A man infamously dubbed the “Devil in the Ozarks” has been handed an additional 13-year prison sentence after admitting to escaping from an Arkansas prison last year. He was already serving an 80-year sentence for rape and murder when he made his escape. On Tuesday, Grant Hardin, aged 57, pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree escape, and the new sentence will be served consecutively to his existing term, according to Izard County Sheriff Charley Melton, as reported by KAIT8 News.
Currently, Hardin is incarcerated at the Varner Supermax facility in Gould, Arkansas, as confirmed by online records from the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
The convicted felon was apprehended on June 6, found approximately 1.5 miles northwest of the North Central Unit prison, from where he had fled on May 25.
Authorities revealed that Hardin managed to escape the correctional facility around 3 p.m. by passing through a sally port while wearing a makeshift uniform styled after the standard ADC attire. Officials noted that the uniform was not authentic prison garb.
Grant Hardin is being held at the Varner SuperMax in Gould, Arkansas. (Arkansas Department of Corrections )
Hardin had fled the prison around 3 p.m. through a sally port in the detention facility, wearing a makeshift ADC-style uniform, officials said at the time, noting the uniform he had been wearing was not official.
Hardin escaped prison through a sally sport, wearing a makeshift ADC-style uniform, ADC communications director Rand Champion said, noting the uniform he was wearing was not official. (ADC)
Officials also said at the time that Hardin apparently used a black “magic marker” to dye his clothing as part of his disguise.
Multiple federal, state and local agencies were involved in the search for Hardin in the weeks following his escape.
The Arkansas Department of Correction said at the time of Hardin’s capture that tracking dogs were able to pick up a scent near Moccasin Creek, and Hardin was apprehended a short time later.
Hardin was serving an 80-year sentence for the 2017 murder of James Appleton and a 1997 rape case.
