Killer who escaped Tennessee prison captured after week-long manhunt
US authorities have recaptured a convicted murderer who escaped a Tennessee prison more than a week ago.
Jacob Allen Morley, 28, was serving a life sentence over the killing of his colleague in 2022, when he escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, about 90 miles (145 km) north of Memphis.
The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) said security footage showed Morley, wearing his prison uniform, breaching the prison fence around 11:30pm on 25 October, and later stealing a vehicle from a nearby farm.
On Wednesday the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced Morley was in custody after an operation that involved local, state and federal agencies.
In a statement, the TBI said authorities had received a tip that Morley was hiding on an Illinois property, from which a truck had also been stolen.
The truck’s licence plate was then tracked through automatic plate-reader technology, travelling through Missouri, where local authorities were dispatched to follow.
Morley was apprehended by Missouri State Highway Patrol “without incident” in Carroll County at 11:34am local time on Tuesday. Three firearms that had previously been reported stolen were also recovered from the vehicle, the TBI said.
Photos published by authorities showed Morley handcuffed and being led out of a field by officers.