Latest news with #ArkansasDepartmentofCorrectionsCommunicationsDepartment
Toronto Sun
4 days ago
- Toronto Sun
'Devil in the Ozarks' who escaped from Arkansas jail captured
Published Jun 06, 2025 • 2 minute read This undated photo provided by the Arkansas Department of Corrections Communications Department shows inmate Grant Hardin. Photo by Arkansas Department of Corrections Communications Department via AP / AP A former police chief and convicted killer known as the 'Devil in the Ozarks' was captured by law enforcement 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometres) northwest of the prison he escaped from following a massive manhunt in the mountains of northern Arkansas, authorities announced on Friday. Grant Hardin's identity was confirmed through fingerprinting, the Izard County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post. Hardin, a former police chief in the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, was serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape. He was the subject of the TV documentary 'Devil in the Ozarks.' Searchers had been using bloodhounds, officers on horseback, drones and helicopters in their hunt for Hardin since he escaped nearly two weeks ago on May 25. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account An elite and highly trained U.S. Border Patrol team had recently joined the search, federal authorities announced this week. The Border Patrol Tactical Team known as BORTAC provided 'advanced search capabilities and operational support' in the hunt for Hardin, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said. Its members are experienced in navigating complex terrain, the agency said. The Ozark Mountains region is known for its rocky and rugged landscape, thick forests and an extensive cave network. Hardin had been held at the Calico Rock prison since 2017 after pleading guilty to first-degree murder in a fatal shooting for which he was serving a 30-year sentence. In order to escape, he had impersonated a corrections officer 'in dress and manner,' according to a court document. A prison officer in one of the guard towers opened a secure gate, allowing him to walk out of the facility. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Hardin's DNA was matched to the 1997 rape of a teacher at an elementary school in Rogers, north of Fayetteville. He was sentenced to 50 years for that crime. Eventually, his notoriety led to a TV documentary, 'Devil in the Ozarks.' Rand Champion, a spokesperson for the state prison system, said that someone should have checked Hardin's identity before he was allowed to leave, describing the lack of verification as a 'lapse' that's being investigated. A deputy U.S. Marshal has said in court papers that investigators theorize that he has likely fled Arkansas, but searchers are continuing to hunt for Hardin around the prison at Calico Rock. Read More Olympics Columnists NHL Toronto & GTA Editorial Cartoons
Toronto Sun
30-05-2025
- Toronto Sun
Bloodhounds hunting 'Devil in the Ozarks' fugitive are seen as key part of manhunt
Published May 30, 2025 • 5 minute read This undated photo provided by the Arkansas Department of Corrections Communications Department shows inmate Grant Hardin. Photo by Arkansas Department of Corrections Communications Department via AP / AP A bloodhound picked up the scent shortly after the ' Devil in the Ozarks ' escaped from a lockup in northern Arkansas. The hound didn't have to go far to begin the hunt — it lives at the prison as part of a specialized unit that uses man's best friend to help track fugitives. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Although the scent of convicted killer Grant Hardin was lost because of heavy rain, experts say that even days after Sunday's escape, the animal's highly developed sense of small can still pick up a fresh trail. Bloodhounds are known for being tenacious trackers, said Brian Tierney, president of the National Police Bloodhound Association. They're playing a key role in the search for Hardin, now in its sixth day. They also save lives, as one young bloodhound did just two weeks ago in Maine. Millie, a 10-month-old hound tracked a 5-year-old girl with autism who went missing from her home on May 16, Maine State Police said. The dog found the girl waist-deep in water in a cedar swamp, the agency said. Authorities credited Millie's dedication and 'incredible nose' for saving the girl. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Bad weather confounded the hunt for Hardin, who was serving a 30-year sentence for murder when he escaped from the North Central Unit, a medium-security prison in Calico Rock, Arkansas. The hound found – then lost – Hardin's scent when heavy rains blew through the area, said state prison spokesman Rand Champion. Hardin was tracked for less than a quarter of a mile when the bloodhound lost the trail. The fugitive could have gone in any direction after that. 