A manhunt is underway for Grant Hardin, 56, who escaped from a prison in Calico Rock, Ark. around 3:40 p.m. on Sunday, May 25
Hardin, a former police chief, was serving a 30-year sentence for first-degree murder and an additional sentence for rape
The escapee’s whereabouts remain unknown as of 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, officials said
Arkansas officials are searching for a former police chief convicted of murder and rape who escaped from prison in a makeshift law enforcement uniform.
Grant Hardin, 56, who has been held at North Central Unit in Calico Rock, Ark., since 2017, escaped from the prison around 3:40 p.m. on Sunday, May 25, according to a statement from the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
Hardin was serving a 30-year sentence for first-degree murder and an additional sentence for rape, per the statement. He was the former police chief for the city of Gateway. Inmate records show Hardin is 6 feet tall and weighs 259 lbs.
While officials are investigating what led to Hardin’s escape, the DOC said in a Sunday night update that he was wearing “a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement.” Officials confirmed he was not wearing a DOC uniform and said that all DOC-issued equipment had been accounted for.
The Stone County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that Hardin should be considered “extremely dangerous and should not be approached.”
Hardin pleaded guilty in 2017 to murder after fatally shooting 59-year-old James Appleton, who worked in the city of Gateway’s water department, according to an affidavit cited by CBS News, 5News, and The New York Times
