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Ongoing story / Tennessee

Jacob Morley's escape from a Tennessee prison and the manhunt

Overview · reviewed November 5, 2026

Jacob Morley, who was serving a life sentence for the 2022 murder of his co-worker Cody Birchfield, escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tennessee in October 2026 and was recaptured in Missouri on November 3 after 10 days on the run, when his vehicle got stuck off a road.[1][2][3] He had stolen a truck from a nearby farm, which authorities later found abandoned in southern Illinois.[2][4]

Read the timeline

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He had stolen a truck from a nearby farm, which authorities later found abandoned in southern Illinois.[2][4]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2026-10-26 (UTC): 9%, 44 of 473 tracked outlets (9 left, 27 center, 8 right)Week of 2026-11-02 (UTC): 9%, 44 of 471 tracked outlets (8 left, 26 center, 10 right)Week of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 2 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (2 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Nov 2, 20268261044 of 4719%
Oct 26, 2026927844 of 4739%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Nov 4, 2026 · first reported · Headline from MLive

    Escaped Tennessee inmate on run caught after 10 days when truck gets stuck in mud in Kansas City

Background

A friend of the murder victim warned the public that Morley was "extremely dangerous."[5] Lawmakers called for answers after two escapes from Tennessee prisons,[6] and the escape came weeks after the failed execution of Christa Pike, another problem for the state's troubled prison system.[7] After his capture, authorities tried to piece together how he had evaded them for so long; they tracked the vehicle using Flock license-plate cameras, according to BNO News.[3]

Supporting stories (7)
  1. "All hands on deck": Former TBI agent explains search process for escaped inmates as Morley search enters second day
  2. Manhunt for escaped Tennessee killer takes new turn after Illinois discovery
  3. Authorities are trying to piece together how an escaped Tennessee inmate evaded capture for 10 days
  4. Truck stolen by Tennessee prison escapee sat in Illinois for more than a day before it was found, police say
  5. Murder victim's friend warns public amid manhunt for Tennessee prison escapee
  6. Lawmakers call for answers after 2 Tennessee inmate escapes
  7. Inmate’s escape is just the latest problem for Tennessee’s troubled prison system

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 9 recorded updates

November 2026

  1. Escaped Tennessee inmate on run caught after 10 days when truck gets stuck in mud in Kansas CityHeadline from NJ.com / Star-Ledger · 5 outlets
  2. Authorities are trying to piece together how an escaped Tennessee inmate evaded capture for 10 daysHeadline from Bangor Daily News · 41 outlets

October 2026

  1. Truck stolen by Tennessee prison escapee sat in Illinois for more than a day before it was found, police sayHeadline from KRDO · 6 outlets
  2. Inmate’s escape is just the latest problem for Tennessee’s troubled prison systemHeadline from MyNorthwest · 7 outlets
  3. "All hands on deck": Former TBI agent explains search process for escaped inmates as Morley search enters second dayHeadline from WJHL Johnson City · 1 outlet
  4. Murder victim's friend warns public amid manhunt for Tennessee prison escapeeHeadline from News Nation Now · 2 outlets
  5. Tennessee manhunt Day 3: Map shows confirmed sightings of escaped killerHeadline from WKRN Nashville · 1 outlet
  6. Lawmakers call for answers after 2 Tennessee inmate escapesHeadline from WKRN Nashville · 1 outlet
  7. Manhunt for escaped Tennessee killer takes new turn after Illinois discoveryHeadline from MLive · 46 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →