NASHVILLE, TN — An escaped Tennessee prisoner convicted of murder was caught Tuesday near Kansas City, Missouri, after his truck became mired in mud and troopers closed in with the help of roadside cameras, a helicopter and license plate readers.

Authorities said Jacob Morley was taken into custody around noon, ending more than a week on the run. He had escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tennessee on Oct. 25 after slipping through a fence in prison clothes.

Investigators said Morley had moved through several states during the search, and officers ultimately found him in northwest Missouri. He was arrested without incident and was described as compliant.

Authorities traced Morley through Illinois and into western Missouri

Law enforcement first learned early Tuesday that Morley was believed to be hiding in a shed at a hunting camp near Marion, Illinois, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Officials said a truck had allegedly been stolen from that property.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said it was told Tuesday morning that Morley might be traveling west on Interstate 70 in the Kansas City area. Troopers then used automated license plate readers and undercover officers on a state highway in western Missouri to locate the vehicle.

Sgt. Justin Ewing, a patrol spokesperson, said Morley was driving a metal flatbed work truck with a white cab. A Kansas City police helicopter also followed the truck as it moved farther west before the pursuit ended in Carroll County.

Truck stuck in mud ends the chase without violence

The chase came to a close when Morley drove off the road and got stuck in mud in Carroll County, a small county in northwest Missouri. A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper then arrested him without incident.

Officials said two rifles and a shotgun were recovered from the truck. Authorities suspect the vehicle itself was stolen in Illinois, and Ewing said the investigation suggests Morley may have been traveling with weapons taken during the escape.

It remains unclear where Morley was headed. Ewing said he may have had connections in the Kansas City area, but investigators do not think he stopped at any homes while moving through the region.

Sheriff says Morley likely stayed at the hunting camp for days

Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich said Morley is suspected of stealing a white farm truck from a farm southwest of Marion, where the hunting camp is located. Deputies said the truck had a full tank of gas and extra fuel.

Diederich also said investigators believe Morley stole clothes and three firearms from the farm. In the structure where the truck was taken, deputies found an apologetic handwritten note.

Investigators also found signs that Morley had prepared garlic bread and other food there. Diederich said those details suggest Morley may have come and gone from the property over at least a couple of days.

Escape from Tennessee prison triggered a multistate search

Morley, 28, escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tennessee’s far northwest corner after leaving through a fence in prison clothing. Surveillance video later showed him stealing a truck from a farm near the prison.

That truck was abandoned last week in Marion, Illinois, about 120 miles north of the prison. From there, the search stretched across state lines as investigators pieced together his route and sought the stolen vehicle.

The prison sits in Tiptonville, about 90 miles north of Memphis near the Mississippi River in flat farmland. After the escape, law enforcement searched buildings and other structures near the prison, and officials offered a reward of up to $17,500 for information leading to his arrest.

Murder conviction and prison scrutiny frame the escape

Morley was serving a life sentence for the killing of coworker Cody Birchfield in 2022. Birchfield’s body was found in a box under Morley’s home after Birchfield had been missing for several weeks, authorities said.

Morley was convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, vandalism and evading arrest. Before the escape, he had led deputies on a chase from his home that ended in North Carolina, according to officials.

The recapture comes as Tennessee’s prison system faces renewed scrutiny. In recent years, officials have reported violent attacks between inmates and by employees at Northwest Correctional Complex, and a grand jury returned dozens of indictments in July tied to inmate killings and other violent acts.

Following the failed execution of Christa Pike in September, Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada resigned after less than three years on the job.