Dangerous 'Devil in the Ozarks' former police chief on the run as expert warns outdoorsmen to stay away
Shawn Hendrix's warning comes amid an ongoing search for prison escapee and former Gateway Police Department Chief Grant Hardin, 56, who fled from a medium-security prison in Calico Rock on Sunday, May 25, according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC).
Nicknamed the "Devil in the Ozarks," Hardin was serving decades in prison for murder and rape.
"I think that the big thing that gets him caught or dead in the field is getting injured … or a foodborne illness — he drinks some bad water," Hendrix told Fox News Digital. "Now, if he gets dysentery or some kind of really bad foodborne or waterborne illness, that could take him out real quick. So, let's hope that he drinks some bad water and has some really terrible disease that gets him out of the woods because my biggest concern is that if you're a hiker or a camper or hunter out there, you're not going to see it coming."
Arkansas Officials Release New Photo Of Escaped 'Devil In The Ozarks' On Run For Weeks
Hendrix added that Hardin has shown little regard for human life in the past, and "every person in the woods right now is an opportunity for equipment for this guy." Arkansas authorities have warned that the escapee may be armed and dangerous.
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"I definitely would stay clear of the area," he said.
Former Arkansas Police Chief Grant Hardin's Prison Escape Offers Unique Challenges To Searchers: Experts
Hardin escaped prison through a sally port, wearing a makeshift ADC-style uniform, ADC communications director Rand Champion said last week, noting the uniform he was wearing was not official.
The former police chief pleaded guilty to fatally shooting a man in the face inside the victim's work truck in 2017. After submitting DNA samples when he was booked for the murder case, his DNA was linked to the 1997 cold-case rape of a teacher. He pleaded guilty in that case in 2019, according to KNWA.
'Devil In The Ozarks': Fbi Offers $10K Reward For Capture Of Former Arkansas Police Chief On The Run
"This guy is just so evil. I mean, this guy is a sociopath," Hendrix said. "[Hardin] has no care for humans or anybody but himself. He's law-enforcement trained. He has a history of issues in and out of the police. I think there's a whole bigger story of how this guy was a cop for 27 years, right? … I would not want to be out looking for this guy."
Hardin is described as a 6-foot White male, weighing approximately 259 pounds.
Hendrix said at that weight, Hardin has a caloric reserve that could help him survive for weeks alone in wooded areas of the Ozarks, which have hundreds of caves and natural resources that include food, water, berries and other natural food supplies.
Devil In The Ozarks' Who Escaped Prison Likely Still In Arkansas Area: Officials
"There's just a lot of, you know, berries, cattails, fish, you know, there's like natural native fruits like persimmon, maybe even plums in that area," Hendrix explained. "So there's a lot of … natural things to live off the land. If he has a gun, I don't know about using a gun to shoot an animal just because of how loud it would be, but there [are] ways to get food. … He's such a heavy individual [at] 260 pounds. He's got a couple of months of reserves."
Police searching for Hardin in the wilderness will likely be looking for "concealed" evidence of a person living in the woods, such as a burnt-out fire or other materials that have been covered up, or an underground fire.
The FBI and U.S. Marshals are offering a combined $25,000 for any information leading to Hardin's capture. They are asking anyone with information to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
Manhunt Underway After Disgraced Former Police Chief Convicted Of Murder, Rape Escapes Arkansas Prison
Champion said during a news conference last week that authorities are fairly confident in the route they believe Hardin took when he escaped and said authorities believed he was still in the Ozarks area, but a federal complaint filed against Hardin on May 30 suggests another possibility: he may be out of state.
Based on two unconfirmed sightings, including one in Missouri on May 26, a day after Hardin escaped, federal officials believe he's not in Arkansas anymore, as The Arkansas Democrat Gazette first reported.
