A disguise and a prison guard's mistake helped 'Devil in the Ozarks' escape

Dressed in all black and pushing a cart with wooden pallets, a former police chief-turned-convicted murderer and rapist walked past a guard and out the back gate of an Arkansas prison before he disappeared into the woods

Dressed in all black and pushing a cart with wooden pallets, a former police chief-turned-convicted murderer and rapist walked past a guard and out the back gate of an Arkansas prison before he disappeared into the woods.

Grant Hardin’s escape from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock last month involved detailed planning, perfect timing and a makeshift outfit designed to mimic a law enforcement uniform. Hundreds of state, local and federal agents swarmed the small town, battling severe weather and rugged terrain to search for the man known as the “Devil in the Ozarks.”

After nearly two weeks on the run, he was found near an Izard County creek — about 1.5 miles west of the prison.

Grant Hardin after he was captured in an image released June 7.U.S. Border PatrolThe brazen prison break, which occurred a little more than a week after 10 inmates escaped from a New Orleans jail, exposed a security lapse at the facility, which houses about 800 inmates. But Hardin, who was described as a model inmate who never caused trouble, ultimately escaped because of one employee’s error.

“This was not an instance where there wasn’t proper protocol or proper policy,” Arkansas Department of Corrections board member William “Dubs” Byers said in an interview. “It was a matter of the protocol not being followed. One person in particular just didn’t pay attention as he should have and questioned this fellow when he walked out the back door.”