US authorities baffled how Tennessee prison escapee evaded capture for 10 days and travelled interstate

US authorities were still trying to piece together how an escaped Tennessee prisoner convicted of murder evaded capture for more than a week before being tracked down hundreds of kilometres away in Missouri.

Jacob Morley, who was serving a life sentence for killing a co-worker four years ago, was apprehended Tuesday near Kansas City, Missouri, authorities said. Morley was found after troopers used roadside cameras and a helicopter to track him down and his ute got stuck in the mud. Two rifles and a shotgun were recovered from the truck.

Authorities believe Morley found his way to a farm near Marion, Illinois — about 204km away — in the days after his escape, spending some time in a shed that was used periodically by hunters.

Investigators found evidence that he drank beer and prepared garlic bread and other food — and that he left behind an apologetic handwritten note after stealing a ute from the farm, according to Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich.

“He had left a letter with specific information in that letter, basically just saying ‘sorry I stole your truck,’ and you know, ‘tell my mom I love her’ and stuff like that, but it had some specific information on it,” Mr Diederich said.

Morley is also suspected of stealing clothes and the three firearms from the property.

Mr Diederich believes Morley walked about 5km to the farm after abandoning a different truck he had driven after his escape. Security cameras captured Morley walking away from the truck and at a couple of locations along Route 13, but the terrain — which includes fields and woods — would have made it tough for him to be spotted, Mr Diederich said.

It’s unclear why Morley travelled to Marion and why he was driving near Kansas City, more than 563km way.

“How he ended up in Marion is kind of a mystery,” Mr Diederich said.

Mr Diederich said there’s no evidence Morley had help from anyone.

Morley, 28, escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tennessee’s far northwestern corner on October 25, after he slipped through a fence in his prison clothes and hid among pallets behind the prison kitchen. Surveillance video showed him stealing a ute from a farm near the prison, which he abandoned in Marion.

Kim Wheeler-Elder, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, wrote in a text message that all “available information” regarding Morley’s whereabouts when he was on the run has been released.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says it was told Tuesday morning that Morley was possibly travelling west on Interstate 70 in the Kansas City area. Authorities said he was compliant when he was arrested.

Morley was taken to the Lafayette County jail in Lexington, Missouri No charges have been filed against him in Missouri courts, according to online court records.

Before Morley was apprehended, he was charged in Federal court in Tennessee with one count of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, court documents show. Morley was also charged Tuesday in Federal court in Missouri with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

A deputy US marshal interviewed Morley at the Lafayette County Jail on Tuesday and Morley admitted to escaping the Tennessee prison, stealing the truck in Marion as well as the two rifles and shotgun.

Morley was convicted of killing co-worker Cody Birchfield in 2022. Birchfield’s body was found in a box under Morley’s home after he had been missing for a few weeks.

When Morley saw deputies at his home, he led officers on a chase that ended in North Carolina, authorities said. Morley was convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, vandalism and evading arrest.