'That was one of the most frustrating things, that they were able to track him but then they lost him because of the rain,' Champion said. Hardin took almost nothing with him and left behind plenty of clothes, bedsheets and other items that are used to familiarize the bloodhounds with his scent, Champion said. Those items are shared with the dogs to give them the initial scent of the person they are seeking, Tierney said. It's a process that's standard operating procedure for Arkansas' prison dogs. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A former police chief in the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, Hardin had been held at the Calico Rock prison since 2017 after pleading guilty to first-degree murder in a fatal shooting for which he was serving a 30-year sentence. Hardin's DNA was matched to the 1997 rape of a teacher at an elementary school in Rogers, north of Fayetteville. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison for that crime. Eventually, his notoriety led to a TV documentary, 'Devil in the Ozarks.' Champion said that someone should have checked Hardin's identity before he was allowed to leave, describing the lack of verification as a 'lapse' that is being investigated. Bloodhounds live at Calico Rock prison This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Authorities haven't disclosed how many dogs are involved in the manhunt, but the Calico Rock prison is known for its bloodhounds that live in a kennel on prison property. The nearly one dozen dogs at the prison have helped many other agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to track a variety of people over the years, according to a 2021 state audit report on the prison. Southern prisons have a long history of keeping bloodhounds around in case of escapes, like the one featured in country artist Blake Shelton's song 'Ol' Red,' about a hound that hunts escaped inmates with 'a nose that could smell a two-day trail.' Dogs in Arkansas' prison system have also been used to help other agencies find people who are not dangerous, such as missing children, people with special needs or elderly people, Champion said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The bloodhounds tend to raise a ruckus when they find their mark. But the prison system uses other types of dogs in searching for children and vulnerable people who go missing, and those dogs tend to lick people and make friends with them when they are found, Champion said. Fugitives use spices, other means to foil bloodhounds Fugitives being hunted by bloodhounds have been known to take extreme steps to throw the dogs off their trail, Tierney said. Two convicted killers who broke out of a maximum-security prison in upstate New York in 2015 collected dozens of containers of black and cayenne pepper before their escape. They had intended to use the pepper 'to interfere with tracking dogs they assumed would be part of a manhunt for them after the escape,' a state investigation found. One of the men was shot and killed during the manhunt; another was also shot but survived and was captured. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Tierney said he's heard of other methods used by fugitives to evade tracking dogs. Among them: Sleeping in trees could allow one's scent to disperse before reaching the ground, he said. Hardin has troubled past in law enforcement In his first job as a police officer 35 years ago in the college town of Fayetteville, home of the University of Arkansas, Hardin struggled almost immediately, his supervisors said. 'Other recruits do not like Grant,' one wrote in a performance review. After a few months on the job, most shift supervisors concluded that he was 'not suited for police work,' Fayetteville's police chief at the time wrote to the director of the state commission on enforcement standards in the spring of 1991. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But after being dismissed by Fayetteville police, he kept getting hired for other law enforcement jobs in northwest Arkansas. In documents and interviews, other police leaders echoed what Fayetteville's police chief had said — that Grant should not have become a police officer. By the time he was the police chief in the small town of Gateway in 2016, 'he was out chasing cars for no reason,' Cheryl Tillman, the town's current mayor, recalled in the documentary 'Devil in the Ozarks.' He's also been described by those who know him as a smart and cunning person who has learned many police tactics over the years and knows how law officers hunt fugitives. 'That individual probably watched the extended forecast before he went out,' Tierney said. 'He would know that heavy rain is going to hinder the dogs.' — Associated Press Writer Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed. Read More Crime World Sunshine Girls Olympics Toronto Raptors
Toronto Sun
29-05-2025
- Toronto Sun
Did kitchen job play role in 'Devil in the Ozarks' prison escape?
