The search for a convicted murderer who escaped from a Tennessee prison has crossed state lines into Illinois, after the white pickup truck he stole was found abandoned early Tuesday in Marion, a small city in the south of the state — and on Wednesday authorities said his whereabouts were still unknown and finding him remained an urgent priority.

Source: CNN via KION Central Coast

Jacob Morley, 28, escaped late Sunday from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee. Staff realised he was missing at about 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, and security camera footage later showed that he had "breached the perimeter fence" and left the facility wearing his prison uniform, the Tennessee Department of Correction said. How he got through the fence remains unclear, and officials have not said publicly whether anyone helped him.

Morley is now on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's (TBI) Most Wanted list, with a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to his arrest. Authorities describe him as 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighing about 240 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes. Anyone who believes they have seen him is urged not to approach him and to call 911 immediately.

Source: KJNB / TownNews

The stolen truck: a farm pickup taken in the night

Early Monday, Morley stole a white 2008 Ford F-350 with Tennessee plates in Lake County, according to the TBI. The truck belonged to the Lindamood Planting Company and was carrying tools, its co-owner John Lindamood said; because the vehicle was not in service, employees did not know it was missing until midday Monday. The Hornbeak Fire Department, about 15 miles from the prison, captured video of the truck passing its building at about 1:18 a.m. on Monday.

The truck was found abandoned early Tuesday in Marion, Illinois. Reporting citing Marion Police Chief David Fitts, via The Associated Press, said surveillance footage showed the truck being parked behind a shopping centre at about 4 a.m. on Tuesday, neatly parked, and that police were not notified until about 11 a.m. Fitts said police had received no reports of stolen vehicles or other suspicious activity in the area after that point. "He has vanished," Fitts was quoted as saying.

Marion locks its doors as the search widens

Marion is a city of about 17,600 people. "It's a scary time," resident Bridget Lawler, a local attorney, told CNN on Wednesday morning. "Everybody is locking their car doors now. I know my husband checked all of our doors before he went to bed." Authorities have asked people in the affected areas to check their home surveillance cameras and report any sightings or information that could help investigators.

"Our law enforcement partners in surrounding states have been notified to be on the lookout," the TBI said in a statement to CNN on Wednesday, adding that its agents "continue to assist our local, state, and federal partners in locating Jacob Morley." Illinois State Police said on Wednesday it is aware of the situation and has offered its assistance to the TBI. The search area described in reporting now spans Tennessee, Missouri and Illinois.

The crime he is serving life for

Morley had been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, evading arrest and vandalism. He was convicted in the killing of Cody Birchfield, a co-worker who was initially reported missing in February 2022, according to the Carter County Sheriff's Office. Birchfield's body was found weeks after he went missing, in a box under Morley's house, The Associated Press reported.

That history is why officials are treating the escape as a public-safety emergency rather than a walk-away. A childhood friend of Birchfield, Diana Reid, told Fox News Digital she fears Morley could harm someone else while he is at large — a fear investigators themselves have echoed in urging the public not to approach him.

The second Tennessee escape in a week

Morley is the second inmate to escape in the past week from the custody of the Tennessee Department of Correction. Last Wednesday, Gregory Redden was recaptured hours after escaping while receiving medical treatment at a Nashville hospital; officials said Redden slipped out of his handcuffs and leg shackles.

The escapes come in a difficult month for the department, whose commissioner, Frank Strada, resigned following the failed execution of Christa Pike last month, which left her unconscious and on a ventilator at a hospital. Pike has since been released from hospital and returned to a maximum-security prison, CNN reported.

For residents along the Tennessee–Illinois corridor — including the trucking routes that run through southern Illinois — the official advice in the reporting is practical: lock vehicles and homes, check surveillance cameras, and report anything that matches the description of a 5-foot-11, 240-pound man with brown hair and green eyes who has been on the run since Sunday night.