AR - Captured Alive Former police chief serving time for rape and murder escapes from prison - Calico Rock, 2025

[Clearsky]

Former police chief, serving murder and rape sentences, escapes from Arkansas prison

A former police chief in Arkansas who is serving decades-long sentences for murder and rape escaped from prison Sunday, state corrections officials said.

nypost.com

Grant Hardin, the former police chief of the tiny town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, where he has been held since 2017.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

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[imstilla.grandma]

A guard is shown in a tower at the Arkansas Department of Correction's Tucker Unit.

A former Arkansas police chief serving time for first-degree murder and rape escaped prison Sunday, according to state authorities, who said the fugitive should be considered “extremely dangerous.”

Grant Hardin, the former top officer for Gateway, Arkansas, escaped the North Central Unit in Calico Rock through a controlled entryway wearing a fake uniform designed to look like law enforcement, the Arkansas Department of Corrections said.

“I don’t feel like he’s got a whole lot of choice but to get a vehicle, you know,” Brandon Long, the sheriff of Stone County, told 5 NEWS, a CBS-affiliated television station. “And whether he just steals a vehicle or he takes someone hostage with the vehicle is our biggest fear, obviously.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/05/26/arkansas-police-chief-escapes-prison-disguise/

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Ex-Police Chief Killed a Man and Raped a Teacher — and Just Escaped Prison in a Cop Uniform

Grant Hardin, 56, escaped from North Central Unit in Calico Rock, Ark., on Sunday, May 25. His whereabouts remain unknown.

people.com

 

[chipwhitley]

The documentary Devil in the Ozarks is about this man. Very sick man.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“I hate it for the victims and their families to have to relive that with the lack of knowledge of what’s going on,” Smith said.

Smith said what stood out with Hardin’s cases was that there was never a good motive in terms of how he selected the victims, and what he was thinking.

Also, the fact that Hardin had a background in law enforcement, serving as a police officer, police chief, county constable and corrections officer in Gateway for several years before being arrested, made the case more notable.

In addition to serving multiple years in Gateway, Hardin also spent time as a police officer in Eureka Springs and a correctional officer in Fayetteville.

https://www.kark.com/crime/former-benton-county-prosecutor-discusses-former-police-chiefs-prison-escape/

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The documentary Devil in the Ozarks is about this man. Very sick man.

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[Little Jack]

Inside help? How would he have the disguise otherwise ?

What is with all these jailbreaks??

 

[Knox]

This guy will never be captured alive. I only hope he doesn’t take any other lives in the process.

 

[mickey2942]

'Sociopath': Former Arkansas police chief sentenced for murder and rape escapes from prison

A former Arkansas police chief serving a 30-year sentence for murder and rape has escaped form prison, according to the Stone County Sheriff's Office.

abcnews.go.com

First degree murder and rape, and he is working in the kitchen! One of the easiest jobs, and really only suitable for low risk, low security inmates.

Some one at the top of that prison, warden, should be held aaccountable. And if the escaped inmate kills anyone, should be charged as an accessory.

 

[Snoop Sister]

View attachment 588967
A guard is shown in a tower at the Arkansas Department of Correction's Tucker Unit.

A former Arkansas police chief serving time for first-degree murder and rape escaped prison Sunday, according to state authorities, who said the fugitive should be considered “extremely dangerous.”

Grant Hardin, the former top officer for Gateway, Arkansas, escaped the North Central Unit in Calico Rock through a controlled entryway wearing a fake uniform designed to look like law enforcement, the Arkansas Department of Corrections said.

“I don’t feel like he’s got a whole lot of choice but to get a vehicle, you know,” Brandon Long, the sheriff of Stone County, told 5 NEWS, a CBS-affiliated television station. “And whether he just steals a vehicle or he takes someone hostage with the vehicle is our biggest fear, obviously.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/05/26/arkansas-police-chief-escapes-prison-disguise/

How does this happen in a high security prison? He must had help from the inside with the uniform or a visitor. Imo

 

[Molly's Mom]

I live too close to this and it has freaked me out. I pray they catch this guy before he hurts anyone other than himself.

 

[airportwoman]

I was hoping this would be a report that he was caught.

 

[CrimeDawg123]

How did he get to be police chief? Oh Arkansas ...

 

[airportwoman]

I just heard on NBC News that he has been recaptured, alive.

 

[Ferpo]

I just heard on NBC News that he has been recaptured, alive.

Captured only 1.5 miles from the prison. The recent LE press release conjectured that he had left the state.

 

[Knox]

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[iamshadow21]

Good summary article on ABC Australia.

How the 'Devil in the Ozarks' walked out of maximum security prison

A former police chief convicted of rape and murder donned a makeshift uniform and walked out of a high security prison — sparking a days-long manhunt across Arkansas's mountain terrain.

www.abc.net.au