Published May 29, 2025 • Last updated 4 minutes ago • 2 minute read This undated photo provided by the Arkansas Department of Corrections Communications Department shows inmate Grant Hardin. Photo by Arkansas Department of Corrections Communications Department via AP / AP Arkansas authorities are looking at whether a job in the prison kitchen played a role in the escape of a convicted former police chief known as the 'Devil in the Ozarks.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Grant Hardin, 56, was housed in a maximum-security wing of the Calico Rock prison from which he escaped on Sunday by donning an outfit designed to look like a law enforcement uniform, Arkansas Department of Corrections spokesperson Rand Champion told The Associated Press Thursday. But Hardin also held a job in the kitchen of the medium-security facility. 'His job assignment was in the kitchen, so just looking to see if that played a part in it as well,' Champion said. Hardin, the former police chief in the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, was serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape. He was the subject of the TV documentary 'Devil in the Ozarks.' Local, state and federal law enforcement continued their search for Hardin on Thursday, and the FBI on announced Thursday it was offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to his arrest. Champion said officials remained confident that Hardin was in the north-central Arkansas area. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Officials have said there are plenty of hideouts in the Ozarks Mountains area, from caves to campsites. The department late Wednesday said search teams also responded to Faulkner County in the central Arkansas area after receiving a tip. Champion did not immediately know how many other inmates were housed in the prison's maximum-security wing. Hardin's assignment to the prison, formally known as the North Central Unit, has drawn questions from legislators in the area and family members of the former chief's victims. Hardin received culinary training at some point during his incarceration, said Cheryl Tillman, whose brother James Appleton was shot to death by Hardin in 2017. Tillman said she was aware that Hardin had been working in the kitchen at the Calico Rock prison, and questioned why he would be allowed to do so. 'It sounds like to me that he was given free range down there,' she said in an interview this week. Now that he's free, 'it makes it uneasy for all of us, the whole family,' she said. Read More Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls Canada Ontario Celebrity
San Francisco Chronicle
28-05-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
What we know about the escape of a former police chief and convicted killer in Arkansas
This undated photo provided by the Arkansas Department of Corrections Communications Department shows inmate Grant Hardin. (Arkansas Department of Corrections Communications Department via AP) AP This undated photo provided by the Arkansas Department of Corrections Communications Department shows inmate Grant Hardin. (Arkansas Department of Corrections Communications Department via AP) AP CALICO ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Officials scoured Arkansas' rugged Ozark Mountains for a former police chief and convicted killer who escaped from prison over the weekend. Grant Hardin, who briefly served as police chief for the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, was serving a decades-long sentence for murder and rape. Known as the 'Devil in the Ozarks,' he escaped Sunday from the North Central Unit, a medium-security prison in Calico Rock. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Hardin's escape happened days after 10 men fled a New Orleans jail by going through a hole behind a toilet. Eight of those fugitives have since been captured. Here's what to know about Hardin and his escape: How did he escape? Hardin escaped from the prison Sunday afternoon by disguising himself and wearing an outfit meant 'to mimic law enforcement," corrections officials said. The outfit was not a standard inmate or correctional uniform, said Rand Champion, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Corrections. Officials are working to determine how he was either able to get the uniform or manufacture it himself. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Video surveillance shows Hardin escaped at about 2:55 p.m. on Sunday, Champion said. Officials announced his escape about two hours later. But how he got out of the prison and escaped into a rural part of the state, as well as whether he had any help is still unclear. Prison officials say they are investigating what led up to the escape 'to help determine any assistance he may have had.' Champion said the decision to house Hardin in a medium-security facility, which has a capacity of about 800 people, weighed the 'needs of the different facilities and inmates' and 'assessments' of his crimes. Why was he in prison? Hardin had been held at the Calico Rock prison since 2017 after pleading guilty to first-degree murder for fatally shooting James Appleton, 59. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Appleton, a Gateway water department employee, was shot in the head in 2017. Police found his body inside a car. Hardin was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Hardin's DNA was entered into the FBI's Combined DNA Index System, and it matched the 1997 rape of a teacher at an elementary school in Rogers, north of Fayetteville. