Authorities in Arkansas are searching for Grant Hardin, a former police chief convicted of both murder and rape, after he escaped from the North Central Unit prison in Calico Rock on Sunday. According to the Arkansas Department of Corrections, Hardin fled while dressed in a fake law enforcement uniform. However, officials have not revealed how he managed the escape.
Hardin previously served as police chief of Gateway, a small town near the Arkansas-Missouri border, in 2016. In 2017, he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the shooting of James Appleton. At the time, the 59-year-old was a Gateway water department employee.
As reported by CNN and local affiliate KHBS, Appleton was shot in the head while speaking with then-Mayor Andrew Tillman. His body was later discovered in a car near Garfield, Arkansas. Hardin received a 30-year sentence for Appleton’s murder.
During that investigation, DNA evidence also linked him to a 1997 rape case in Rogers involving an elementary school teacher. After two decades without a suspect, Hardin’s DNA, collected during the murder probe, matched evidence from the rape, according to KHBS. He pleaded guilty to the rape in 2019 and was sentenced to an additional 50 years.
State and federal law enforcement agencies are now working together to locate Grant Hardin. The Arkansas Division of Correction urges the public to report any sightings.
