A former Arkansas police chief serving decades in prison for first-degree murder and rape escaped from prison Sunday in a “makeshift” law enforcement uniform, Arkansas Department of Corrections officials said.
Grant Hardin, the 56-year-old former Gateway police chief, escaped at approximately 3:40 p.m. from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, officials said.
While officials did not provide details about how Hardin escaped, the statement says he “was wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement when he escaped the facility.”
The Division of Corrections and the Division of Community Corrections are working with local, state and federal law enforcement to follow leads on Hardin’s whereabouts.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about the inmate’s whereabouts to contact law enforcement.
On Sunday, a former Arkansas police chief who was serving decades in prison for first-degree murder and rape broke out of the facility wearing a “makeshift” uniform, according to officials with the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
At around 3:40 p.m., Grant Hardin, 56, the former chief of police in Gateway, escaped. m. from Calico Rock’s North Central Unit, according to authorities. The hunt for Hardin was still going on as of Sunday evening.
The statement claims that Hardin “was wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement when he escaped the facility,” though officials did not elaborate on how he got out. “.”.
“All DOC-issued equipment has been accounted for, and he was not wearing a Department of Corrections uniform,” the statement continued.
In addition to a 50-year sentence in a different rape case, Hardin has been serving a 30-year sentence at North Central Unit since 2017 on first-degree murder charges.
“He is to be considered extremely dangerous and should not be approached,” the Stone County Sheriff’s Office stated in a post on social media.
In October 2017, Hardin entered a guilty plea for the murder of James Appleton, a 59-year-old water employee in Gateway City. In February, Appleton was shot in his car while speaking with his brother-in-law, Andrew Tillman, who was then the mayor of Gateway. 23, 2017, per an affidavit submitted with the case.
For roughly four months in early 2016, Hardin served as the police chief of the small town close to the Missouri border. Additionally, NBC affiliate KNWA reports that he has held positions as a corrections officer, county constable, and police officer.
A DNA sample in February 2018 connected Hardin to the 1997 cold case rape of Amy Harrison, a teacher at Frank Tillery Elementary School. In addition, Hardin admitted to the rape and received a 50-year prison term.
To find out where Hardin is, the Division of Corrections and the Division of Community Corrections are collaborating with federal, state, and local law enforcement. The DOC and the Arkansas state police are working together on the current search.
“Officials are still using a range of methods to find Hardin and are looking into what happened before he escaped,” the statement said. As more information becomes available, it will be shared. “.
Authorities are requesting that anyone who knows the inmate’s location get in touch with the police.