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison for that crime. He was a police officer in Eureka Springs at that time. His short tenure as police chief Hardin became police chief of Gateway, a town of about 450 people, in 2016. Virtually overnight, people in the community described in the HBO documentary 'Devil in the Ozarks' a dramatic shift. Advertisement Article continues below this ad 'He was out chasing cars for no reason," said Cheryl Tillman, one of Appleton's sisters. "He was pulling guns on the citizens here in Gateway and then as time went on with him being the police chief things just started going down hill fast.' The documentary revealed a crucial run-in between Hardin and Appleton in the Spring of 2016 in which Appleton stood up to Hardin about fixing a police car. A Benton county sheriff's office lieutenant described several times when they got into each other's faces and the dislike they both felt toward one another. The city council gave him an ultimatum: resign or be fired. He stepped down four months after taking the position and nine months later, he killed Appleton. The 'Devil in the Ozarks' documentary Hardin was the focus of a popular 2023 HBO documentary, 'Devil in the Ozarks,' that featured interviews with everyone from the victim of the 1997 rape and sisters of the murder victim to Hardin's family. Advertisement Article continues below this ad It revealed key details about the bubbling resentment Hardin felt towards Appleton as well as revealing accounts of the moments right before and after the murder. Then Gateway Mayor Andrew Tillman, who was Appleton's brother-in-law, described being on the phone with him when he was shot, while local resident John Bray spoke about driving past Appleton's car when the shooting happened. He was the first to find his body and identified Hardin as the shooter. 'I heard what I thought was someone had fired a riffle,' he said. 'I went back and I seen it looked like he had been shot,' he added, wiping away tears. The documentary also includes security video of Hardin at a restaurant with his family just after the shooting and the police interrogation in which he tells law enforcement he has "the right to be silent' and opted not to give a statement. The search for Hardin Authorities are using canines, drones and helicopters to search the rugged northern Arkansas terrain, Champion said. Although he did not reveal the exact areas of the search, he did say it has expanded as more time has elapsed since the escape. Officials have faced challenges searching the areas as it's very rocky and heavy rain has fallen in recent days. The area around the prison is a rural part of the state, which can make Hardin's escape more difficult. In a small community, there's a higher chance someone will recognize him and alert the authorities, said Craig Caine, a retired inspector with the U.S. Marshals who has handled many cases involving escaped prisoners. The Division of Correction and the Division of Community Correction are following leads with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
Toronto Sun
27-05-2025
- Toronto Sun
Escape of ex-police chief known as 'Devil in the Ozarks' has Arkansas residents on edge
Published May 27, 2025 • 2 minute read This undated photo provided by the Arkansas Department of Corrections Communications Department shows inmate Grant Hardin. Photo by Arkansas Department of Corrections Communications Department via AP / AP As law officers search Arkansas' rugged Ozark Mountains for a former police chief and convicted killer, the sister of one of his victims is on edge. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Grant Hardin, the former police chief in the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, was serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape and became known as the 'Devil in the Ozarks.' Hardin escaped Sunday from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock by disguising himself and wearing a 'makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement,' state prison officials said in a statement. 'I don't think he will be taken alive,' said Cheryl Tillman, whose brother James Appleton was killed by Hardin in 2017. 'He won't go peacefully.' Sheriff's deputies in multiple northern Arkansas counties have been working with state prison officials to follow leads and search the rugged terrain in the Ozarks, Izard County Sheriff Charley Melton said in an update late Monday. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'To the citizens of Izard County and surrounding counties, please stay vigilant, lock your house and vehicle doors and report any suspicious activity by calling 911 immediately,' Melton said. Other sheriffs were issuing similar warnings about Hardin, who was the focus of a 2023 documentary, 'Devil in the Ozarks.' In an interview Tuesday, Tillman said she wasn't surprised when she heard that Hardin had escaped. But the news suddenly added fresh pain for her and other family members after dealing with the grief from the killing. 'He's just an evil man,' she said. 'He is no good for society.' Hardin being on the run is also alarming to Tillman and other family members since they were witnesses in his court proceedings. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We were there at his trial when all that went down, and he seen us there, he knows,' she said. Hardin pleaded guilty in October 2017 to first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Appleton, 59. Appleton worked for the Gateway water department when he was shot in the head on Feb. 23, 2017, near Garfield. Police found Appleton's body inside a car. Investigators at the time did not release a motive for the killing. Hardin, who was Gateway's police chief for about four months in early 2016, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He is also serving 50 years in prison for the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher in Rogers north of Fayetteville. Hardin had been held in Calico Rock since 2017. Tillman believes he had been planning his escape for a while. 'I'm sure it was in the makings for the eight years that he was there,' she said. Olympics Music Canada Columnists Relationships
