Who is Grant Hardin? How He Fled and Where He Is Now!

On 16 August 2025, Fortune reported that Grant Hardin, the former Arkansas police chief infamously dubbed the “Devil in the Ozarks,” shocked the nation with a bold prison escape from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, Arkansas. Hardin, who is serving an 80-year sentence for murder and rape, disguised himself in a homemade law enforcement uniform crafted from prison kitchen supplies and managed to walk past guards undetected.

Born on 16 August 1969 in Bentonville, Arkansas, Hardin is now 56 years old. Raised in northwest Arkansas, he attended Pea Ridge High School and later earned an associate degree from Northwest Arkansas Community College. Despite a promising career in law enforcement during the 1990s—serving at departments in Fayetteville, Huntsville, and Eureka Springs—his career collapsed amid misconduct allegations.

Hardin’s downfall began in 2017 when he was arrested for the murder of James Appleton in Garfield, Arkansas, and later tied to a 1997 rape case. By 2019, he was serving combined sentences totaling 80 years. His dark double life earned him the moniker “Devil in the Ozarks,” a name later immortalized in the 2023 HBO Max documentary of the same title.

Hardin’s May 2025 escape revealed meticulous planning. For six months, he collected discarded laundry, Sharpie markers, and even a soup can lid to construct a fake police uniform. On 25 May 2025, he slipped into the disguise, pushed a cart through a prison sally port, and was mistaken for an officer. Once outside, he survived in the Arkansas wilderness for nearly two weeks by eating insects, bird eggs, and berries, even distilling water using his sleep apnea machine.

The manhunt ended on 6 June 2025, when Hardin was captured just 1.5 miles from the prison near Moccasin Creek in Izard County. His escape triggered a major internal investigation, exposing security failures and leading to the dismissal of two employees and disciplinary action against others.

Today, Hardin is being held at the Varner SuperMax prison in Lincoln County under strict surveillance. Additional charges stemming from the escape are pending, with a trial scheduled for November 2025.