"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," Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert J. Hammons wrote in the criminal complaint, according to the Gazette.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas.Original article source: Dangerous 'Devil in the Ozarks' former police chief on the run as expert warns outdoorsmen to stay away
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CBS News
4 hours ago
- CBS News
Arkansas escapee "Devil in the Ozarks" spent 6 months planning prison break, cited "lax" kitchen security, report says
A former police chief known as the "Devil in the Ozarks" spent months planning his escape from an Arkansas prison, and said lax security in the kitchen where he worked allowed the convicted murderer to gather the supplies he needed, according to an internal review. The Arkansas Department of Corrections' critical incident review of Grant Hardin's May 25 escape from the Calico Rock prison, obtained by The Associated Press, provides the most detailed description so far of his planning and the issues that allowed him to walk out of the facility. Hardin was apprehended on June 6, "just a short distance" from the prison. Tracking dogs were able to pick up a scent, roughly a mile-and-a-half west of the prison's North Central Unit. It was initially believed that Hardin may have fled the state. Authorities used canines, drones and helicopters to scour the rugged northern Arkansas terrain, and faced challenges searching the areas as heavy rain hit the area at the time. Authorities said he escaped by donning an outfit he designed to look like a law enforcement uniform. Hardin, who worked in the prison's kitchen, said he spent six months planning his escape and used black Sharpie markers and laundry he found lying around the kitchen to create the fake uniform, according to the report. Hardin fashioned a fake badge using the lid of a can. "Hardin stated he would hide the clothes and other items he was going to need in the bottom of a trash can in the kitchen due to no one ever shaking it down," the report says. Two prison employees have been fired for procedure violations that led to Hardin's escape. They include a kitchen employee who allowed Hardin on a back dock unsupervised and a tower guard who unlocked the back gate that Hardin walked through without confirming his identity. Several other employees have been suspended and one demoted, lawmakers were told this week. The kitchen's staff was "very lax on security," Hardin told investigators, allowing him to gather what he needed for his escape. Hardin said he didn't have any help from staff or other inmates. Hardin had constructed a ladder from wooden pallets in case he needed to scale the prison fence but didn't need it. "(Hardin) stated when he walked up to the gate, he just directed the officer to 'open the gate,' and he did," the report says. After he escaped from the prison, Hardin survived on food he had smuggled out of the prison along with distilled water from his CPAP machine. Hardin also drank creek water and ate berries, bird eggs and ants. "He said his plan was to hide in the woods for six months if need be and begin moving west out of the area," the report says. Hardin was previously the police chief of the small town of Gateway, Arkansas. He was the subject of the TV documentary "Devil in the Ozarks." Hardin was serving multiple sentences after he pleaded guilty to both rape and murder, CBS News previously reported. He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for fatally shooting 59-year-old James Appleton in 2017 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. While he was imprisoned in that case, police matched his DNA to samples taken from a 1997 rape case. Hardin pleaded guilty to two counts of rape in 2019, according to CBS affiliate KFSM, and was sentenced to 25 years for each count. The report is one of two reviews into Hardin's escape, which is also being investigated by the Arkansas State Police. A legislative subcommittee has also been holding hearings about the escape. Republican state Rep. Howard Beaty, who co-chairs the Legislative Council's Charitable, Penal and Correctional Institutions Subcommittee, said the panel hoped to discuss both reports with officials at a hearing next month. Republican state Sen. Ben Gilmore, who sits on the panel, said he didn't think the department's review took a thorough enough look at the systemic issues that enabled Hardin's escape. "They have focused on the final failure instead of all of the things that led up to it," he said. The report also cites confusion among corrections officials in the early stages of Hardin's escape about which law enforcement agencies had been notified, the report says. "It is obvious there was a lot of confusion during the beginning stages of opening the command center and of notifications being made," the report says. Hardin had been misclassified and shouldn't have been held at the primarily medium-security prison, according to the review. After he was captured, Hardin was moved to a maximum-security prison. He has pleaded not guilty to escape charges, and his trial is set for November. Hardin's custody classification hadn't been reviewed since October 2019, the report says. The state Department of Corrections' review says officials had taken several steps since Hardin's escape, including removing the electric locks from the gates to prevent someone from walking out without an officer present. The report also calls for additional cameras after finding a blind spot on the dock Hardin used, and for any "shakedown" searches for contraband to include mechanical rooms and side rooms.
