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.

The Arkansas Department of Corrections is searching for an inmate who escaped from the North Central Unit on Sunday.  (iStock)

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.

“Grant Hardin, in my view and in my personal experience, is one of the most dangerous people that I ever seen for the reason that he does not at first appear that way,” Smith previously said. “He is a man capable of a seemingly random, horrific murder as well as a random horrific rape.”

Hardin is described as a 6′ white male, weighing approximately 259 pounds. 

Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com