By JEFF MARTIN, Associated Press

A former police chief and convicted killer known as the “Devil in the Ozarks” was captured 1.5 miles northwest of the prison grounds by law enforcement officials after he escaped from a prison , triggering a massive manhunt in the mountains of northern Arkansas, authorities announced on Friday.

Grant Hardin’s identity was confirmed through finger printing, the Izard County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.

Hardin, the former police chief in the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, was serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape . He was the subject of the TV documentary “Devil in the Ozarks.”

A flier looking for Grant Hardin hangs on the glass of a business, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in downtown Calico Rockt, Ark. (AP Pho

See Full Page