U.S. Marshals believe Grant Hardin may be out of Arkansas, DOC contests: reports
A U.S. Marshal believes that Arkansas prison escapee Grant Hardin may have fled the state, according to a court document obtained by multiple media outlets.
The Arkansas Democrat Gazette first reported that Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert J. Hammons wrote in a criminal complaint filed in federal district court Friday that Hardin had left the state based on 'credible information' and the inability to find him within a week.
Hammons pointed to two unconfirmed sightings of Hardin in the filing, according to the Associated Press.
'Based on this information, investigators believe Hardin has fled the state of Arkansas to avoid recapture,' the AP quotes from the filing. 'He has extensive knowledge of the Ozark Mountain region, where he is believed to be possibly hiding in caves or rugged terrain that he is familiar with.'
USA TODAY reached out to the Marshals Service to obtain the complaint, which remains under seal in the court record, but did not receive an immediate response.
Rand Champion, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Corrections, told USA TODAY in an email on June 5 that the department has no evidence that places Hardin out of state.
'I believe it's more speculation and weighing all options than an actual position,' Champion wrote.
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Hardin, a 56-year-old former police chief, escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, Arkansas, May 25, where he was serving time for the 2017 murder of James Appleton and the 1997 rape of a school teacher, according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
'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.
The Arkansas Department of Corrections released a photo June 3 depicting 'what officials feel he would look similar to after a week on the run,' Champion said in an email to USA TODAY the same night. He added that the mugshot was altered to represent a week's worth of hair growth and to make Hardin slimmer due to limited food.
Hardin pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2017 for murder in the first degree for shooting and killing Appleton in February of the same year, according to court records.
A DNA test conducted following the murder conviction connected Hardin to the 1997 rape of a school teacher in Rogers, Arkansas, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in the case.
Hardin pleaded guilty to two counts of rape in 2019 and was sentenced to serve 25 years in prison for each count consecutively, according to the plea agreement.
Hardin and the crimes were the subject of the 2023 documentary 'Devil in the Ozarks.'
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Devil in the Ozarks' killer, escapee may have left Arkansas: Reports
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A 12-day search ends less than 2 miles away: How 'Devil in the Ozarks' killer was caught
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