What to know about 'Devil in the Ozarks,' Arkansas prison escape as search enters 5th day
The search for ex-Arkansas police chief and convicted murderer Grant Hardin, known as the "Devil in the Ozarks," entered its fifth day after he disguised himself as a corrections officer and slipped away from state prison, authorities said.
Hardin, 56, escaped from the North Central Unit on May 25 while wearing a "makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement," the Arkansas Department of Corrections said. He was convicted of the 2017 murder of James Appleton and the 1997 rape of a school teacher. Hardin served as police chief in Gateway, Arkansas, and had previous law enforcement experience, officials said.
His case was put in the spotlight with the 2023 documentary "Devil in the Ozarks."
The search for Hardin includes local, state and federal authorities, but has been hampered by weather that prevented the use of drones and helicopters, corrections department spokesperson Rand Champion said at a May 28 news conference. The FBI announced a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to Hardin's arrest.
The prison escape comes as authorities in Louisiana are also searching for escaped inmates. Two of 10 inmates who escaped a New Orleans jail on May 16 by ripping a toilet away from a wall and climbing through a hole are still on the run.
How did the Arkansas prisoner escape?
Hardin escaped at about 2:55 p.m. on May 25, the Arkansas Department of Corrections said in a news release. He was wearing a makeshift outfit that looked like one worn by corrections officers, officials said.
"Inmate Hardin impersonated a corrections officer in dress and manner causing the Corrections Officer operating a secure gate to open the gate and allow Inmate Hardin to walk away from the North Central Unit," Special Agent Dennis Simons of the Izard County Sheriff's Office wrote in an arrest affidavit.
Officials haven't given further details about how he obtained the clothing or made it as far as the gate.
A photo from surveillance footage shows Hardin wearing the outfit and pushing a loaded cart as he escaped.
Champion said Hardin was gone for about 20 minutes when an officer noticed he was missing.
What were Grant Hardin's crimes? Who is James Appleton?
Hardin pleaded guilty to the Feb. 23, 2017 murder of James Appleton. Appleton's brother-in-law and the mayor of Gateway at the time, Andrew Tillman, told police he was on the phone with Appleton while Appleton was driving his truck after filing a report with the sheriff's office. Appleton worked for the local water department and was reporting vandalization of a water tower.
Appleton pulled over so he wouldn't lose signal while on the phone with Tillman, Tillman told investigators. Tillman heard what sounded like a car door slamming shut, then nothing. A witness also told police they saw someone pulled over behind the truck in a car and heard a gunshot, and identified the driver as Hardin.
Appleton was found dead in his truck with a gunshot to the side of his head and face.
Hardin was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder.
After his conviction, his DNA was matched with that from an unsolved rape case in 1997, in which a teacher said she was attacked while at school by a man who held her at gunpoint, according to court records. Hardin pleaded guilty to the rape and was given a 25-year sentence in 2019.
Hardin was the chief of police in Gateway for about four months in 2016, the Associated Press reported. He was also terminated from roles at other police departments, local outlets have reported.
Murder victim's sister, Cheryl Tillman, reacts to escape
The town where Hardin once served as police chief remains on edge, according to its mayor who is also the sister of Hardin's victim.
"Anxiety is still high," Cheryl Tillman, the mayor of Gateway, Arkansas, told Paste BN in an interview May 28. "I think everybody's still on alert, being vigilant, doing every precaution that they can."
Tillman, also wife of previous mayor Andrew Tillman, described Hardin, who served as Gateway's police chief while Tillman was on the city council in 2016, as "very arrogant" and "angry."
"He's an evil person," Tillman said.
Tillman described Appleton as a "very good brother" with a strong civic sense who obtained a license to work for the Gateway Rural Water Authority when asked by his brother-in-law.
Where can I watch 'Devil in the Ozarks?'
The documentary "Devil in the Ozarks" is about a "brazen sexual assault shocks a small town, but goes unsolved for 20 years, until a nearby murder produces a suspect with matching DNA," its IMDB page says.
"Two years ago, we made a documentary about Hardin’s horrific crimes with Max/Investigation Discovery," Ari Mark, co-founder of AMPLE Entertainment, an award-winning production company, said in a statement. "We’ve since been in touch with the subjects of that film and law enforcement and are praying for Hardin’s immediate capture in the name of justice and the victims and their families’ peace of mind."
"Devil in the Ozarks" can be streamed on Max or Hulu, through the "Live TV" or "Max" add-ons. You can also watch it on the Investigation Discovery (ID) GO app by inputting your TV provider credentials.
Contributing: N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Michael Loria, James Powell, Jorge L. Ortiz and Amaris Encinas, Paste BN