A man convicted of murder who escaped from a Tennessee prison was captured Tuesday in Missouri after more than a week on the run after police chased him using roadside cameras and a helicopter, authorities said.
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Jacob Morley, who was serving a life sentence for killing a co-worker four years ago, was arrested around noon near Kansas City, Missouri, officials said.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said it learned Tuesday morning that Morley might be traveling westbound on Interstate 70. The vehicle was located through automated license plate readers and undercover police officers traveling on a western Missouri state highway.
A Kansas City police helicopter also followed the vehicle into Carroll County, a small county in northwest Missouri, before veering off the road and becoming stranded.
Police took Morley into custody without incident, ending a week-long hunt.
On Oct. 25, Morley, 28, escaped from the Northwest Correctional Facility in northwest Tennessee while wearing prisoner clothes.
Surveillance footage showed him stealing a truck from a farm near the prison and abandoning it in Marion, Illinois, last week. The site is about 120 miles (193 kilometers) north of the prison.
Morley is serving a life sentence for the 2022 killing of co-worker Cody Birchfield. Burchfield’s body was found in a box under Morley’s home weeks after Morley’s disappearance. The two live in Carter County in eastern Tennessee.
When Morley met police at his home, he led them on a chase that ended in North Carolina, authorities said. Morley was found guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, vandalism and evading arrest.
After his escape, law enforcement agencies searched buildings near the prison and other structures. The prison is located in Tiptonville, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Memphis, in flat farmland near a bend in the Mississippi River. Prison officials are offering a reward of up to $17,500 for information leading to Morley’s arrest.
Morley’s escape is the latest flaw in Tennessee’s prison system.
Northwest Correctional Facility has seen a number of violent attacks among inmates and among staff in recent years. In July, a grand jury returned dozens of indictments for the killings and other acts of violence against five inmates.
Corrections Director Frank Strada resigned after less than three years in the job following the failed execution of Christa Pike in September.
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