A former police chief and convicted killer known as the “Devil in the Ozarks” was captured by law enforcement 1.5 miles northwest of the prison he escaped from following a massive, nearly two-week-long manhunt in the rugged mountains of northern Arkansas, authorities announced Friday.
Grant Hardin, a former police chief in the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, was serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape.
Hardin briefly attempted to run from officers when he saw them approach Friday afternoon, but he was quickly tackled to the ground, said Rand Champion, a spokesperson for the Arkansas prison system.
A prison officer in one of the guard towers opened a secure gate, allowing him to walk out of the facility.
Former Chief Earl Hyatt said Hardin resigned because Hyatt was going to fire him over incidents that included the use of excessive force.
After a massive, nearly two-week-long manhunt in the untamed mountains of northern Arkansas, authorities said Friday that they had apprehended the “Devil in the Ozarks,” a former police chief and convicted killer, 1 point five miles northwest of the prison from which he had escaped.
Grant Hardin, a former police chief in Gateway, a small town close to the Arkansas-Missouri border, was serving long sentences for rape and murder. His fame eventually spawned the television documentary “Devil in the Ozarks.”. “,”.
When Hardin saw the officers coming Friday afternoon, he made a fleeting attempt to flee, but he was swiftly taken to the ground, according to Rand Champion, a prison system spokesman for Arkansas.
He continued by saying, “He probably didn’t have any energy left in him after being on the run for a week and a half.”.
According to a Facebook post by the Izard County Sheriff’s Office, fingerprinting was used to verify Hardin’s identity.
Hardin is not known to have been hurt, but he will be examined for signs of dehydration and other health issues.
Investigators are now “chomping at the bit and really ready to talk to him,” Champion said after taking a picture of Hardin being escorted away by police using his cellphone. Hardin remained silent during those times.
A search, an escape, and finally a capture.
In 2017, Hardin entered a guilty plea to first-degree murder in a shooting death and was incarcerated at Calico Rock. According to a court document, he pretended to be a corrections officer “in dress and manner” in order to get away. He was able to leave the facility after a guard tower prison officer opened a secure gate.
Champion described the absence of verification as a “lapse” that is being looked into, saying that someone ought to have verified Hardin’s identity before he was permitted to depart.
Since Hardin’s escape on May 25, searchers have been employing helicopters, drones, officers mounted on horses, and bloodhounds to find him.
Champion claimed that shortly after the escape, a bloodhound discovered Hardin’s scent but soon lost it as torrential rain swept through the area. The bloodhound followed Hardin’s trail for less than a quarter of a mile before heading in any other direction.
Champion stated, “The fact that they were able to track him but then lost him due to the rain was one of the most frustrating things.”.
An elite, well-trained U. S. According to federal authorities’ announcement this week, a Border Patrol team had recently joined the search. For “advanced search capabilities and operational support,” the Border Patrol Tactical Team was dispatched. A. stated Customs and Border Protection.
According to the agency earlier this week, its members have experience navigating complicated terrain. Through the area, which is renowned for its dense forests, rocky and rugged terrain, and vast network of caverns, the team followed Hardin.
U. S. . Photos of Hardin lying face down on Friday with his hands tied behind his back, shirtless, and covered in mud were posted on Facebook by Customs and Border Patrol. Hardin was “turned over to Arkansas State Police unharmed” by the federal agency, according to the post.
An email and phone call for comment on the post on Friday night were not answered by an agency spokesperson.
Crime convictions of Hardin.
In 2017, Hardin admitted to first-degree murder in connection with the death of 59-year-old James Appleton. Prior to being shot in the head in February, Appleton was employed with the Gateway Water Department. Near Garfield, on 23rd, 2017. Appleton’s body was discovered by police within a vehicle. Hardin received a 30-year prison sentence.
The 1997 rape of a teacher at an elementary school in Rogers, north of Fayetteville, was also linked to Hardin’s DNA. His sentence for that offense was 50 years.
At a flea market in Ozark, Missouri, Appleton’s sister Cheryl Tillman was with her mother and sister when she received a call from law enforcement informing her that Hardin had been apprehended. In addition, Tillman serves as mayor of Gateway, a town of 450 residents where Hardin briefly served as police chief.
For her entire family, Hardin’s capture was a “big sigh of relief,” Tillman told The Associated Press.
“We don’t have to walk around, turning around all the time, thinking somebody’s on our back,” Tillman said, expressing gratitude to the officers who assisted in Hardin’s capture.
troubled law enforcement history.
Hardin was only the police chief of Gateway for four months, but according to his police records, he had been an officer in several communities in northwest Arkansas.
Hardin struggled almost immediately in his first job as a police officer in Fayetteville 35 years ago, according to his supervisors. Over the years, he continued to be hired for other law enforcement positions in northwest Arkansas despite being fired by the Fayetteville police.
Records don’t specify why Hardin left the Huntsville Police Department, but he was employed there for roughly six months before leaving.
From 1993 to 1996, he was employed by the Eureka Springs Police Department. Earl Hyatt, the former chief, claimed that Hardin resigned because he was about to fire him for using excessive force in certain incidents.
Hyatt said to television station KNWA, “He didn’t have to be a police officer at all.”.
Tillman recalled in the documentary “Devil in the Ozarks” that by 2016, when he was the police chief in Gateway, “he was out chasing cars for no reason.”. “,”.
