‘Devil in the Ozarks’ who escaped prison likely still in Arkansas area: officials
It has been hours since a former Arkansas police chief serving decades in prison for murder and rape escaped from prison on Sunday afternoon Former Gateway Police Department Chief Grant Hardin escaped from the North Central Unit on Sunday afternoon in Calico Rock according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections ADC We have a pretty good idea of the direction that he took and specific of those circumstances and what if any lapses happened ADC Communications Director Rand Champion declared during a Wednesday news conference Based on the information that we have and the experience of our teams they feel fairly confident that he is still fairly close to this region Champion mentioned noting that all it takes is one van for Hardin to use to passage elsewhere though officers have established a perimeter around the area of Stone County MANHUNT UNDERWAY AFTER DISGRACED FORMER POLICE CHIEF CONVICTED OF MURDER RAPE ESCAPES ARKANSAS PRISON As of this time they are still very confident that he is in the area Champion declared Champion declared the population should assume Hardin is a very dangerous individual and there is a jeopardy he may commit more crimes while he is on the run It took less than minutes for prison administrators to notice that Hardin had disappeared from prison Photos that the Stone County Sheriff's Office posted to social media show Hardin wearing an ADC-style uniform during his escape through a sally port though Champion commented the uniform he was wearing was not an official uniform ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY AIDING ESCAPED INMATES IN NEW ORLEANS It had to have either been homemade or brought in somehow Champion explained of the uniform Hardin who became known as the Devil in the Ozarks was sentenced to years for murder plus additional time for rape He pleaded guilty to the murder of James Appleton a city water employee who was uncovered shot in the face inside his work truck KNWA broadcasted While Hardin was being booked into the state prison representatives submitted his DNA sample into a database His DNA ended up linking him to the rape cold circumstance of a mentor in the outlet broadcasted MASSIVE JAIL BREAK IN NEW ORLEANS 'IMPOSSIBLE' WITHOUT STAFF INVOLVEMENT SAYS EX-FBI FUGITIVE HUNTERThe victim a tutor at Frank Tillery Elementary in Rogers revealed she was raped by a man with a gun at the school It was proven to be Mr Hardin beyond all scientific certainty Nathan Smith the prosecuting attorney for Benton County at the time notified the outlet Executives certified Hardin s DNA matched the DNA linked to the rape suspect Harrison was ambushed while preparing a lesson plan for the week The occurrence had been cold for nearly two decades Hardin ended up pleading guilty to the rape in Grant Hardin in my view and in my personal experience is one of the the majority dangerous people that I ever seen for the reason that he does not at first appear that way Smith previously commented He is a man capable of a seemingly random horrific murder as well as a random horrific rape Hardin is described as a ' white male weighing approximately pounds Fox News' Stepheny Price and Louis Casiano contributed to this assessment
