A former police chief and convicted killer often known as the “Satan within the Ozarks” was captured by legislation enforcement 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) northwest of the jail he escaped from following a large, practically two-week-long manhunt within the rugged mountains of northern Arkansas, authorities introduced Friday.
Grant Hardin, a former police chief within the small city of Gateway close to the Arkansas-Missouri border, was serving prolonged sentences for homicide and rape. Ultimately, his notoriety led to a TV documentary, “Satan within the Ozarks.”
Hardin briefly tried to run from officers when he noticed them strategy Friday afternoon, however he was rapidly tackled to the bottom, stated Rand Champion, a spokesperson for the Arkansas jail system.
“He’d been on the run for every week and a half and possibly didn’t have any power left in him,” he added.
Hardin’s id was confirmed by way of fingerprinting, the Izard County Sheriff’s Workplace stated in a Fb put up.
Police arrange checkpoints in search of escaped prisoner Grant Hardin, Thursday, Might 29, 2025, close to downtown Calico Rock, Ark. (AP Picture/Nicholas Ingram)
There’s no indication that Hardin was injured, although he will probably be checked for dehydration and different medical issues.
Now, investigators are “chomping on the bit and actually prepared to speak to him,” stated Champion, who used his cellphone to seize a picture of Hardin being led away by officers. Hardin stated nothing throughout these moments.
The escape, search and eventual seize
Hardin had been held on the Calico Rock jail since 2017 after pleading responsible to first-degree homicide in a deadly capturing. In an effort to escape, he impersonated a corrections officer “in gown and method,” based on a courtroom doc. A jail officer in one of many guard towers opened a safe gate, permitting him to stroll out of the power.
Champion stated that somebody ought to have checked Hardin’s id earlier than he was allowed to go away, describing the shortage of verification as a “lapse” that’s being investigated.
Searchers had been utilizing bloodhounds, officers on horseback, drones and helicopters in their hunt for Hardin since he escaped on May 25.
Shortly after the escape, a bloodhound found — then quickly lost — Hardin’s scent when heavy rains blew through the area, Champion said. The bloodhound tracked Hardin’s path for less than a quarter of a mile, after which could have gone in any direction.
“That was one of the most frustrating things, that they were able to track him but then they lost him because of the rain,” Champion said.
An elite and highly trained U.S. Border Patrol team had recently joined the search, federal authorities announced this week. The Border Patrol Tactical Team provided “advanced search capabilities and operational support,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.
Its members are experienced in navigating complex terrain, the agency said earlier this week. The team tracked Hardin through the region known for its rocky and rugged landscape, thick forests and an extensive cave network.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol shared photos on Facebook of Hardin shirtless and coated in mud, laying face down along with his arms tied behind his again on Friday. The put up stated that Hardin was “turned over to Arkansas State Police unhurt” by the federal company.
A spokesperson for the company didn’t reply to a cellphone name and emailed request for remark relating to the put up on Friday evening.
Hardin’s felony convictions
Hardin pleaded responsible in 2017 to first-degree homicide for the killing of James Appleton, 59. Appleton labored for the Gateway water division when he was shot within the head Feb. 23, 2017, close to Garfield. Police discovered Appleton’s physique inside a automotive. Hardin was sentenced to 30 years in jail.
Hardin’s DNA was additionally matched to the 1997 rape of a instructor at an elementary faculty in Rogers, north of Fayetteville. He was sentenced to 50 years for that crime.
Cheryl Tillman, Appleton’s sister, was along with her mom and sister at a flea market in Ozark, Missouri, when legislation enforcement referred to as to inform her Hardin had been captured. Tillman can be the mayor of Gateway, the 450-person city the place Hardin was briefly police chief.
Tillman instructed The Related Press that Hardin’s seize was a “large sigh of aid” for her entire household.
“We don’t should stroll round, turning round on a regular basis, considering anyone’s on our again,” Tillman stated, emphasizing her appreciation for the officers who helped seize Hardin.
A problematic previous in legislation enforcement
Although Hardin was police chief in Gateway for simply 4 months, he had served as an officer in a number of communities round northwest Arkansas, his police data present.
In his first job as a police officer 35 years in the past in Fayetteville, Hardin struggled nearly instantly, his supervisors stated. He was dismissed by Fayetteville police, however saved getting employed for different legislation enforcement jobs in northwest Arkansas over time.
Hardin labored about six months on the Huntsville Police Division earlier than resigning, however data don’t give a motive for his resignation.
He later labored on the Eureka Springs Police Division from 1993 to 1996. Former Chief Earl Hyatt stated Hardin resigned as a result of Hyatt was going to fireside him over incidents that included the usage of extreme power.
“He didn’t must be a police officer in any respect,” Hyatt instructed tv station KNWA.
By the point he was the police chief in Gateway in 2016, “he was out chasing vehicles for no motive,” Tillman recalled within the documentary “Satan within the Ozarks.”