Urgent manhunt underway for Grant Hardin after murder and rape conviction
An urgent manhunt is underway in Arkansas after a disgraced former police chief, who was serving time for murder and rape, escaped from prison. The Arkansas Department of Corrections said Grant Hardin, 56, escaped from the North Central Unit on Sunday afternoon in Calico Rock, AR. "Anyone with information about inmate Hardin’s whereabouts should contact local law enforcement immediately," authorities said in a post on X. Officials said Hardin has been at the North Central Unit since 2017, serving a 30-year sentence for first-degree murder, as well as an additional sentence for rape.
Former police chief linked to murder of city water employee and rape of teacher
The jail added that Hardin was the former chief of police for the city of Gateway. Hardin 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, officials submitted his DNA sample into a database. His DNA ended up linking him to the rape cold case of a teacher in 1997, the outlet reported.
Former police chief's DNA linked to rape of teacher after nearly two decades
The victim, Amy Harrison, a teacher at Frank Tillery Elementary in Rogers, said she was raped by a man with a gun at the school. "It was proven to be Mr. Hardin beyond all scientific certainty," Nathan Smith, the prosecuting attorney for Benton County at the time, told the outlet. Authorities confirmed Hardin’s DNA matched the DNA linked to the rape suspect. Harrison was ambushed while preparing a lesson plan for the week. The case had been cold for nearly two decades. Hardin ended up pleading guilty to the rape in 2019.
