The convicted murderer and rapist who got out of an Arkansas prison over the summer had spent six months planning his escape, stealthily gathering objects while working in the kitchen, and hiding them in places that staff members seldom ever looked at.
Two months after Grant Hardin was apprehended in the woods around 1.5 miles from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, the Arkansas Department of Corrections’ critical incident review committee published a report that described his complex escape.
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On June 6, state law enforcement officials and U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended Hardin, a former police commander convicted of rape and murder, after tracking dogs detected his smell.
His trial is set for November after he entered a not guilty plea to an escape charge. Varner Supermax prison in Gould, Arkansas, is where he is presently being held.
According to the report, Hardin told Arkansas Division of Correction Director Dexter Payne in an interview that he colored the clothing he was wearing when he ran away using black Sharpie markers he stole from the laundry and kitchen. In a different interview, he informed the committee that he colored the rest of his white T-shirt after leaving the word “POLICE” highlighted.
The report, which was made public on Friday, claimed that he made an officer’s body armor vest out of black kitchen aprons and shaped the top of an empty food can into the shape of a police badge.
When Hardin left the prison gate, officials said he was driving a cart loaded with wooden pallets and was dressed in a mock police uniform.
According to Hardin, the markings were abandoned “because staff were not keeping up with them,” according to the article. Hardin claimed that because staff seldom examined the kitchen trash can, he concealed the clothing and other items inside.
Additionally, he claimed that while he was working on the rear dock close to the kitchen, no staff members were keeping an eye on him.
Hardin claimed to have heard a deputy warden inform a kitchen supervisor on May 25, the day of his escape, that prisoners would no longer be permitted to enter the dock alone. Hardin claimed he made the decision to try to get away in spite of the gloomy weather.
Hardin “gathered up everything he had been hiding, including his clothes and food from various areas around the kitchen and dock area,” according to the report, and headed for the gate.
The documents state that Hardin approached the gate and gave the guard instructions to “open the gate.” The guard released him without verifying his identity.
According to the records, Hardin remained in one spot in the woods on the first night of the breakout and “dodged the K-9 team that was searching for him.”
On the second night, he roamed around a bit more and lost the sack he kept his food in. According to the records, Hardin told Payne that he drank water from the creek and lived off of berries, bird eggs, and ants. Additionally, it stated that he was carrying some distilled water for his CPAP machine that he had obtained from the infirmary.
Hardin apparently claimed in an interview with committee members that the rainy weather, thick forest, and terrain were the main reasons he was able to evade capture at first.
Arkansas residents on edge after Devil in the Ozarks’ escapes from prison
Who is Grant Hardin, the ex-police chief and killer on the run after prison escape?
His escape infuriated the family of the guy he killed in 2017 and put the small Arkansas town on edge. An elementary school teacher was raped in 1997, and the murder was highlighted in the 2023 HBO Max documentary “Devil in the Ozarks.”
If necessary, he intended to spend six months hiding in the woods before heading west to leave the area. However, he attempted to leave the region sooner after growing alarmed by the scarcity of food accessible to him and the approaching search teams.
In the report, officials stated, “This is what led to the search teams spotting him and capturing inmate Hardin.”
According to the committee, Hardin was wrongly classified and ought to have been housed in a more security facility given the seriousness of his offenses. However, the committee discovered that Hardin’s escape was facilitated by a number of procedural problems at the facility.
It recommended that the facility take corrective measures, such as replacing the electric locks at the prison gates, installing more surveillance cameras for blind spots, and removing all black kitchen aprons.
The committee also recommended that during searches, every mechanical room and side room be examined.
The Department of Corrections has read the study, according to a DoC representative, “and will implement the suggestions made in regards to the findings.”
The employee who left Hardin alone on the cooking dock and the employee who worked in the gate tower were ultimately fired for violating the policy.According to the study, a number of other staff members received disciplinary action, suspensions, or demotes.
One contributor was Tangni Noriega.
