Prison escape: Ex-police chief’s clever disguise and survival tactics revealed
By Adam Roberts
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CALICO ROCK, Arkansas (KHBS, KHOG) — A document released by the Arkansas Department of Corrections reveals new information about how a former police chief serving time for murder and rape was able to escape from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock in May.
Grant Hardin told law enforcement he had been planning his escape for about six months.
He began by collecting black markers he would find lying around the kitchen or laundry. He used them to color a set of clothes so they would resemble those worn by jailers. He also made a fake badge out of the top of a food can. He hid his clothes and other items in the bottom of a trash can in the kitchen that no one would shake down.
Staff regularly allowed Hardin to go out on the back dock unsupervised and into a room to the side of the dock where there were pallets and carts with metal food cans.
He overheard a warden tell a kitchen supervisor to stop letting inmates go outside by themselves on the dock. He decided to take his chances on May 25th, despite the rain.
When he arrived at his workstation that day, he gathered up the clothes and found some food. He changed into his disguise.
He then walked up to the gate, told the officer to open it, and walked through. He pretended to put something inside a vehicle and then went into the woods.
Hardin said that the first night he stayed in one spot and managed to avoid the search dogs trying to find him.
The second night, he moved around some and got separated from his bag of food.
Hardin drank water from the creek along with some distilled water from the prison infirmary that was meant for his CPAP machine.
He ate whatever he could find, including berries, bird eggs, and ants.
Hardin said he lay low and avoided the sounds of the search teams. His plan was to stay in the woods for six months, taking advantage of the dense vegetation, landscape, and weather. He would then head to Northwest Arkansas.
Hardin said he changed his mind when he began to get very hungry and was worried the search team was closing in. He tried to leave the area, and that was when he was caught.
The prison has disciplined employees and corrected behaviors. It has also changed policies about supervising prisoners.
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