Authorities have said Hardin escaped by donning an outfit designed to look like a law enforcement uniform.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Authorities in Arkansas on Tuesday unveiled a photo rendering of a convicted murderer and former police chief, nicknamed the “Devil in the Ozarks,” as the quest for the escaped inmate stretched into its second week.
The new image was released as state legislators raised concerns about Hardin’s escape and said they planned to conduct a review of how it occurred.
The Arkansas Department of Corrections released the image of Grant Hardin, 56, illustrating how he might appear after fleeing from the Calico Rock prison on May 25. The rendering portrays Hardin with some hair on his head and facial hair.
Authorities have said Hardin escaped by donning an outfit designed to look like a law enforcement uniform.
Rand Champion, a spokesperson for the department, said efforts are concentrated on the north-central Arkansas region where the prison is situated. Although tips about possible sightings of Hardin have surfaced from different areas, none have been confirmed so far, Champion stated.
Hardin, a former police chief in the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, was serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape. He was the subject of the TV documentary “Devil in the Ozarks.”
Hardin was housed in a maximum-security wing of the primarily medium security prison, formally known as the North Central Unit. Officials are investigating whether a job Hardin held in the kitchen aided in his escape, including whether it gave him access to materials he could have used to fashion his makeshift uniform.
The co-chairs of a legislative subcommittee overseeing the prison system told the head of the state Board of Corrections that they planned to conduct a review of any “inadequacies or deviations” from security protocols that allowed Hardin to escape.
Area legislators have raised questions about why Hardin was being held at the Calico Rock facility.
The letter was sent Monday by Republican Rep. Howard Beaty and Sen. Matt McKee to Benny Magness, who heads the state board.
“Given Hardin’s background as a former law enforcement officer and his history of working for multiple law enforcement agencies, it is evident that he possesses knowledge and skills that enabled him to exploit weaknesses in our security protocols,” the lawmakers wrote. “His manipulation of the system by wearing a disguise resembling a uniform is disturbing and speaks to a broader system failure.”
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