3 days ago
Escaped killer cop known as 'Devil of the Ozarks' has been captured
Former police chief Grant Hardin has been found after escaping from prison last month.
Hardin, 56, escaped from the North Central Prison Unit in Calico Rock on May 25. The convicted rapist and murderer - who is also a former police officer - escaped in a disguise from a maximum-security wing.
According to NBC news Hardin walked out the North Central Unit just before 3pm after he disguised himself in a "makeshift" law enforcement uniform. An affidavit stated that he "impersonated a corrections officer in dress and manner, causing a corrections officer operating a secure gate to open the gate."
The Stone County Sheriff's Department made the announcement on its Facebook page: 'As of Friday, June 6th, 2025, at approximately 3:45 PM, escaped inmate Grant Hardin has been apprehended, and the public is no longer in danger.'
The former Arkansas police chief was serving decades long sentences for his crimes and had been held at the North Central Unit in Calico Rock since 2017. He pleaded guilty in October 2017 to first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of 59-year-old James Appleton.
He was sentenced to 30 years in prison for this case and he is also serving 50 years in prison for the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher. Hardin was also the subject of the TV documentary "Devil in the Ozarks".
The convict held a job at the kitchen in the prison and cops revealed they were looking into whether this role had helped Hardin escape. Champion said: "His job assignment was in the kitchen, so just looking to see if that played a part in it as well."
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