(NewsNation) — The FBI is offering up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of Grant Matthew Hardin.
Hardin on Sunday escaped a medium-security prison in Arkansas, where he was serving a decades-long sentence after being convicted for homicide and rape.
The FBI is working with local authorities in Arkansas and the U.S. Marshals Service to apprehend Hardin, who has ties to Garfield, Eureka Springs, Holiday Island and Huntsville, Arkansas.
Authorities are searching land, air and water for Hardin and may also go underground as caves in the area offer possible hiding spots. Checkpoints have been set up on roads as law enforcement use every resource possible to locate Hardin.
Law enforcement officials have warned the public that Hardin is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached. Residents have been advised to lock their doors and vehicles and to remain alert.
Dubbed the “Devil in the Ozarks,” Hardin is a former police chief who escaped by creating a makeshift law enforcement uniform to disguise himself.
Hardin was arrested in 2017 after shooting and killing James Appleton, 58, a city employee in a town where Hardin had briefly served as police chief.
He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. That led authorities to connect Hardin to the cold case rape of a third-grade teacher, Amy Harrison, who was raped at gunpoint in 1997.
Hardin also pleaded guilty in that case and was sentenced to 50 years.
Anyone with information on Hardin has been urged to contact law enforcement immediately.