“Devil in the Ozarks” Recaptured: Fugitive Ex-Police Chief Grant Hardin Caught After Dramatic Manhunt in Arkansas
Arkansas, USA – Grant Hardin, a disgraced former police chief nicknamed the “Devil in the Ozarks,” was captured Friday after escaping from a high-security prison nearly two weeks earlier. His arrest brings a dramatic end to a massive manhunt in the remote, mountainous terrain of northern Arkansas.
Hardin, 60, was serving 80 years for murder and rape when he broke out of the Calico Rock prison on May 25 by impersonating a correctional officer. Authorities said a lapse in protocol allowed him to walk freely through a secure gate without proper identity verification—an incident now under investigation.
Captured Just 2.4 Kilometres From Prison
Hardin was located 2.4 kilometres northwest of the prison, near rugged terrain and thick forests. When law enforcement closed in, he attempted a brief escape before being tackled and arrested.
“He’d been on the run for a week and a half and probably didn’t have any energy left in him,” said Rand Champion, spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
Photos shared by U.S. Customs and Border Protection show Hardin shirtless, muddy, and restrained, face down on the forest floor. He was transferred to Arkansas State Police custody without injury but is being assessed for dehydration and other medical issues.
A Calculated Escape
Hardin’s escape was methodical. According to court documents, he mimicked a prison officer’s uniform and demeanor, fooling a tower guard into opening the gate. A missed identity check enabled him to slip away undetected.
Search efforts were intense. Officers deployed bloodhounds, drones, helicopters, and even horseback patrols across the Ozark wilderness. Heavy rain temporarily erased Hardin’s trail, frustrating the early phase of the search. However, reinforcements came in the form of an elite U.S. Border Patrol Tactical Unit, trained to track fugitives through difficult terrain.
A Violent Past Revealed
Hardin was convicted in 2017 of first-degree murder for the fatal shooting of James Appleton, a 59-year-old water department worker in Gateway, Arkansas. Appleton’s body was found inside a car with a gunshot wound to the head.
Subsequent DNA testing also linked Hardin to a 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher in Rogers. For that crime, he received a 50-year sentence, to run consecutively with his murder conviction.
His violent history—and law enforcement background—gained national attention and was later featured in the true-crime documentary “Devil in the Ozarks.”
Reactions and Relief
Cheryl Tillman, Appleton’s sister and the current mayor of Gateway, expressed relief after hearing of Hardin’s capture.
“We don’t have to walk around, turning around all the time, thinking somebody’s on our back,” Tillman said. “This is a big sigh of relief for our whole family.”
Tillman received the news while at a flea market with her mother and sister. She thanked the officers who worked tirelessly to bring Hardin back into custody.
A Troubled Law Enforcement Career
Though he served only four months as Gateway’s police chief, Hardin had a checkered past in law enforcement. His personnel records show a pattern of misconduct spanning several police departments in northwest Arkansas.
He was dismissed from the Fayetteville Police Department early in his career and later resigned from other posts, including Eureka Springs and Huntsville, under a cloud of internal concerns. Former Eureka Springs Police Chief Earl Hyatt stated bluntly, “He did not need to be a police officer at all.”
By 2016, Hardin’s erratic behavior as Gateway’s police chief had locals questioning his judgment. In the documentary, Tillman recalled, “He was out chasing cars for no reason.”
