'Devil in the Ozarks' fugitive captured after 12-day Arkansas manhunt
A former Arkansas police chief who escaped from a prison where he was serving decades-long sentences for murder and rape was captured June 6 after a 12-day manhunt involving federal, state and local law enforcement.
Grant Hardin, known as the 'Devil in the Ozarks,' was caught around 3 p.m. local time just a mile and a half from the prison he escaped nearly two weeks earlier, according to Arkansas Department of Corrections spokesperson Rand Champion. Hardin, 56, was thought to have fled the state.
Tracking dogs picked up Hardin's scent west of the prison near Moccasin Creek in Izard County, according to Champion. Photos of Hardin's arrest show him wearing a sullied shirt. His face appears thinner than in earlier mugshots.
"Thanks to the great work of local, state and federal law enforcement Arkansans can breathe a sigh of relief and I can confirm that violent criminal Grant Hardin is back in custody,' said Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. 'I am grateful for all law enforcement who contributed to his capture and give special thanks to the Trump administration and Secretary Kristi Noem, who sent a team from Border Patrol that was instrumental in tracking and apprehending Hardin.'
Arkansas law enforcement authorities and U.S. Border Patrol agents participated in the arrest, according to Champion.
'This was a great joint operation by a number of agencies, and I'm so thankful for their tireless efforts,' said Dexter Payne, director of the Arkansas Division of Correction. 'The Arkansas State Police, U.S. Marshals, FBI, Border Patrol, Game and Fish, all the state and local agencies, along with the dedication of our Department employees, all played an indispensable role and I express my extreme gratitude.'
Hardin had gained notoriety as the subject of the 2023 documentary 'Devil in the Ozarks'' about his 1997 rape of a school teacher and 2017 murder of a water department worker.
Hardin fled the North Central Unit prison in Calico Rock, Arkansas, through a secure entryway on May 25 wearing a fake law enforcement uniform. His disguise caused a corrections officer to open a gate and let him walk out of the medium-security facility.
Discover WITNESS: Access our exclusive collection of true crime stories, podcasts, videos and more
The escape followed the May 16 jailbreak of 10 inmates in New Orleans – several of them charged with murder – which drew national attention and caused consternation in area communities.
Hardin was regarded as no less dangerous a fugitive. In 2017 he was convicted of killing James Appleton, an employee of the northwest Arkansas town of Gateway whose brother-in-law, Andrew Tillman, was the mayor. Tillman told investigators they were talking on the phone when Appleton was shot to death in his pickup truck.
A DNA test conducted following the murder connected Hardin to an unresolved 1997 rape in Rogers, Arkansas, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in the case. The teacher was attacked at gunpoint after leaving her classroom to go to a restroom near the teacher's lounge, according to the affidavit.
Like true crime? Check out Witness: A library of true crime stories
Getting away with murder: : These fugitives were never caught
Hardin's combined convictions, including two counts of rape, added up to 80 years in prison sentences.
'He's a sociopath,'' former Benton County prosecutor Nathan Smith told Arkansas ABC affiliate KHBS/KHOG. 'Prison's not full of people who are all bad. It's full of a lot of people who just do bad things. Grant's different.''
Hardin had an erratic career in Arkansas law enforcement starting in 1990, working for police departments in Fayetteville, Huntsville and Eureka Springs before briefly serving as Gateway's police chief in 2016.
He was fired from the Fayetteville job after less than a year because of subpar performance and failure to accept constructive criticism, according to KHBS/KHOG. In Huntsville, where he worked from April 1993 to October 1996, the former police chief told the TV station Hardin used excessive force and made poor decisions.
Escaping from prison, for which he now faces charges, may be just the latest one.
