Former Arkansas police chief Grant Hardin's prison escape offers unique challenges to searchers: experts
The former Arkansas police chief who escaped prison on Sunday may have an "edge" compared to other escapees due to his past in law enforcement, experts say.
Former Gateway Police Department Chief Grant Hardin, 56, escaped from the North Central Unit, a medium-security prison, Sunday afternoon in Calico Rock, according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC). Nicknamed the "Devil in the Ozarks," Hardin was serving decades in prison for murder and rape.
Eric Brown, a 24-year U.S. Army Special Forces veteran and CEO of Imperio Consulting, told Fox News Digital that a former police chief like Hardin "has a working knowledge of law enforcement procedures, patrol routines and how search operations are typically structured."
"That gives him an initial edge. He knows how law enforcement thinks," Brown told Fox News Digital.
‘DEVIL IN THE OZARKS’ WHO ESCAPED PRISON LIKELY STILL IN ARKANSAS AREA: OFFICIALS
Law enforcement officials "will likely lean on geo-fencing, license plate readers, and known associate surveillance," Brown added.
"If he’s on foot, dogs, drones and thermal imaging tighten the noose," Brown said. "Establishing a perimeter means thinking like the fugitive, assessing terrain, choke points and logical escape routes. Officials are watching for movement: stolen vehicles, property break-ins, supply thefts, even unusual local chatter. The key is pattern disruption."
It took less than 30 minutes for prison officials to notice that Hardin had disappeared from prison. Photos that the Stone County Sheriff's Office posted to social media show Hardin wearing an ADC-style uniform during his escape through a sally port, though ADC communications director Rand Champion said the uniform he was wearing was not official.
Angelo Brown, Ph.D., assistant professor of criminology at Arkansas State University, similarly told Fox News Digital that law enforcement officials will likely be using drones and infrared camera technology to search heavily wooded areas in Stone County, where Hardin escaped, which is located just east of the Ozark Mountains.
Hardin has ties to Garfield, Eureka Springs, Holiday Island and Huntsville, according to the FBI.
Angelo Brown said Hardin's police chief experience means he likely has ties to law enforcement officials who may help him, and he will avoid making "simple mistakes that a lot of people on the run make, like going to relatives' homes, using… cellphones, credit cards, things like that."
"Getting away, that's still very unlikely. Especially now, even if it is state-level corruption… the federal government's involved in this search and investigation, the state police, various agencies are working on this. So, I think law enforcement is doing everything they can to keep people safe," he said, noting, however, that it is impossible to "mitigate the risk completely" with a fugitive on the run.
Champion said during a Wednesday news conference that authorities are fairly confident in the route they believe Hardin took when he escaped and his current location.
"Based on the information that we have and the experience of our teams, they feel fairly confident that he is still fairly close to this region," Champion said, noting that "all it takes is one vehicle" for Hardin to use to travel elsewhere, though officials have established a perimeter around Stone County.
"As of this time, they are still very confident that he is in the area," Champion said.
Champion said the public should assume Hardin is "a very dangerous individual," and there is a risk he may commit more crimes while he is on the run.
Hardin was sentenced to 30 years for murder plus additional time for rape.
He pleaded guilty to the 2017 murder of James Appleton, 59, a city water employee who was found shot in the face inside his work truck, KNWA reported. While Hardin was being booked into the state prison around that time, officials submitted his DNA sample into a database. His DNA linked him to the rape cold case of a teacher in 1997, the outlet reported.
Hardin ended up pleading guilty in that case in 2019, according to KNWA.
The former police chief's escape came two days after 10 prisoners escaped a correctional facility in New Orleans, eight of whom have since been recaptured while two remain at large.
Hardin is described as a 6-foot White male, weighing approximately 259 pounds. The FBI is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to his recapture and is asking tipsters to call 1-800-CALL-FBI with any information concerning the escapee.
Fox News' Stepheny Price and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.