Authorities reveal doable new search for ‘Satan within the Ozarks’ escapee
It has been practically 10 days for the reason that convict depicted in an HBO documentary because the “Satan within the Ozarks” escaped from an Arkansas jail, lengthy sufficient for his look to probably change.
On Tuesday, the Arkansas Division of Corrections distributed a photograph illustration of Grant Hardin, 56, with a brief beard and a mustache.
“With over per week passing since Hardin escaped the North Central Unit, we’re releasing a doable up to date headshot which might replicate how he may look at the moment,” the division mentioned in an announcement.
Hardin escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock on Could 25. Jail officers mentioned he was seen on safety video pushing a cart that carried wood pallets whereas sporting a legislation enforcement-style uniform, apparently to evade the eye of guards.
Hardin was briefly the police chief of Gateway, Arkansas, in 2016. That yr, certainly one of his victims, metropolis water division worker James Appleton, criticized Hardin for encouraging police pursuits and handing taxpayers the allegedly growing invoice for police car repairs.
Cheryl Tillman, Appleton’s sister and the present mayor of Gateway, mentioned within the HBO documentary that her brother and Hardin clashed over the problem in 2016.
Hardin resigned after 4 months, based on the documentary.
On Feb. 23, 2017, Hardin fatally shot Appleton, based on a legislation enforcement affidavit filed in court docket, incomes him a 30-year sentence after he pleaded responsible.
When authorities ran Hardin’s DNA, they found it was a match for proof within the 1997 on-campus rape of an elementary faculty trainer, for which he was finally additionally convicted below a responsible plea after which sentenced to 50 years in jail.
Jail officers mentioned Tuesday that the seek for Hardin is targeted on his native north-central Arkansas area, the place his dad and mom nonetheless name the city of Garfield dwelling.
The mixed reward for info resulting in his seize has risen to $25,000 after the FBI doubled its $10,000 contribution final week after which the U.S. Marshals Service contributed $5,000, the Corrections Division mentioned.
Hardin is white, stands 6 ft, 2 inches tall, weighs round 259 kilos and has brown hair and blue eyes, authorities mentioned. Attainable sightings and details about the place he is perhaps ought to be reported to the FBI, the Corrections Division mentioned.