Officials say Jacob Morley, who is serving a life sentence for a 2022 murder, escaped from a facility in Tiptonville

Tennessee officials have mounted a manhunt after a convicted murderer’s escape from a state prison on Sunday evening.

The Tennessee department or correction (TDOC) on Monday announced that Jacob Morley, 28, escaped from the Northwest correctional complex in the community of Tiptonville. Local outlets reported that staff noticed Morley was unaccounted for at about 11.30pm on Sunday.

After staff conducted an emergency headcount, prison surveillance footage showed Morley breached the perimeter fence and escaped the prison in his TDOC uniform, the local news outlet WATE reported.