Overview

• Grant Hardin, known as the “Devil in the Ozarks,” impersonated a corrections officer using a makeshift uniform and exited through a sally port at about 2:55 p.m. on May 25.
• Hardin had been serving a combined 80-year sentence for the 2017 murder of James Appleton and the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher.
• Law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Marshals, state police and local sheriffs, are deploying drones, helicopters and canine units to scour the rugged terrain around the North Central Unit.
• Search efforts have been hindered by heavy rain and rocky topography, but officials remain confident Hardin is still in the Arkansas area.
• Victims’ families and local officials say the escape has revived fear in the region, and sheriffs have urged residents to lock doors and report any suspicious activity.