(NewsNation) — Grant Hardin, the so-called “Devil in the Ozarks,” spent six months planning his escape from an Arkansas prison, utilizing weak security points in the prison kitchen and a fake officer uniform to break out, according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
A critical incident review report from the department into Hardin’s escape revealed details of the daring escape in May.
Sharpies and pallet ladder used in Grant Hardin’s escape
The convicted rapist and murderer said he used black Sharpie markers and laundry he found lying around the kitchen where he worked to create the fake uniform, the report stated. Hardin also created a fake prison badge using the lid of a can.
Hardin stored the clothes and “other items he was going to need in the bottom of a trash can in the kitchen due to no one ever shaking it down,” the report says.
On the day of his escape, Hardin was also allowed to go into an unlocked room to the side of the prison dock unsupervised, where some pallets were stored, as well as carts containing metal food cans for recycling, the report stated. He was seen carrying out a homemade ladder made of pallets and a box.
What it takes to catch the ‘Devil in the Ozarks’
Hardin was captured on June 6 near Moccasin Creek in Izard County, less than two miles west of the prison where he escaped from. Agents from the Border Patrol Tactical Unit, or BORTAC, helped with the capture…