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‘Devil in the Ozarks’ gets more prison time for escaping, now in supermax facility

The "Devil in the Ozarks" gets 13 more years for Arkansas prison escape. Grant Hardin used makeshift uniform and black marker disguise to flee custody.

The man known as the “Devil in the Ozarks” was sentenced to 13 more years behind bars after pleading guilty on Tuesday to escaping from an Arkansas prison last year while serving an 80-year sentence for rape and murder.

Grant Hardin, 57, will serve the 13-year sentence for second-degree escape consecutively to the 80 years he is currently serving, Izard County Sheriff Charley Melton told KAIT8 News.

Hardin is currently being held at the Varner Supermax in Gould, Arkansas, according to Arkansas Department of Corrections online records.


The convicted murderer and rapist was captured on June 6, approximately 1.5 miles north-northwest of the North Central Unit prison facility from which he escaped on May 25.

NOTORIOUS ‘DEVIL IN THE OZARKS’ FINALLY CAUGHT WEEKS AFTER LONG MANHUNT THAT DREW MULTIPLE AGENCIES

Hardin had fled the prison around 3 p.m. through a sally port in the detention facility, wearing a makeshift ADC-style uniform, officials said at the time, noting the uniform he had been wearing was not official.

Officials also said at the time that Hardin apparently used a black “magic marker” to dye his clothing as part of his disguise.

‘DEVIL IN THE OZARKS’ INVESTIGATORS UNCOVER HOW MURDERER ESCAPED PRISON BEFORE MANHUNT

Multiple federal, state and local agencies were involved in the search for Hardin in the weeks following his escape.

The Arkansas Department of Correction said at the time of Hardin’s capture that tracking dogs were able to pick up a scent near Moccasin Creek, and Hardin was apprehended a short time later.

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Hardin was serving an 80-year sentence for the 2017 murder of James Appleton and a 1997 rape case.

Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Brooke Taylor contributed to this report.

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