Ten days after his escape from prison, it’s likely that Grant Hardin, an ex-Arkansas police chief nicknamed the “Devil in the Ozarks,” has changed his appearance, authorities warned.
The Arkansas Department of Corrections on Tuesday released a new image of Hardin sporting a short beard and mustache. The look stands in sharp contrast to the original photo released by law enforcement, which sees Hardin bare-faced and bald.
“With over a week passing since Hardin escaped the North Central Unit, we are releasing a possible updated headshot which could reflect how he might look today,” the department said in a statement. “The combined reward for information that leads to the capture of Grant Hardin is $25,000 — up to a $20,000 reward from the FBI with an additional $5,000 from the U.S. Marshals.”
Hardin — who once served as police chief in Gateway, a small town near the Arkansas-Missouri border — was serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape when he escaped from the North Central Unit on May 25.
He pleaded guilty in October 2017 to first-degree murder for fatally shooting James Appleton, a 57-year-old employee of the local water department. He was shot in the head on Feb. 23, 2017, and authorities discovered his body in an abandoned car a short time later.
No motive was ever revealed in the killing, for which Hardin was sentenced to 30 years behind bars.
The following year, Hardin was charged for a 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher based on DNA taken following his murder conviction. He went on to plead guilty to two counts of rape and was sentenced to 25 years in prison for each count consecutively.
According to an arrest affidavit filed after his escape, Hardin ditched his prison jumpsuit and then “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.”
Security video allegedly showed Hardin pushing a cart stacked with wooden pallets while wearing a law enforcement-style uniform at the time.
In the days since, an intense manhunt has unfolded, which authorities said is currently focused in north central Arkansas region.
With News Wire Services
