CALICO ROCK, AR - A small town in Arkansas may not be sleeping as well after a former police chief convicted of fatally shooting a man and sexually assaulting an elementary school teacher escaped from prison wearing a "makeshift" law enforcement uniform.
According to NBC News, residents of Garfield expressed fear and anger as the search for Grant Hardin continues into yet another day. Brenda Fields, 60, said, "This whole weekend, I've kept the house locked. He was in law enforcement, so he's not just your average person. That makes me more nervous because he had that background."
Fields, who lives across the street from Hardin's parents, said she learned about his escape via Facebook. She said, "My dad lives right next to us too, and he's locked all of his stuff up, locked up the outbuildings. I wish they'd hurry up and find him."
Hardin, the former police chief in the neighboring town of Gateway, has been on the run since Sunday afternoon, May 25th after he escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, which is about 140 miles east of Garfield. He was convicted of killing Gateway City water employee James Appleton in 2017 and raping a teacher, Amy Harrison in 1997. Both of those cases were featured in the Max documentary, "Devil in the Ozarks."
Hardin was Gateway's police chief for about four months in early 2016. He also held jobs as an officer, a county constable, and a correction officer. The Stone County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) said that Hardin escaped through a sally port, which is a controlled entry or exit area at the prison. Authorities said he was wearing a "makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement."
A photo released by the sheriff's office shows Hardin dressed in all black, appearing to push a wheeled cart with wooden pallets on it. As of this writing, Hardin remains at large and the state Corrections Department has no new updates.
The Associated Press (AP) reported that Rand Champion, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Correction said, "That was not a standard inmate uniform, not a standard correctional uniform. There's nothing inside the prison that looks like that, so that's one of the challenges we're going through to find out what that was and how he was able to get that or manufacture it."
The lack of information about Hardin's whereabouts is frustrating for many, including Chery Tillman, the mayor of Gateway and the sister of Appleton. She said, "It brings back a lot of memories of when it first happened. I can't believe this happened. I mean, what were they doing down at the prison that this happened?"
She said that law enforcement has not reached out to her family about Hardin's escape and that she learned of the news from an automated call from the jail messaging system. She said, "All it said was that Grant Hardin had escaped from prison. Nobody's been in contact with us ... I find it pretty sad that authorities have not reached out to us."
Hardin was serving a 30-year sentence for Appleton's murder and a 50-year sentence for the sexual assault of Harrison. Hardin pleaded guilty in both cases. Darla Nix, a local cafe owner in nearby Pea Ridge, Arkansas, said her sons grew up around Hardin and knew him as a mostly quiet person before his was convicted.
She described Hardin as a "very, very smart man," saying that she anticipates the search for him will be challenging for law enforcement. She said, "He knows where the caves are. He's just a survivor. He knows how to make it. They're going to have their hands full trying to catch him."
According to NBC News, residents of Garfield expressed fear and anger as the search for Grant Hardin continues into yet another day. Brenda Fields, 60, said, "This whole weekend, I've kept the house locked. He was in law enforcement, so he's not just your average person. That makes me more nervous because he had that background."
Fields, who lives across the street from Hardin's parents, said she learned about his escape via Facebook. She said, "My dad lives right next to us too, and he's locked all of his stuff up, locked up the outbuildings. I wish they'd hurry up and find him."
Hardin, the former police chief in the neighboring town of Gateway, has been on the run since Sunday afternoon, May 25th after he escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, which is about 140 miles east of Garfield. He was convicted of killing Gateway City water employee James Appleton in 2017 and raping a teacher, Amy Harrison in 1997. Both of those cases were featured in the Max documentary, "Devil in the Ozarks."
Hardin was Gateway's police chief for about four months in early 2016. He also held jobs as an officer, a county constable, and a correction officer. The Stone County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) said that Hardin escaped through a sally port, which is a controlled entry or exit area at the prison. Authorities said he was wearing a "makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement."
A photo released by the sheriff's office shows Hardin dressed in all black, appearing to push a wheeled cart with wooden pallets on it. As of this writing, Hardin remains at large and the state Corrections Department has no new updates.
The Associated Press (AP) reported that Rand Champion, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Correction said, "That was not a standard inmate uniform, not a standard correctional uniform. There's nothing inside the prison that looks like that, so that's one of the challenges we're going through to find out what that was and how he was able to get that or manufacture it."
The lack of information about Hardin's whereabouts is frustrating for many, including Chery Tillman, the mayor of Gateway and the sister of Appleton. She said, "It brings back a lot of memories of when it first happened. I can't believe this happened. I mean, what were they doing down at the prison that this happened?"
She said that law enforcement has not reached out to her family about Hardin's escape and that she learned of the news from an automated call from the jail messaging system. She said, "All it said was that Grant Hardin had escaped from prison. Nobody's been in contact with us ... I find it pretty sad that authorities have not reached out to us."
Hardin was serving a 30-year sentence for Appleton's murder and a 50-year sentence for the sexual assault of Harrison. Hardin pleaded guilty in both cases. Darla Nix, a local cafe owner in nearby Pea Ridge, Arkansas, said her sons grew up around Hardin and knew him as a mostly quiet person before his was convicted.
She described Hardin as a "very, very smart man," saying that she anticipates the search for him will be challenging for law enforcement. She said, "He knows where the caves are. He's just a survivor. He knows how to make it. They're going to have their hands full trying to catch him."
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