Wisconsin bank robbery investigated for connection to escaped Tennessee inmate Jacob Morley

Law enforcement are investigating a possible connection between an armed bank robbery in Wisconsin and an escaped inmate in Tennessee.

Jacob Morley, 28, was serving a life sentence for the 2022 murder of his coworker when he escaped from a prison in northwest Tennessee by slipping through a fence over the weekend.  He also stole a truck from the parking lot.

Investigators say camera footage shows Morley escaped while wearing his prison uniform, but did not release any further details.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said the stolen truck was found Tuesday abandoned in in Marion, Illinois, about 120 miles north of the prison and about 90 miles southeast of St. Louis. Police said the truck appeared to be left neatly behind a shopping center at 4 a.m. Tuesday, according to surveillance video.

It was reported to police at about 11 a.m.

The Dane County Sheriff's Office said on Wednesday at 5:10 p.m., deputies in Deerfield, Wisconsin, responded to an armed robbery  at the Bank of Deerfield on Shaul Lane. A man armed with a gun came in just before closing and left with an undisclosed amount of cash.

The suspect then drove off in a Lincoln MKZ heh stole from the parking lot, which was found a short time later abandoned on State Farm Road. The sheriff's office launched drone and K9 searched but did not find the suspect.

Tennessee investigators said they are aware of the bank robbery but have not confirmed the suspect is Morley.

There is a $15,000 reward for information leading to Morley's arrest.