Ex-police chief convicted of rape and murder escapes prison dressed as a cop
Grant Hardin, 56, escaped the Calico Rock North Central Unit through a sally port on Sunday afternoon
A manhunt is underway in Arkansas after a former police chief who was in prison for murder and rape escaped from the facility while disguised as law enforcement.
Authorities said Grant Hardin, 56, escaped the Calico Rock North Central Unit through a sally port on Sunday afternoon.
The sheriff’s office said Hardin was “wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement” when he escaped.
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Authorities said Hardin was "extremely dangerous and should not be approached.”
Hardin had been serving time for murder and rape since 2017. He was the former police chief of the town of Gateway.
The Division of Correction and the Division of Community Correction are following leads with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
Hardin pleaded guilty to murder in 2017 in connection with the fatal shooting of James Appleton, 59.
Appleton, who worked for the Gateway water department, was having a conversation with the Gateway Mayor Andrew Tillman when he was shot in the head in February 2017 near Garfield.
Appleton’s body was found in a car. Hardin was subsequently sentenced to 30 years in prison for his murder.
Hardin was also serving a 50 year sentence for the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher in Rogers north of Fayetteville, according to The Associated Press.
The escape comes a week after ten men broke out of a New Orleans jail by fleeing through a hole behind a toilet.
Five of the inmates remain on the loose amid a massive manhunt.
