Authorities in Arkansas are on high alert after a former small-town police chief, convicted of both murder and rape, escaped from a state prison over the weekend. Grant Hardin, once the top law enforcement officer in the town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, managed to flee the North Central Unit in Calico Rock on Sunday, according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections. Officials have not yet released details on how the escape happened.
The incident has triggered a multi-agency manhunt involving local, state, and federal law enforcement. State correctional officials have confirmed that efforts are actively underway to track down the escaped inmate, with multiple leads currently being investigated.
Serving Time for a Brutal 2017 Killing
Hardin has been incarcerated since 2017 after pleading guilty to first-degree murder. He admitted to shooting 59-year-old James Appleton in the head on February 23, 2017. James Appleton, an employee of the Gateway water department, was in conversation with his brother-in-law—Gateway Mayor Andrew Tillman—when he was fatally shot near Garfield.
Police discovered Appleton’s body inside a vehicle. The shocking crime deeply impacted the small town, especially given Hardin’s brief four-month stint as police chief in 2016. Hardin was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in the fatal shooting.
DNA Match Linked Him to a 1997 Cold Case Rape
While serving time for the murder, Hardin was also identified as the suspect in a long-unsolved rape case from 1997. The incident concerned a female elementary school teacher from Rogers, a city located just north of Fayetteville, Arkansas. At the time, DNA evidence had been collected from the crime scene but did not match any known profiles.
As the statute of limitations approached, police obtained a “John Doe” warrant in 2003 based on the DNA. It wasn’t until after Hardin was arrested for Appleton’s murder that investigators got a match. His DNA, now in the system, connected him directly to the 1997 rape. He subsequently received an extra 50-year prison sentence.
According to reporting by KFSM-TV, the breakthrough came as part of ongoing efforts to close cold cases using improved forensic technology. The link to Hardin was a major development in a case that had haunted the local community for decades.
Authorities are urging the public to be cautious and report any sightings or tips related to Hardin’s whereabouts. As of now, no further information on his escape method has been disclosed, and the search continues across multiple jurisdictions.