San Francisco Chronicle
6 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
'Devil in the Ozarks' planned prison escape for months, cited lax security in kitchen, report says
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A former police chief known as the 'Devil in the Ozarks' spent months planning his escape from an Arkansas prison, and said lax security in the kitchen where he worked allowed the convicted murderer to gather the supplies he needed, an internal review by prison officials released Friday said. The Department of Corrections' critical incident review of Grant Hardin's May 25 escape from the Calico Rock prison provides the most detailed description so far of his planning and the issues that allowed him to walk out of the facility. Hardin was captured 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) northwest of the Calico Rock prison on June 6. Authorities said he escaped by donning an outfit he designed to look like a law enforcement uniform. Hardin, who worked in the prison's kitchen, said he spent six months planning his escape and used black Sharpie markers and laundry he found lying around the kitchen to create the fake uniform, according to the report. Hardin fashioned a fake badge using the lid of a can. 'Hardin stated he would hide the clothes and other items he was going to need in the bottom of a trash can in the kitchen due to no one ever shaking it down,' the report says. Two prison employees have been fired for procedure violations that led to Hardin's escape. They include a kitchen employee who allowed Hardin on a back dock unsupervised and a tower guard who unlocked the back gate that Hardin walked through without confirming his identity. Several other employees have been suspended and one demoted, lawmakers were told this week. The kitchen's staff was 'very lax on security,' Hardin told investigators, allowing him to gather what he needed for his escape. Hardin said he didn't have any help from staff or other inmates. Hardin had constructed a ladder from wooden pallets in case he needed to scale the prison fence but didn't need it. '(Hardin) stated when he walked up to the gate, he just directed the officer to 'open the gate,' and he did,' the report says. After he escaped from the prison, Hardin survived on food he had smuggled out of the prison along with distilled water from his CPAP machine. Hardin also drank creek water and ate berries, bird eggs and ants. 'He said his plan was to hide in the woods for six months if need be and begin moving west out of the area,' the report says. Hardin, a former police chief in the small town of Gateway, near the Arkansas-Missouri border, is serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape. He was the subject of the TV documentary 'Devil in the Ozarks.' The report is one of two reviews into Hardin's escape, which is also being investigated by the Arkansas State Police. A legislative subcommittee has also been holding hearings about the escape. Republican Rep. Howard Beaty, who co-chairs the Legislative Council's Charitable, Penal and Correctional Institutions Subcommittee, said the panel hoped to discuss both reports with officials at a hearing next month. Republican Sen. Ben Gilmore, who sits on the panel, said he didn't think the department's review took a thorough enough look at the systemic issues that enabled Hardin's escape. 'They have focused on the final failure instead of all of the things that led up to it,' he said. The report also cites confusion among corrections officials in the early stages of Hardin's escape about which law enforcement agencies had been notified, the report says. 'It is obvious there was a lot of confusion during the beginning stages of opening the command center and of notifications being made,' the report says. Hardin had been misclassified and shouldn't have been held at the primarily medium-security prison, according to the review. After he was captured, Hardin was moved to a maximum-security prison. He has pleaded not guilty to escape charges, and his trial is set for November. Hardin's custody classification hadn't been reviewed since October 2019, the report says. The Department of Corrections' review says officials had taken several steps since Hardin's escape, including removing the electric locks from the gates to prevent someone from walking out without an officer present. The report also calls for additional cameras after finding a blind spot on the dock Hardin used, and for any 'shakedown' searches for contraband to include mechanical rooms and side rooms.
Washington Post
7 hours ago
- Washington Post
'Devil in Ozarks' planned prison escape for months, cited lax security in kitchen, report says
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A former police chief known as the 'Devil in the Ozarks' spent months planning his escape from an Arkansas prison, and said lax security in the kitchen where he worked allowed the convicted murderer to gather the supplies he needed, an internal review by prison officials released Friday said.
