Convicted murderer got over 5-hour head start after prison escape before local police were notified: official

FIRST ON FOX: The convicted murderer who escaped from a had at least a five-hour head start before local police were notified he was missing, the local police chief told Fox News Digital.

Jacob Allen Morley broke out of the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee, Sunday, although authorities have not disclosed the exact .

Staff at the prison noticed Morley was unaccounted for at around 11:30 p.m., and a review of surveillance footage subsequently revealed him crossing through the prison's perimeter fence. According to Tennessee Highway Patrol dispatch audio, Morley was last seen at the prison around 4 p.m. Sunday.

Surveillance footage recorded Morley taking a pickup truck from the 400 block of Keystone Drive, a location roughly 2 miles south of the prison, at around 1 a.m. Monday, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said. The truck was found abandoned by law enforcement officials early Tuesday morning in Marion, Illinois, but Morley wasn't located.

TENNESSEE INMATE CONVICTED OF MURDER ESCAPES FROM PRISON, STEALS PICKUP TRUCK, MANHUNT UNDERWAY: OFFICIALS

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Tiptonville Police Department Chief Joe England said his department wasn't notified about a potentially missing inmate until 4:40 a.m. on Monday, over 5 hours after prison staff first realized Morley was unaccounted for.

Officers responded to the prison and worked with staff to assess the situation. At 5:14 a.m., England said, officers alerted the rest of the department that the inmate's escape had been confirmed.

At 6:20 a.m., prison officials formally notified Lake County Central Dispatch, which handles 911 calls and coordinates law enforcement services, that an inmate escape had been confirmed.

The notification set off a broader search for Morley in the area surrounding the prison.

ESCAPED TENNESSEE KILLER'S ABANDONED TRUCK OFFERS CLUES TO WHAT HE MAY DO NEXT: RETIRED FBI AGENT

"The Tiptonville Police Department immediately coordinated with the Tennessee Department of Correction and the Lake County Sheriff's Office to conduct a search of the surrounding area," England said. "The Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and numerous other state, local and federal law enforcement agencies also participated in the search efforts."

While Morley stole the pickup truck at around 1 a.m. Monday, England said his department wasn't made aware of a potentially missing truck until 2:15 p.m. Monday, which was confirmed missing at 2:30 p.m. He noted that the pickup truck wasn't stolen within city limits.

Sunday, Oct. 25

Monday, Oct. 26

Tuesday, Oct. 27

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokesperson said the agency was notified of the prison escape on Monday morning but didn't elaborate on an exact time.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office didn't respond to Fox News Digital when asked when the agency was first alerted of the prison escape. The Tennessee Department of Correction didn't respond to multiple requests for comment to Fox News Digital.

Former federal prison Warden Cameron Lindsay told Fox News Digital the delay in notifying police of an inmate escaping prison is "100% unacceptable."

"Part of any correctional facility's basic tenets of operations should include emergency plans. And one of those plans that you have for an emergency is an escape. And part of your escape plans entails notifying law enforcement, local law enforcement, state law enforcement, U.S. Marshals Service and every