“Devil in the Ozarks” Captured: Ex-Police Chief and Convicted Killer Found After 13-Day Manhunt in Arkansas
CALICO ROCK, ARK. — A massive manhunt in the rugged mountains of northern Arkansas ended Friday when law enforcement captured Grant Hardin — a former small-town police chief turned convicted killer — just over a mile from the prison he had escaped nearly two weeks earlier.
Known for his dark past and nicknamed the “Devil in the Ozarks,” Hardin, 60, had been on the run since May 25 after walking out of Calico Rock prison by impersonating a correctional officer. His escape triggered a high-alert search involving drones, helicopters, bloodhounds, horseback units, and even an elite U.S. Border Patrol tactical team.
Hardin tried to flee again when officers approached him Friday afternoon, but exhaustion caught up with him — he barely made it a few steps before being tackled to the ground. Covered in mud and shirtless, he was arrested about 1.5 miles northwest of the prison, in remote and rocky terrain. Officials confirmed his identity through fingerprinting.
“He didn’t have much energy left,” said Rand Champion, a spokesperson for the Arkansas prison system. “After a week and a half in those conditions, he was worn out.”
A Notorious Past
Hardin was no ordinary fugitive. Before his 2017 conviction, he had served briefly as police chief in Gateway, a town of 450 people near the Arkansas-Missouri border. But he also had a history of disturbing crimes.
He was serving 30 years for the 2017 murder of James Appleton, a Gateway water department employee who was shot in the head and left in a car. He also received a 50-year sentence for a 1997 cold-case rape of a schoolteacher in Rogers, which was solved through DNA evidence.
Hardin’s violent past, compounded by his brief stint in law enforcement, became the subject of a chilling documentary titled “Devil in the Ozarks.”
A Flawed Escape and a Frustrating Search
According to investigators, Hardin pulled off his escape by dressing and acting like a prison officer, fooling the staff into opening a secure gate without checking his identity. Champion called it a “lapse” that is now under investigation.
Authorities initially tracked him with bloodhounds, but heavy rain washed away his scent just a quarter mile in.
“That was one of the most frustrating moments,” said Champion. “We had him — and then we lost him.”
The U.S. Border Patrol’s elite tactical team joined the search this week, using their expertise in navigating rough terrain, dense forests, and cave systems to help locate the fugitive.
Relief for a Community on Edge
For Cheryl Tillman, the sister of Hardin’s murder victim and current mayor of Gateway, news of the arrest was a moment of immense relief.
“We don’t have to walk around constantly looking over our shoulders anymore,” she said. “Our family is incredibly grateful to all the officers who brought him in.”
Tillman was at a flea market in Ozark, Missouri, with family when she got the call that Hardin had been captured.
Troubled Career in Law Enforcement
Despite his criminal record, Hardin once held positions in several law enforcement agencies across northwest Arkansas. His law enforcement career began more than 35 years ago, but it was plagued by issues from the start.
Fired by Fayetteville Police early in his career, Hardin somehow kept getting hired — with short-lived stints in Huntsville and Eureka Springs. According to former Eureka Springs Police Chief Earl Hyatt, Hardin was forced to resign after several misconduct incidents, including excessive use of force.
“He did not need to be a police officer at all,” Hyatt said in a previous interview.
Even during his brief time as Gateway’s police chief in 2016, Tillman recalled him “chasing cars for no reason” — a red flag that was dismissed until it was too late.
What’s Next?
Now back in custody, Hardin faces tighter security, medical evaluations, and intense questioning. Authorities are investigating the security failures that allowed him to walk free — and reviewing how someone with his background ever wore a badge in the first place.
As for the small Arkansas communities left shaken by his escape and crimes, one thing is clear: they can finally begin to breathe easier again.
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