(NewsNation) — A former police chief has escaped from prison, according to Arkansas corrections officials.
Grant Hardin, the former police chief of the small town of Gateway, Arkansas, is serving decades-long sentences for rape and first-degree murder. Hardin allegedly escaped Sunday from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, Arkansas, where he had been held since 2017.
A news release said Hardin wore a “makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement” as part of his escape, but officials said all uniforms and equipment were accounted for.
It was unclear how he escaped. The Division of Correction and the Division of Community Correction were working with local, state and federal agencies to find Hardin.
Former Arkansas police chief pleads guilty to 1st-degree murder
In October 2017, Hardin pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the shooting death of James Appleton, 59. An affidavit showed that Appleton worked for the water department in Gateway and was talking to his brother-in-law, Andrew Tillman, the previous mayor of Gateway, when he was shot in the head.
When police arrived, they found his body inside a vehicle. Hardin was sentenced to 30 years in prison on top of the 50 years he was serving for the 1997 rape of a teacher in Rogers, Arkansas, according to the Associated Press.
Officials said that Hardin had pointed a gun at the teacher and raped her in the bathroom while 250 people were attending a church service at the school cafeteria. He then moved her to her classroom and raped her a second time.
Police had used DNA samples from the crime scene in 1997 to obtain a John Doe Warrant in 2003, since the statute of limitations was nearing. The DNA was then tested against old and new profiles, and when Hardin was put in jail for Appleton’s death, investigators found a DNA match.
Arkansas inmate was hired as a police chief before serving jail time
Hardin, originally from Garfield, Arkansas, was hired as Gateway’s police chief in January 2016. However, he resigned months later.
Hardin was also a police officer for the Eureka Springs Police Department before resigning on Oct. 4, 1996. The department’s chief at the time reportedly had informed him that he would be fired for lying in a police report.
Benton County, Arkansas, records show Hardin served two terms as constable for District 1 from 2009 to 2010 and then from 2013 to 2014. He also worked as a correctional officer in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Public told to lock doors, call 911 if they see Arkansas inmate
The Izard County Sheriff’s Office posted on social media about Hardin’s escape and said that he was last seen wearing a black hat, black pants and a black top. He could also be wearing a prison guard vest, the department said.
The Arkansas Department of Corrections also posted online:
“It has been determined that Hardin was wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement when he escaped the North Central Unit. He was not wearing a Department of Corrections uniform, and all DOC-issued equipment has been accounted for.”
Hardin is approximately 6 feet tall and weighs about 259 pounds. Deputies are urging the public not to approach Hardin if they see him and to call 911 immediately.
