The Daily Populous Monday May 26th, 2025 evening edition
Authored by cbsnews.com and submitted by Mrk2d

A former police chief who was convicted of rape and murder escaped from the prison where he was serving a 30-year sentence on Sunday, correction officials said.

Grant Hardin had been at North Central Unit, a prison located in Calico Rock, Arkansas, since 2017. He escaped around 3:40 p.m., the Arkansas Department of Corrections said in a social media post.

"Anyone with information about inmate Hardin's whereabouts should contact local law enforcement immediately," the post read.

Later, the department said in a social media post that, "It has been determined that Hardin was wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement when he escaped the North Central Unit. He was not wearing a Department of Corrections uniform, and all DOC-issued equipment has been accounted for."

According to CBS affiliate KFSM-TV, the Stone County Sheriff's Office said Hardin was seen leaving the prison in an Arkansas Department of Corrections uniform.

Photos of Grant Hardin provided by the Arkansas Department of Corrections. Arkansas Department of Corrections

Hardin was the former police chief for the city of Gateway, Arkansas, a small town with just a few hundred residents.

Hardin pleaded guilty in October 2017 to first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of 59-year-old James Appleton. According to an affidavit filed in the case, Appleton worked for the Gateway water department and was talking to his brother-in-law, then-Gateway Mayor Andrew Tillman, when he was shot in the head on Feb. 23, 2017, near Garfield. Police found Appleton's body inside a car.

Hardin is also serving 50 years in prison for the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher in Rogers, north of Fayetteville.

CBS Fort Smith, Ark. affiliate KFSM reported in 2019 that police in 2003 used DNA samples from the rape victim's clothes to apply for a "John Doe" warrant since the statute of limitations was close to expiring. Investigators eventually got a match after Hardin was imprisoned for Appleton's killing.

Hardin pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and was given 25 years for each count, KFSM reported.

topherus_maximus on May 26th, 2025 at 07:31 UTC »

“Ex-police chief, who escaped from prison for rape and murder sentences, is found as the new police chief a town in a neighboring state”

jlaine on May 26th, 2025 at 05:43 UTC »

> KFSM reported in 2019 that police in 2003 used DNA samples from the rape victim's clothes to apply for a "John Doe" warrant since the statute of limitations was close to expiring. Investigators eventually got a match after Hardin was imprisoned for Appleton's killing.

Murders someone, then his DNA sample during processing matches a rape case.

Winning through and through.

Mrk2d on May 26th, 2025 at 05:33 UTC »

Hardin pleaded guilty in October 2017 to first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of 59-year-old James Appleton. According to an affidavit filed in the case, Appleton worked for the Gateway water department and was talking to his brother-in-law, then-Gateway Mayor Andrew Tillman, when he was shot in the head on Feb. 23, 2017, near Garfield. Police found Appleton's body inside a car.