A convicted murderer dubbed the 'Devil in the Ozarks' spent six months planning his escape from an Arkansas prison, according to an internal review released on Friday. Grant Hardin, a former police chief, managed to walk out of the Calico Rock facility on 25 May by donning a fake law enforcement uniform he made from items found in the prison kitchen.
The report by the Arkansas Department of Corrections details how Hardin used black Sharpie markers and laundry to create the uniform, and a can lid as a badge. He hid the items in a trash can that was never searched. 'Hardin stated he would hide the clothes and other items he was going to need in the bottom of a trash can in the kitchen due to no one ever shaking it down,' the report says.
Hardin told investigators he simply directed a guard to open the gate, and the officer complied without verifying his identity. Two prison employees have been fired for procedural violations, including a kitchen worker who allowed Hardin on a back dock unsupervised and a tower guard who unlocked the gate. Several others were suspended or demoted.
After escaping, Hardin survived on smuggled food, distilled water from his CPAP machine, creek water, berries, bird eggs, and ants. He planned to hide in the woods for up to six months before moving west. He was captured on 6 June about 1.5 miles from the prison.
The review also found that Hardin had been misclassified and should not have been held at the medium-security facility. His custody classification had not been reviewed since October 2019. The department has since removed electric locks from gates and plans to add cameras to address blind spots. A separate investigation by state police is ongoing.
