Escaped inmate still at large; $10K FBI reward offered

The FBI’s Little Rock Field Office is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of an escaped inmate convicted of homicide and rape.

Grant Matthew Hardin, 56, escaped from the North Central Unit, also known as Calico Rock Prison, on May 25.

An arrest warrant was issued May 27 by the Izard County Circuit Court charging Hardin with second-degree escape.

Hardin has known ties to Garfield, Eureka Springs, Holiday Island, and Huntsville, Arkansas. According to the Associated Press, authorities continued to scour the region around the prison on Wednesday, searching through the area’s forests, caves, and abandoned cabins. Officials have deployed canines, drones, and helicopters in the search.

“Until we have credible evidence that he is not in the area, we assume that he’s probably still in the area,” Rand Champion, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Corrections, said at a press conference Wednesday.

The area around the prison is “one of the most cave-dense regions of the state,” said Matt Covington, a University of Arkansas geology professor who studies caves, told the Associated Press.

Hardin “knows where the caves are,” said Darla Nix, a cafe owner in Pea Ridge, Arkansas, whose sons grew up around him. Nix, who described Hardin to the Associated Press as a “survivor,” remembers him as a “very, very smart” and mostly quiet person.

“That’s one of the challenges of this area — there are a lot of places to hide and take shelter, a lot of abandoned sheds, and there are a lot of caves in this area, so that’s been a priority for the search team,” Champion said at Wednesday’s conference.

Authorities say Hardin should be considered armed and dangerous. The FBI is working with the U.S. Marshals Service, Arkansas State Police and state corrections officials in the ongoing search.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit tips online at tips.fbi.gov.

Images via FBI