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Dubbed the “Devil in the Ozarks,” a man was handed an additional 13-year prison sentence after admitting on Tuesday to escaping from an Arkansas correctional facility last year. At the time, he was already in the midst of serving an 80-year term for charges of rape and murder.
Grant Hardin, aged 57, will see his 13-year penalty for second-degree escape added consecutively to his existing 80-year imprisonment, according to Izard County Sheriff Charley Melton, who shared details with KAIT8 News.
Records from the Arkansas Department of Corrections indicate that Hardin is currently incarcerated at the Varner Supermax facility in Gould, Arkansas.
The fugitive, known for his violent past, was apprehended on June 6, around 1.5 miles north-northwest of the North Central Unit from which he had escaped on May 25.
Grant Hardin remains detained at the Varner SuperMax in Gould, Arkansas. (Source: Arkansas Department of Corrections)
Hardin had fled the prison around at 3 p.m. through a sally port in the detention facility, wearing a makeshift ADC-style uniform, officials said at the time, noting the uniform he had been wearing was not official.
Hardin escaped prison through a sally sport, wearing a makeshift ADC-style uniform, ADC communications director Rand Champion said last week, noting the uniform he was wearing was not official. (ADC)
Officials also said at the time that Hardin apparently used a black “magic marker” to dye his clothing as part of his disguise.
Multiple federal, state and local agencies were involved in the search for Hardin in the weeks following his escape.
The Arkansas Department of Correction said at the time of Hardin’s capture that tracking dogs were able to pick up a scent near Moccasin Creek, and Hardin was apprehended a short time later.
Hardin was serving an 80-year sentence for the 2017 murder of James Appleton and a 1997 rape case.