It has been nearly 10 days since the crime depicted in the HBO documentary was portrayed as “The Devil of the Ozark” escaped from Arkansas Prison.
On Tuesday, the Arkansas Department of Corrections distributed a photo illustration of 56-year-old Grant Hardin with a short whisker and mustache.
“It’s been more than a week since Hardin escaped the North Central Unit, we’re releasing updated headshots that could reflect what he looks like today,” the department said in a statement.
Hardin escaped from the North Central unit at Calico Rock on May 25th. Prison officials said they were seen on security videos pushing carts carrying wooden pallets while wearing law enforcement-style uniforms.
Hardin was the police chief at Gateway, Arkansas in 2016. That year, one of his victims, James Appleton, an employee of the city’s Water Department, criticized Hardin for encouraging police pursuits and giving taxpayers the allegedly increasing bills for police vehicle compensation.
Appleton’s sister and current Gateway mayor, Cheryl Tillman, said in an HBO documentary that her brother and Hardin clashed over the issue in 2016.
According to the documentary, Hardin resigned four months later.
On February 23, 2017, Hardin was fatally shot deadly, filed in court and sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty, according to a law enforcement affidavit.
When authorities ran through Hardin’s DNA, they discovered it was a match against evidence of rape on campus of an elementary school teacher in 1997.
Jail officials said Tuesday that the search for Hardin was focused on his hometown, Central Arkansas area, where his parents still call the town of Garfield.
After the FBI doubled its $10,000 contribution last week and then the US former s service gave $5,000, the total reward for information that led to his capture rose to $25,000.
Hardin is white, 6 feet, 2 inches tall, weighs about 259 pounds, has brown hair and blue eyes, authorities said. According to the Corrections Department, any sightings and information about where he is should be reported to the FBI.
