believed Morley might be traveling west on Interstate 70.
Missouri law enforcement used automated license plate readers to locate the truck, which was then spotted by a police helicopter. Officers from multiple agencies converged on the area, aware that Morley might be armed. The truck was found to contain three firearms when it became stuck on a county road in Carroll County.
Violent Past and Prison Escape
Morley was serving a life sentence for the 2022 murder of his former co-worker, Cody Birchfield, whose body was discovered in a metal box beneath Morley’s home. He had escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, on October 25 after breaching the prison’s perimeter fence.
During the manhunt, authorities warned that Morley should be considered extremely dangerous. The reward for information leading to his capture had grown to $17,500. Birchfield’s family had expressed particular concern that Morley might obtain weapons during his time on the run.
Carrie Norman, Birchfield’s sister, released a statement thanking law enforcement and the public for their assistance in the case following Morley’s capture. The Tennessee Department of Correction has not yet explained how Morley managed to breach the prison’s security perimeter during his escape.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/escaped-killer-captured-after-getaway-truck-gets-stuck