Tennessee state troopers are combing a stretch of rural Benton County woods for a 51-year-old man who bolted from a traffic stop and disappeared into the trees. Jeffrey Penix resisted arrest and then ran on foot after troopers pulled him over on Highway 641 South at Shiloh Church Road, and he has not been located since.
What Troopers Say Happened
In a Facebook post, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said troopers had conducted a traffic stop before Penix resisted arrest and fled on foot, running into a wooded area near the stop. The agency is now asking the public for help locating him, and is directing anyone with information about his whereabouts to call the THP Jackson District's emergency dispatch communications center at 731-215-6831, then press 0.
Beyond confirming the stop and the foot pursuit, the agency's post did not say what prompted the traffic stop in the first place. It's also unclear whether weapons or outstanding warrants factored into the encounter, and the agency has not said whether specialized resources have joined the ground search of the area.
Where The Chase Unfolded
The stop happened along Highway 641 South, a corridor that runs north-south through Benton County, linking Camden to Interstate 40 at Exit 126 to the south and to the Kentucky state line to the north, according to Benton County Government. Shiloh Church Road, where the stop occurred, sits south of Camden near that highway, running through a rural stretch of private agricultural land and heavily wooded acreage, per LandWatch, with the road located within six miles of the Benton County Airport.
Dense Woods Complicate The Search
Benton County covers 394 square miles of rolling, heavily forested terrain bordered by Kentucky Lake and the Tennessee River, with a population of roughly 16,006 as of 2024, according to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. That kind of dense forest cover across West Tennessee counties can make ground searches for a suspect on foot especially difficult.
Camden, the county seat with a 2020 census population of 3,674, is home to both municipal law enforcement and the Benton County Sheriff's Office, based at the county courthouse square, per the Tennessee Encyclopedia. State troopers routinely coordinate search operations with county sheriff's deputies in cases like this one.
What Penix Could Face If Caught
Under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-16-603, intentionally fleeing on foot from an officer attempting a lawful stop or arrest is a Class A misdemeanor, carrying up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and fines as high as $2,500, according to Justia Law. The same statute requires courts to order restitution from anyone convicted who recklessly damages government property, such as officer equipment, during the flight.
Separately, using physical force to obstruct an officer attempting a stop or arrest is a Class B misdemeanor under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-16-602, punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $500, per FindLaw. That charge is elevated to a Class A misdemeanor if a suspect uses a deadly weapon while resisting, according to Memphis Criminal Defense Lawyers. Nothing in the agency's account indicates whether a weapon was involved in Penix's case.
Resources Available For The Search
The THP Jackson District, known as District 8, handles state traffic enforcement and emergency dispatch across West Tennessee from its regional headquarters in Jackson, which opened in June 2021 off Interstate 40. The district also maintains a specialized aviation unit that can assist local and state agencies with aerial searches for suspects who flee into rural terrain, offering overhead tracking in dense forest where ground visibility is limited. It remains unknown whether that unit, or K-9 teams, have been deployed in the search for Penix.
