29-05-2025
Chilling pic of ‘Devil in the Ozarks' killer who broke from prison in disguise as cops fear he'll hide forever in caves
A CHILLING photo shows the 'Devil in the Ozarks' killer fleeing prison while disguised as a law enforcement officer.
A desperate manhunt is underway to find Grant Hardin, 56, who is feared to be hiding in one of hundreds of underground caves in Arkansas.
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His horrific crimes were featured in the 2023 Max documentary "Devil in the Ozarks."
Officials have been scouring the state's rugged Ozark Mountains for the former police chief - a convicted killer and rapist - who escaped from prison on Sunday.
The area has hundreds of subterranean caves, abandoned cabins and campsites - giving him plenty of possible hideouts.
He "knows where the caves are,' said Darla Nix, a cafe owner in Pea Ridge, Arkansas, whose sons grew up around Hardin.
Nix described the evil ex-cop as a survivor, and remembered him as a "very, very smart" and mostly quiet person.
The "caves have definitely been a source of concern and a point of emphasis," said Rand Champion, a spokesperson for the corrections department.
'Until we have credible evidence that he is not in the area, we assume that he's probably still in the area,' he added.
Hardin duped prison officers by impersonating a corrections officer in dress and manner, according to a court document.
Chilling footage released today by the ADC shows him brazenly strolling out of the North Central Unit, a medium-security prison in Calico Rock.
It reveals the evil killer disguised as a law enforcement officer.
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A prison officer opened a secure gate, allowing him to simply walk out of the facility.
Champion said, "The outfit was not a standard inmate or correctional uniform."
Authorities are using canines, drones and helicopters to search the rugged northern Arkansas terrain, Champion added.
He's just an evil man. He is no good for society
Cheryl Tillman, whose brother was killed by Hardin
Officials are trying to determine how he was either able to get the uniform or make it himself.
Video surveillance shows Hardin escaping at about 2:55 p.m. on Sunday, Champion said.
Officials announced his escape from the medium-security facility about two hours later.
POLICE CHIEF
Hardin had briefly served as police chief for the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border.
He was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder for fatally shooting James Appleton, 59, a Gateway water department employee, in the head in 2017.
When Hardin's DNA was entered into the FBI's Combined DNA Index System, officials discovered it matched the 1997 rape of a teacher at an elementary school in Rogers, north of Fayetteville.
What crimes did Grant Hardin commit?
The former Arkansas police chief, 56, was serving a decadeslong sentence for a brutal rape and a murder when he escaped from prison
His horrific crimes were featured in the 2023 Max documentary "Devil in the Ozarks."
Murder
Hardin had been held at the Calico Rock prison since 2017 after pleading guilty to first-degree murder for fatally shooting James Appleton, 59.
His victim, a Gateway water department employee, was shot in the head in 2017.
Appleton was on the phone with his brother-in-law, then-Gateway Mayor Andrew Tillman, at the time of the shooting.
Police found his body inside a car. Hardin took his wife and daughter to dinner the night of the shooting, according to the affidavit.
Hardin was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Cold case rape
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 on two counts of rape. He was a police officer in Eureka Springs at that time.
Source: NBC
He had been working as a police officer in Eureka Springs at that time.
Hardin was sentenced to 50 years in prison for that crime.
SHOCKED
Former Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Nathan Smith, who helped put Hardin in prison, told NBC the crimes were "shocking."
"Anytime you have a former law enforcement officer accused and convicted and committed these crimes, I think it shocks everyone," he added on Wednesday.
Izard County Sheriff Charley Melton, and other local sheriffs have urged residents to lock their homes and vehicles and call 911 if they see anything suspicious.
WORKED IN KITCHEN
Cheryl Tillman, whose brother was killed by Hardin, said she and other relatives are alarmed by his escape since they were witnesses in his court proceedings.
She added, "We were there at his trial when all that went down, and he seen us there, he knows.
"He's just an evil man. He is no good for society."
As Hardin had held a job in the prison's kitchen, officials are checking whether this gave him easy access to tools that could have helped him, including creating the makeshift uniform.
Tillman said, "It sounds like to me that he was given free range down there.
"Now that he's free, it makes it uneasy for all of us, the whole family."
The FBI announced on Thursday that it was offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to his arrest.
