I ran across this 43 minute crime documentary on Max and decided to watch. Pretty solid whodunnit about the rape of a teacher in Roger’s, AR and a murder of a fellow in a nearby town. Spoiler alert: they caught him, and he got 50 and 30 year sentences.

At the end, it popped up a screen that said the fricker escaped from prison on May 25, 2025 (last Sunday). It has been in the news that he disguised himself in a LEO looking outfit and cruised out of there. I had seen the news reports but didn’t realize he was the subject of the show until that final screen shocked the hell out of me.

This post was edited on 5/27/25 at 11:30 pm

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Posted by Ham Solo

Member since Apr 2015

8179 posts

Posted on 5/27/25 at 11:56 pm to Twenty 49

I know the teacher that was raped. I knew her when it happened. She is, and was the sweetest women you can possibly imagine. It was heartbreaking for everyone that knows her.

The thing that bothered me most was that she is just a natural beauty with no effort required. For a time after the incident she went out of her way to try and make herself look unattractive. She cut her hair like a boy and dressed really sloppy for a while. Everyone understood why, but it was a hard process to watch. Still breaks my heart thinking about that couple of years for her.

I hope that fricker gets shot when they catch up with him.

This post was edited on 5/28/25 at 12:09 am

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Posted by Boomdaddy65201

BoCoMo

Member since Mar 2020

4145 posts

Posted on 5/28/25 at 3:07 am to Twenty 49

quote:
had seen the news reports but didn’t realize he was the subject of the show until that final screen shocked the hell out of me

Hell, I live in Mo. and I had never heard about either the show or this monster.

But, I’m ultra-intrigued now!

From the circumstances of his escape, his past criminal history and how those who testified against him are justifiably terrified for their safety, the hill folks in the Ozarks who won’t speak against him, and the real life Sam Gerard who’s after his arse.

quote:
As law officers search Arkansas' rugged Ozark Mountains for a former police chief and convicted killer who escaped prison this weekend, the sister of one of his victims is on edge.

Grant Hardin, the former police chief in the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, was serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape and became known as the “Devil in the Ozarks.”

Hardin escaped Sunday from the North Central Unit — a medium-security prison also known as the Calico Rock prison — by disguising himself and wearing a “makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement,” state prison officials said in a statement.

That was not a standard inmate uniform, not a standard correctional uniform,” said Rand Champion, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Corrections. “There's nothing inside the prison that looks like that, so that’s one of the challenges we're going through to find out what that was and how he was able to get that or manufacture it.”

Champion said that the decision to house Hardin in a medium-security facility weighed the “needs of the different facilities and inmates” and “assessments” of his crimes.

Hardin's escape happened days after 10 men fled a New Orleans jail by going through a hole behind a toilet. Eight of those fugitives have since been captured.

Escape into rough terrain

Cheryl Tillman, whose brother James Appleton was killed by Hardin in 2017, said she and other relatives are alarmed by Hardin's escape since they were witnesses in his court proceedings.

We were there at his trial when all that went down, and he seen us there, he knows,” she told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Authorities are using canines, drones and helicopters to search the rugged northern Arkansas terrain, Champion said.

“Everything we've got, we're using,” he said.

The search area has expanded as the hours have gone on, though Champion didn't discuss exact details of the search area.

"Where this facility is located, the topography does provide challenges," he said. “At the same time, it kind of limits where he is able to get.”

“It's called Calico Rock for a reason, because it's very rocky,” he added.

Video surveillance shows Hardin escaped at approximately 2:55 p.m. on Sunday, Champion said. Officials announced his escape at approximately 5 p.m. that evening.

Complicating the search effort is the heavy rain that's fallen in recent days in the area, he said. “You take that rain and combine it with the terrain, and it makes for a tough situation.”

Hardin’s escape into a rural part of the state isn’t necessarily an advantage, according to Craig Caine, a retired inspector with the U.S. Marshals who has handled many cases involving escaped prisoners throughout his nearly 30-year career with federal law enforcement.

At some point in time, he’s going to run out of provisions,” said Caine.

“In more rural areas, most people know one another,” Caine said, making it more likely that someone will identify Hardin and turn him in. “In that aspect, it could be detrimental to him