Contributing: N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Michael Loria and James Powel, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Devil in the Ozarks' fugitive captured after 12-day Arkansas manhunt
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Former Police Chief, Who Was Convicted of Rape and Murder, Found After 2 Weeks on the Run Following Prison Escape
Grant Hardin, the former police chief who was convicted of rape and murder, has been found after he escaped prison last month and was on the run for two weeks Hardin, also known as the 'Devil in the Ozarks,' was located 1.5 miles away from the prison he had been held at since his 2017 conviction The criminal was wearing 'a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement" during his escape, police saidA former police chief, who was convicted of rape and murder, has been found after he escaped prison and was on the run for two weeks. Grant Hardin, also known as the 'Devil in the Ozarks,' was captured by authorities 1.5 miles away from the Calico Rock North Central Unit in Arkansas, where he had been held since 2017, on Friday, June 6, the Izard County Sheriff's Office (ICSO) said in a news release shared on Facebook. Hardin's identity was confirmed through fingerprinting, per police. "We sincerely appreciate the continued support of the community for all law enforcement and Department of Corrections personnel involved in this operation," the ICSO said in a statement. According to a statement from the Arkansas Department of Corrections, Hardin was wearing 'a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement" during his escape. Officials confirmed he was not wearing a DOC uniform and said that all DOC-issued equipment had been accounted for. A prison officer in one of the guard towers opened a secure gate that allowed Hardin to freely exit, the Associated Press reported, citing a court document. Rand Champion, a spokesperson for the state prison system, told the outlet that the lack of verification of Hardin's credentials was a 'lapse" and would be investigated. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Hardin was the former police chief for the city of Gateway, Ark. In 2017, he pleaded guilty to murder after fatally shooting 59-year-old James Appleton, who worked in the city of Gateway's water department, CBS News, 5News and The New York Times reported, citing an affidavit. The legal document states that Hardin murdered Appleton in February 2017 after pulling up to his parked car and shooting him through the window while the victim was on the phone, according to the Times. A motive remains unknown. While serving his 30-year murder sentence, Hardin also pleaded guilty to the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher in Rogers, Ark., 5 News reported. Hardin was tied to the long-unsolved crime after authorities linked him to DNA taken from the victim's clothes, authorities said, per the outlet. According to authorities, the victim said Hardin pointed a gun at her and raped her after she exited the school restroom, the Times reported. He was sentenced to 50 years for that crime, per the Associated Press. Reacting to Hardin's capture, Secretary of Corrections Lindsay Wallace said, 'I'm incredibly appreciative to all of our dedicated law enforcement agencies that spent countless hours, both day and night, sacrificing their time, utilizing their resources and lending their invaluable expertise to this search." She added, "To every one of our Department staff that assisted in this manhunt over the last 13 days, I give my heartfelt thank you for your immeasurable contributions to bring this search to a peaceful conclusion.' Read the original article on People
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
A 12-day search ends less than 2 miles away: How the 'Devil in the Ozarks' was caught
A 12-day search ends less than 2 miles away: How the 'Devil in the Ozarks' was caught Show Caption Hide Caption Ex-Arkansas police chief imprisoned for murder escapes prison Grant Hardin, a former Gateway, Arkansas, police chief serving time for murder and rape, escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock on May 25. unbranded - Newsworthy The former Arkansas police chief who escaped prison disguised as a guard only made it about a mile-and-a-half away from the facility in the 12 days before he was captured, officials said. Convicted murderer and rapist Grant Hardin was found at about 3 p.m. on June 6 west of the North Central Unit state prison near Moccasin Creek in Izard County, Arkansas Department of Corrections spokesperson Rand Champion said in a statement. In a photo of his arrest, Hardin is seen sitting on the ground in a vegetated area with his hands behind his back in a baseball cap and dirty T-shirt and pants. Hardin, 56, was in prison serving a decadeslong sentence for the 2017 murder of water department employee James Appleton in Gateway, Arkansas, and the 1997 rape of a school teacher in nearby Rogers. He's known as the "Devil in the Ozarks," the name of a 2023 TV documentary about his crimes. His escape on May 25 involved dressing up in a makeshift outfit to disguise himself as a corrections officer, tricking a real officer into opening a gate and allowing him to walk out of the medium-security facility, court records said. He will now be housed at the high-security Varner Unit in Gould, Arkansas, Champion said. Here's what we know about Hardin's capture and escape: Discover WITNESS: Access our exclusive collection of true crime stories, podcasts, videos and more How was Hardin caught, ending 12-day manhunt? Authorities said tracking dogs picked up Hardin's scent and were able to lead them to Hardin. Hundreds of law enforcement officers at the local, state and federal level spent nearly two weeks searching for Hardin, using dogs, drones and aircraft, at times hampered by severe weather. Moccasin Creek where he was found has seen high water due to heavy rainfall in the last two weeks, which may have limited Hardin's ability to move around. It