While law enforcement continue the search for Grant Hardin, the inmate who escaped the North Central Unit of the Arkansas Department of Corrections prison in Calico Rock Sunday May 25, the prosecutors office has filed an addition charge.
On Tuesday, May 27, the charge of Escape in the Second Degree, a class B felony, has been placed against Hardin.
Hardin, a former police chief and constable in Northwestern Arkansas was serving a 30 year prison sentence for rape and murder against two separate victims.
On Sunday, May 25, Hardin escaped the custody after impersonating a corrections officer.
The affidavit for the new charges states Hardin “impersonated a corrections officer in dress and manner causing the Corrections Officer operating a secure gate to open the gate and allow inmate Hardin to walk away from the North Central Unit”.
In 2017, Hardin was sentenced to the Arkansas Department of Corrections for the charges of murder in the first degree and rape.
According to the Arkansas Department of Corrections (DOC) social media page, Hardin was last seen wearing a “makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement” when he escaped however; all Department of Corrections issued equipment had been accounted for.
In their latest update, DOC stated Hardin remains at large and an active search remains involving a number of law enforcement agencies from across the sate.
An official investigation is still ongoing into the events leading up to Hardin’s escape to determine any assistance Hardin may have had in his escape.
Anyone with information about Hardin’s whereabouts is asked to call 911.
Once apprehended, additional charges may be added against Hardin.
Lauren is a an award-winning journalist who decided after 10 years of newspaper experience to venture out. Hallmark Times was born.
