(GATEWAY, ARK.) — A former Arkansas police chief serving a 30-year sentence for murder and rape has escaped from prison, according to the Stone County Sheriff’s Office.
Grant Hardin, 56, who has been in prison since 2017 for first-degree murder and rape, escaped the Calico Rock North Central Unit on Sunday at approximately 2:50 p.m., the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Hardin, who was the former police chief of Gateway, Arkansas, allegedly escaped through a sally port “wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement,” according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
The roads in the immediate area of the prison were shut down on Sunday night and into the early hours of Monday morning for officials to check vehicles and ensure Hardin had not stolen a vehicle or taken someone hostage in their vehicle, Stone County Sheriff Brandon Long told ABC News.
As of Monday evening, the search continues for Hardin, Long said.
“I am very scared that this guy is going to hurt or kill somebody before this is over with,” Long told ABC News.
Long did not have any knowledge of how Hardin was able to escape from prison, but said he has “a lot of questions” on how this occurred. He said deputies are continuing to monitor the roadways near the prison and he is “hopeful” they will locate Hardin soon.
Nathan Smith, the former Benton County prosecutor who helped put Hardin behind bars, told Arkansas ABC affiliate KHBS the escaped inmate is “a sociopath.”
“He has no moral core or center that would prevent him from doing anything,” Smith told KHBS.
Smith, who was the prosecutor for both Hardin’s rape and murder convictions, said the escape reminds victims of Hardin’s previous crimes.
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