An Arkansas inmate known as the ‘Devil in the Ozarks’ managed to escape from prison by creating a fake uniform out of kitchen laundry and a badge from a can, then convincing a guard to open the gate for him.

Grant Hardin, a former police chief and convicted murderer and rapist, planned his escape for six months at the North Central Unit in Calico Rock before successfully leaving the facility on May 25.

His escape triggered an extensive manhunt involving canines, drones, helicopters, and multiple law enforcement agencies. 

The sprawling search was further complicated by heavy rain, but tracking dogs eventually led officers to Hardin’s location, just 1.5 miles away.

An internal review by the Department of Corrections, released on Friday, highlights a series of security failures that enabled the convict’s unnoticed escape, including unsupervised access to a loading dock and the failure to verify his identity at a gate.

Hardin, who worked in the prison’s kitchen, revealed to investigators that he used discarded clothing and black Sharpie markers to craft a uniform that resembled prison staff attire.

He even fashioned a badge from a can lid and hid his disguise at the bottom of a trash can – an area he said was never searched.

According to the report, Hardin mentioned hiding clothes and other necessary items at the bottom of a kitchen trash can because “no one ever checked it thoroughly.”

Hardin described security detail in the kitchen to be ‘very lax,’ which he said allowed him to collect materials unnoticed – and when the day finally came, he simply walked to the back gate and instructed a guard to let him out.

‘He just directed the officer to “open the gate,” and he did,’ the report noted.

Two employees were fired as a result of the escape, a kitchen worker who allowed Hardin onto the dock unsupervised, and a tower officer who opened the gate without checking identification.

Several other staff members were suspended or demoted, The Associated Press reported.  

Following his escape, Hardin survived in the Ozark wilderness by eating berries, ants, bird eggs, and smuggled prison food.

He drank creek water and distilled water from his CPAP machine, and planned to hide for up to six months before heading west, according to the report.

He was captured on June 6, nearly two weeks after his escape.

The Department of Corrections report also cited confusion in the early hours of Hardin’s escape about which agencies had been notified and when.

‘It is obvious there was a lot of confusion during the beginning stages of opening the command center and of notifications being made,’ the report stated.

In response to the escape, the Department of Corrections has removed electric locks from gates to prevent unverified exits, identified blind spots for new camera installation, and expanded contraband search protocols to include side and mechanical rooms.

The Friday review also revealed that the hardened criminal had been misclassified and should not have been housed at the medium-security facility. 

The report added that his custody level had not been reassessed since 2019. He has since been transferred to a maximum-security prison. 

He has pleaded not guilty to escape charges and his trial is set for November. 

A separate investigation by the Arkansas State Police is ongoing, and legislators plan to hold hearings with corrections officials next month, according to The Associated Press.

The former Gateway, Arkansas police chief, was serving a combined 80 years for the 2017 murder of 59-year-old James Appleton and two 1997 rapes.

His case was the subject of the 2023 true crime documentary ‘Devil in the Ozarks.’