When law officials searched for the former police chief on the rugged Ozark Hill in Arkansas, and the convicted killer was convicted, he pretended to be a guard and walked through the gate this weekend to open a guard for him, one of his victims’ sisters were on the brink.

Grant Hardin, a former police chief in Gateway, a small town near the border of Misori, Arkansas, was sentenced to a long-term sentence for murder and rape and was known as the "devil of the Ozarks."

Court documents say Harding escaped from the North Central Unit, a medium-security prison, also known as the Print Rock Prison, by impersonating a corrections officer “dressing and manner.” A prison official opened a secure door and asked him to leave the facility.

Rand Champion, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Correction, described the clothes as not a standard prisoner or correctional uniform.

“Nothing in jail looks like this, so it’s one of the challenges we have to determine what that is and how he gets or makes it,” he said.

The Champion said the decision to place Harding in a medium-safe facility weighed the “different facilities and prisoners’ needs” and “evaluation” of his crimes.

A few days after Harding's escape, 10 people fled a hole in the back of the toilet and fled New Orleans Prison. Eight of these have been captured since then.

Escape to rough terrain

Cheryl Tillman’s brother James Appleton, who was killed by Harding in 2017, said she and other relatives were shocked by Harding’s escape because they were witnesses in court proceedings.

"When everything fell down, we were in his trial and he knew we were there," she told the Associated Press on Tuesday.

The champion said authorities are using dogs, drones and helicopters to search for the rugged northern Arkansas terrain.

Over time, the search area has expanded, although the champion did not discuss the exact details of the search area.

“The location of the facility, the terrain really presents challenges,” he said. “At the same time, it’s a bit limiting what he can get.”

He added: "There is a reason this is called Calico Rock because it's very rocky."

The champion said video surveillance showed Harding escaped at 2:55 p.m. Sunday. Officials announced their escape at 5 p.m. that evening.

He said what complicates the search efforts is the heavy rain that has fallen in the area in recent days.

Craig Caine, a retired inspector for the U.S. Marshal, said Harding's escape to rural areas of the state is not necessarily an advantage, and he has handled many cases over his nearly 30-year career with federal law enforcement.

"At some point, he will run out of regulations," Kane said.

"In more rural areas, most people know each other, making it more likely that someone will identify with Harding and hand him over. In that regard, it may be harmful to him."

A rattled community

Izzard County Sheriff Charley Melton and other local sheriffs urged residents to lock in their homes and vehicles and call 911 if any suspicious situation is found.

Bryan Sexton sued Hardin for murder and rape, saying his office has contacted officials investigating Hardin and the families affected by Hardin's crimes, the focus of the 2023 documentary The Devil of Ozarks.

“It’s been heavy for me to connect with people who have continued to live for most of the decade and have to be someone who picks up the phone and reminds them of what happened,” Sexton said.

Gateway is a town of about 450 people, and Hardin briefly served as police chief in 2016, the same headquarters as the Bentonville retail giant Walmart. But Gateway and the northeast of the county are more rural and remote than Bentonville. The landscape will only go east, and the heart of the Ozarks and Buffalo National River fleeing occurred is stronger.

Darla Nix, a local cafe owner near Pea Ridge, Arkansas, said her son grew up in Hardin and knew him as a very quiet person before he was convicted.

"He has always been one of the community members," Knicks said.

Knicks said describing Harding as "a very, very smart person."

"He knows where the cave is. He's just a survivor. He knows how to do it. They're going to get all their might to grab him."

Tillman said she was not surprised when she heard Harding escape. But the news suddenly added fresh pain to her and other family members, after dealing with the grief in the killing.

"He is just an evil person," she said. "He is not good for society."

Harding pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder case of fatal shooting Appleton in October 2017. Police found Appleton's body in the car.

Investigators at the time did not release the motive for murder, and Harding was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He also went to 50 years in jail for rape in 1997 in a primary school teacher in Rogers, north of Fayetteville.

The Arkansas Department of Corrections said Harding has been in the Carlico Rock Prison since 2017. The facility has a capacity of about 800 prisoners.