Dangerous 'Devil in the Ozarks' former police chief on the run as expert warns outdoorsmen to stay away

A survivalist is issuing a informing for hikers and outdoorsmen in the Ozarks of Arkansas: steer wide of the area.

Shawn Hendrix's informing comes amid an ongoing hunt for situation escapee and erstwhile Gateway Police Department Chief Grant Hardin, 56, who fled from a medium-security situation successful Calico Rock connected Sunday, May 25, according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC). 

Nicknamed the "Devil successful the Ozarks," Hardin was serving decades successful situation for execution and rape.

"I deliberation that the large happening that gets him caught oregon dormant successful the tract is getting injured … oregon a foodborne unwellness — helium drinks immoderate atrocious water," Hendrix told Fox News Digital. "Now, if helium gets dysentery oregon immoderate benignant of truly atrocious foodborne oregon waterborne illness, that could instrumentality him retired existent quick. So, let's anticipation that helium drinks immoderate atrocious h2o and has immoderate truly unspeakable illness that gets him retired of the woods due to the fact that my biggest interest is that if you're a hiker oregon a camper oregon huntsman retired there, you're not going to spot it coming."

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ADC shared a caller photograph of Grant Hardin showing him with facial hairsbreadth since helium has been connected the tally for implicit a week. (ADC)

Hendrix added that Hardin has shown small respect for quality beingness successful the past, and "every idiosyncratic successful the woods close present is an accidental for instrumentality for this guy." Arkansas authorities person warned that the escapee whitethorn beryllium equipped and dangerous.

"I decidedly would enactment wide of the area," helium said.

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Hardin escaped situation done a sally port, wearing a makeshift ADC-style uniform, ADC communications manager Rand Champion said past week, noting the azygous helium was wearing was not official.

Hardin escaped situation done a sally sport, wearing a makeshift ADC-style uniform, ADC communications manager Rand Champion said past week, noting the azygous helium was wearing was not official. (ADC)

The erstwhile constabulary main pleaded blameworthy to fatally shooting a antheral successful the face wrong the victim's enactment motortruck successful 2017. After submitting DNA samples erstwhile helium was booked for the execution case, his DNA was linked to the 1997 cold-case rape of a teacher. He pleaded blameworthy successful that lawsuit successful 2019, according to KNWA.

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"This feline is conscionable truthful evil. I mean, this feline is simply a sociopath," Hendrix said. "[Hardin] has nary attraction for humans oregon anybody but himself. He's law-enforcement trained. He has a past of issues successful and retired of the police. I deliberation there's a full bigger communicative of however this feline was a bull for 27 years, right? … I would not privation to beryllium retired looking for this guy."

Hardin is described arsenic a 6-foot White male, weighing astir 259 pounds. 

Federal officials accidental Hardin has "extensive cognition of the Ozark Mountain region." (Andre Seale/VW PICS/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Hendrix said astatine that weight, Hardin has a caloric reserve that could assistance him past for weeks unsocial successful wooded areas of the Ozarks, which person hundreds of caves and earthy resources that see food, water, berries and different earthy nutrient supplies. 

DEVIL IN THE OZARKS’ WHO ESCAPED PRISON LIKELY STILL IN ARKANSAS AREA: OFFICIALS

Lights glowing connected the ferris instrumentality successful Branson, Missouri successful the Ozarks. (Lainey Stelly/Getty Images)

"There's conscionable a batch of, you know, berries, cattails, fish, you know, there's similar earthy autochthonal fruits similar persimmon, possibly adjacent plums successful that area," Hendrix explained. "So there's a batch of … earthy things to unrecorded disconnected the land. If helium has a gun, I don't cognize astir utilizing a weapon to sprout an carnal conscionable due to the fact that of however large it would be, but determination [are] ways to get food. … He's specified a dense idiosyncratic [at] 260 pounds. He's got a mates of months of reserves."

Police searching for Hardin successful the wilderness volition apt beryllium looking for "concealed" grounds of a idiosyncratic surviving successful the woods, specified arsenic a burnt-out occurrence oregon different materials that person been covered up, oregon an underground fire.

Officials with the Arkansas Department of Corrections are searching for an inmate, who is simply a erstwhile constabulary chief, that they said escaped from its North Central Unit. (Arkansas Department of Corrections )

The FBI and U.S. Marshals are offering a combined $25,000 for immoderate accusation starring to Hardin's capture. They are asking anyone with accusation to telephone 1-800-CALL-FBI oregon taxable a extremity online astatine tips.fbi.gov.

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Champion said during a quality league past week that authorities are reasonably assured successful the way they judge Hardin took erstwhile helium escaped and said authorities believed helium was inactive successful the Ozarks area, but a national ailment filed against Hardin connected May 30 suggests different possibility: helium whitethorn beryllium retired of state.

Based connected 2 unconfirmed sightings, including 1 successful Missouri connected May 26, a time aft Hardin escaped, national officials judge he's not successful Arkansas anymore, arsenic The Arkansas Democrat Gazette archetypal reported.

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"He has extended cognition of the Ozark Mountain region, wherever helium is believed to beryllium perchance hiding successful caves oregon rugged terrain that helium is acquainted with," Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert J. Hammons wrote successful the transgression complaint, according to the Gazette. 

Fox News Digital has reached retired to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas.