‘Devil in the Ozarks’ who escaped prison likely still in Arkansas area: officials

It has been 72 hours since a erstwhile Arkansas constabulary main serving decades successful situation for execution and rape escaped from prison connected Sunday afternoon.

Former Gateway Police Department Chief Grant Hardin, 56, escaped from the North Central Unit connected Sunday day in Calico Rock, according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC).

"We person a beauteous bully thought of the way that helium took and immoderate of those circumstances… and what, if any, lapses happened," ADC Communications Director Rand Champion said during a Wednesday quality conference.

"Based connected the accusation that we person and the acquisition of our teams, they consciousness reasonably assured that helium is inactive reasonably adjacent to this region," Champion said, noting that "all it takes is 1 vehicle" for Hardin to usage to question elsewhere, though officials person established a perimeter astir the country of Stone County.

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A photograph that the Stone County Sheriff's Office posted to societal media shows Grant Hardin wearing an ADC-style azygous during his flight done a sally port, though Rand Champion said the azygous helium was wearing was not an authoritative uniform. (Stone County Sheriff's Office)

"As of this time, they are inactive precise assured that helium is successful the area," Champion said.

Champion said the nationalist should presume Hardin is "a precise unsafe individual," and determination is simply a hazard helium whitethorn perpetrate much crimes portion helium is connected the run.

It took little than 30 minutes for situation officials to announcement that Hardin had disappeared from prison. Photos that the Stone County Sheriff's Office posted to societal media amusement Hardin wearing an ADC-style azygous during his flight done a sally port, though Champion said the azygous helium was wearing was not an authoritative uniform.

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"It had to person either been homemade oregon brought successful somehow," Champion said of the uniform.

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 connected Sunday. (Arkansas Department of Corrections )

Hardin, who became known arsenic the "Devil successful the Ozarks," was sentenced to 30 years for execution positive further clip for rape. He pleaded blameworthy to the 2017 execution of James Appleton, 59, a metropolis h2o worker who was recovered changeable successful the look wrong his enactment truck, KNWA reported.

While Hardin was being booked into the authorities prison, officials submitted his DNA illustration into a database. His DNA ended up linking him to the rape acold lawsuit of a teacher successful 1997, the outlet reported. 

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The victim, a teacher astatine Frank Tillery Elementary successful Rogers, said she was raped by a antheral with a weapon astatine the school.

"It was proven to beryllium Mr. Hardin beyond each technological certainty," Nathan Smith, the prosecuting lawyer for Benton County astatine the time, told the outlet.

Rand Champion said investigators judge Grant Hardin is inactive successful the Arkansas area. (KFSM)

Authorities confirmed Hardin’s DNA matched the DNA linked to the rape suspect. Harrison was ambushed portion preparing a acquisition program for the week. The lawsuit had been acold for astir 2 decades.

Hardin ended up pleading blameworthy to the rape successful 2019.

"Grant Hardin, successful my presumption and successful my idiosyncratic experience, is 1 of the astir unsafe radical that I ever seen for the crushed that helium does not astatine archetypal look that way," Smith antecedently said. "He is simply a antheral susceptible of a seemingly random, horrific execution arsenic good arsenic a random, horrific rape."

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Hardin is described arsenic a 6' achromatic male, weighing astir 259 pounds. 

Fox News' Stepheny Price and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.