also prevented authorities from finding him sooner. Champion said search teams had looked through the area before but couldn't fully investigate because of the high water. Though Hardin was previously thought to have left the state, Champion said investigators now believe he never got very far at all from the prison. He was fingerprinted and assessed at the North Central Unit before being moved to the Varner Unit, Champion said. He will be interviewed in the coming days. How did he escape? Hardin slipped away from the prison the afternoon of May 25 wearing a "makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement," the Arkansas Department of Corrections said. "Inmate Hardin impersonated a corrections officer in dress and manner causing the Corrections Officer operating a secure gate to open the gate and allow Inmate Hardin to walk away from the North Central Unit," Special Agent Dennis Simons of the Izard County Sheriff's Office wrote in an arrest affidavit. A photo from surveillance footage showed Hardin wearing the outfit and pushing a loaded cart as he escaped. Champion said Hardin was gone for about 20 minutes when an officer noticed he was missing. 'Devil in the Ozarks' killer: Why was it so hard to find Grant Hardin? His escape came amid an ongoing weekslong search for escaped inmates in Louisiana. On May 16, 10 inmates broke out of a New Orleans jail; two are still on the run as of June 7. Who is Grant Hardin? Hardin pleaded guilty to the Feb. 23, 2017, murder of Appleton. Appleton's brother-in-law and the mayor of Gateway at the time, Andrew Tillman, told police he was on the phone with Appleton while Appleton was driving his truck. Appleton pulled over so he wouldn't lose signal while on the phone with Tillman, Tillman told investigators. Tillman heard what sounded like a car door slamming shut, then nothing. A witness also told police they saw someone pulled over behind the truck in a car and heard a gunshot, and identified the driver as Hardin. Appleton was found dead in his truck with a gunshot to the side of his head and face. After his conviction, his DNA was matched with that from an unsolved rape case in 1997, in which a teacher said she was attacked while at school by a man who held her at gunpoint, according to court records. Hardin pleaded guilty to charges related to the rape. Hardin's combined convictions added up to 80 years in prison sentences. Hardin was the chief of police in Gateway for about four months in 2016, the Associated Press reported. He was also terminated from roles at other police departments, local outlets have reported.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Ex-police chief Grant Hardin recaptured after escape from Arkansas prison
June 7 (UPI) -- A former Arkansas police chief who escaped from a prison 12 days ago was apprehended about a mile and half from where he was incarcerated in northwest Arkansas. Grant Hardin, known as the "Devil in the Ozarks," was caught around 3 p.m. local time Friday by Arkansas law enforcement officers and the U.S. Border Patrol, according to Arkansas Department of Corrections. Hardin, 56, was an inmate at the North Central Unit in Calico Rock in Izard County for murder and rape. Calico Rock is 126 miles north of Little Rock. Tracking dogs picked up Hardin's scent west of the prison near Moccasin Creek in Izard County, the state agency said. Hardin was brought back to the North Central Unit where he was identified using his fingerprint and for a physical exam before he was moved to the Varner SuperMax Unit in Gould, Arkansas, Arkansas Department of Corrections spokesperson Rand Champion told CNN. After a dayslong manhunt that crossed several states, Champion said Hardin would be interviewed to learn more about his escape and nearly two weeks on the run. "This was a great joint operation by a number of agencies, and I'm so thankful for their tireless efforts," Dexter Payne, director of the Division of Correction in Arkansas' Department of Corrections, said in an agency press release. "The Arkansas State Police, U.S. Marshals, FBI, Border Patrol, Game and Fish, all the state and local agencies, along with the dedication of our Department employees, all played an indispensable role and I express my extreme gratitude." Hardin escaped from the prison at approximately 2:55 p.m. on May 25. The agency said he "was wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement" when he escaped, but was not wearing an actual guard uniform and all DOC-issued equipment was accounted for. Hardin is the former chief of police for the city of Gateway in Benton County, which had a population of 444 people in 2023. He also was a police officer, county constable and corrections officer. Gateway, which is near the Missouri border, is 129 miles west of Calico Rock. Since 2017, he was in the North Central Unit serving a 30-year sentence for first-degree murder, and 25 years for each rape count. He pleaded guilty to the murder of James Appleton, 59, a city water employee found shot in the face inside his work truck in October 2017, KNWA reported. Hardin's DNA linked him to the 1997 rape of a teacher, the TV station reported. Amy Harrison, a teacher at Frank Tillery Elementary in Rogers, was ambushed while preparing lesson plans at the school when she was ambushed and assaulted by a man with a gun. "He's a sociopath," former Benton County prosecutor Nathan Smith told Arkansas ABC affiliate KHBS/KHOG. "Prison's not full of people who are all bad. It's full of a lot of people who just do bad things. Grant's different." The FBI offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to his arrest. "Arkansans can breathe a sigh of relief because violent criminal Grant Hardin is now in custody," Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders posted on X. "I am grateful for all law enforcement who contributed to his capture and give special thanks to the Trump administration and Secretary Kristi Noem, who sent a team from Border Patrol that was instrumental in tracking and apprehending Hardin."
