Experts say the former Arkansas police chief escaped from prison Sunday, which is a "advantage" for his escapees due to his past in law enforcement.
Former Gatway Police Department former secretary Grant Hardin, 56, escaped from the North Central Unit of the Central Security Prison, at Calico Rock on Sunday afternoon, according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC). Nicknamed "The Devil of Ozarks", Harding served decades in prison for murder and rape.
Eric Brown, CEO of the U.S. Army Special Forces for 24 years and CEO of Imperio Consulting, told Fox News Digital that former police chiefs like Hardin “have working knowledge about law enforcement procedures, patrol routines, and how search operations are usually structured.”
"It gave him the initial advantage. He knew what the law enforcement thought," Brown told Fox News digital numbers.
"The Devil of Ozarks" who escaped prison may still be in the Arkansas area: Officials
Arkansas Department of Corrections officials are searching for former police chief Grant Hardin, who said they escaped from their northern central unit on Sunday. (Arkansas Department of Corrections)
Brown added that law enforcement officers “could likely rely on geofencing, license plate readers and known secondary surveillance.”
“But every fugitive makes mistakes.”
"If he walks, dogs, drones and thermal imaging will tighten the noose," Brown said. "Building a perimeter means thinking like a fugitive, evaluating terrain, chokes and logical escape routes. Officials are focusing on the movement: stolen vehicles, property break-ins, supply theft, and even unusual local chat inequality.
Prison officials took less than 30 minutes to notice Harding disappeared from the prison. Photos posted on social media by the Stone County Sheriff’s Office showed Harding wearing an ADC-style uniform while he escaped through Sally Harley Harbor, although ADC Communications Director Rand Champion said the uniform he was wearing was not formal.
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Angelo Brown, assistant professor of criminology at Arkansas State University (Ph.D.
A photo posted on social media by the Stone County Sheriff’s Office showed Harding wearing an ADC-style uniform while his escape through Sally Harley Harbor, although the champion said the uniform he was wearing was not formal. (Stone County Sheriff's Office)
Harding has ties to Garfield, Eureka Springs, Holiday Island and Huntsville, according to the FBI.
Angelo Brown said Chief Harding’s experience means he may have connections with law enforcement officers who might help him, and he will avoid making “simple mistakes that many people on the run would make, such as going to a relative’s home, using… a cell phone, a credit card, and so on.”
Former FBI agent says
"Escape, it's still unlikely. Especially now, even state-level corruption... the federal government has been involved in this search and investigation, and the state police, all agencies are working on it. So, I think law enforcement is doing everything to ensure people are safe, but he said, he said it's impossible to "get the risk completely eliminated figiakity of figiagity of figugient."
The champion said in a press conference on Wednesday that authorities were quite confident in the route Harding believed to have escaped and his current position.
“Based on the information and experience of the team we have, they were quite confident that he was still quite close to the area,” Champion said, noting that despite the fact that officials have built a perimeter around Stone County, “just travel with a bike elsewhere.”
"As of this time, they are still very confident that he is in the area," the champion said.
Former FBI fugitive hunter says
ADC Communications Director Rand Champion said the public should assume that Harding is “a very dangerous person.” (KFSM)
The champion said the public should assume that Harding was “a very dangerous man” and that he might commit more crimes while running away.
Harding was sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder, plus additional rape time.
Fleeing Arkansas Prison after the former police chief convicted of murder escapes
He was found guilty of murder in 2017 by 59-year-old James Appleton, an urban water employee KNWA reports. When Harding was booked in a state prison around that time, officials submitted his DNA samples to the database. According to media reports, his DNA was linked to a 1997 teacher's rape case.
According to KNWA, Harding finally pleaded guilty in 2019.
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The former police chief's escape comes two days after 10 prisoners escaped from the correctional facility in New Orleans, eight of whom were recaptured while two prisoners remain wide.
Harding is described as a 6-foot white male and weighs about 259 pounds. The FBI offers a $20,000 reward for information that led to his recapturing and asks the prompter to call 1-800-Call-FBI and provide any information about Escapee.
Stepheny Price and Louis Casiano of Fox News contributed to the report.