The Howell County Sheriff’s Department reported Thursday afternoon a suspicious person had been reported in the Bakersfield and Moody area, and the reporting party said the man resembled Grant Hardin, 56, a convicted rapist and murderer who escaped from the North Central Unit Prison in Calico Rock, Ark., on Sunday.
Calico Rock is about 53 miles southwest of West Plains and about 27 miles southeast of Mtn. Home in Izard County. Hardin is considered by the FBI to be armed and dangerous, and a reward of up to $20,000 is being offered by the FBI for his arrest. The amount of the award offered was increased Friday morning from the original $10,000.
Hardin is described as a white male, bald, but with brown hair and blue eyes. His height is reported as being between 6 feet and 6 feet, 2 inches, and his weight as 259 pounds.
Howell County Sheriff Matt Roberts said a “faded red” car was seen near the man and deputies responding to the area shortly after receiving the information were unable to find anyone there.
Roberts added he has been in contact with Izard County Sheriff Charley Melton and the Arkansas State Police to advise them of the possible sighting.
“When I spoke with Sheriff Melton there was no information at that time indicating the escapee had traveled into Missouri,” Roberts said in a post on the Howell County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. “I have been closely following this incident for several days and know there have been other possible sightings in Arkansas. Most recently, investigators in Arkansas were following up on a tip the escapee might be in Faulkner County, Arkansas.”
Roberts said his office has deputies and investigators canvassing the area of the sighting in an attempt to identify the person who was seen, and “are taking this matter seriously and devoting all available resources to locating or identifying this subject. At this time, we have no information indicating with any degree of certainty this suspicious person was the escapee or that he is even in the state of Missouri.”
Roberts reminded Howell County residents to remain vigilant and secure their vehicles, homes and other structures. Anyone seeing suspicious activity is encouraged to report it by calling the Howell County Sheriff’s Office at 417-256-2544.
Editor's note: This article was updated for Saturday's print edition and online to reflect the increase in reward money being offered by the FBI.
