GUILTY AR - Former Police Chief Grant Hardin found guilty of 2017 murder linked to 1997 rape by DNA

[marble]

Grant Hardin, a former police chief in Northwest Arkansas admitted on Thursday that he raped a Rogers teacher 20 years ago. Hardin was convicted for the apparently random 2017 murder of James Appleton. After conviction his DNA was entered into a database for convicted felons.

Hardin pleaded guilty to two counts of rape. Hardin was the police chief of Gateway for several months and served two terms as a constable in Benton County. He worked as a police officer in Fayetteville, Huntsville and Eureka Springs.

Former Arkansas police chief pleads guilty to raping teacher

 

[marble]

A think that LE should take a very close look at the places Hardin lived and determine if similar crimes occurred when he lived/served in those areas. As a side note: at the time of Appleton's murder Hardin was a corrections officer at a women's prison (ugh).

 

[Wagtales10]

A think that LE should take a very close look at the places Hardin lived and determine if similar crimes occurred when he lived/served in those areas. As a side note: at the time of Appleton's murder Hardin was a corrections officer at a women's prison (ugh).

They should look at all arrests that happened when he was police chief

 

[marble]

Okay, I took one for the team and logged into linkedin.

Timeline for where Hardin worked is as follows. Wondering how many unsolved rapes/murders occurred around where he worked. 1997-2016 seems like a pretty big gap between offenses IYKWIM

https://www.linkedin.com/in/grant-hardin-02ba5555/

Grant Hardin Timeline of locations

2016
Criminal Justice Administration/PreLaw MSSU
Joplin, Missouri Area
Current: Criminal Justice Administration/PreLaw Student at MSSU Criminal Justice Adm/Prelaw


Jan 2016 – May 2016
Marshal/Police Chief
Gateway Police
Gateway, Arkansa
Advising and implementing new office formation of police department and criminal justicebusiness structure, drafting policies and structuring municipal criminal justice and lawenforcement operations for areas of Northeast Benton County, Arkansas.


Aug 2013 – May 2016
Criminal Justice Student
Northwest Arkansas Community College & University of Arkansas Criminal Justice Institute
Bentonville,AR and Little Rock, Arkansas
Criminal Justice Associate Applied Science degree work: Criminology, Psychology, Sociology, Crime Scene Investigation, Probation and Parole, Corrections, Criminal Procedure, Criminal Law, Gangs, National Government, State & Local Government, Emergency Medical, Database, Operating Systems, Police Administration, Supervisory I, Supervisory II, Intro to Law,
Activities: Phi Beta Kappa honors
AK Constable association, Republican Central Committee of Benton County,
Benton County Republican Men's Committee, Benton County Constable Association.
AWANA club

Jan 2013 – Jan 2015
Deputy Sheriff
Benton County Sheriff's Department
Bentonville, Arkansas
Sheriff's commission as Arkansas Constable.

Jan 2009 – Jan 2014
Arkansas Constable
Township One Benton County
Eastern Benton County, Springdale, Rogers,Lowell,BethelHeights,Garfield,Gateway
Arkansas Constitutional Officer delegated by electors to preserve the peace and provide security for township people. As well as uphold the State's Constitutional Government by the People of the State and Township.

2002 – 2013
Technical Process Op/Human Resource Coordinator
The Clorox Company
Rogers, Arkansas
Plastic(s) Conversion(s)/ Team Coordinator/ and Team Issue Resolutions

1997 – 2002
Chemical /Hazardous Materials Operator/Handler
Polymer Group Incorporated
Rogers, Arkansas
Plastics and Non-woven Materials Production.

1993 – 1997
Patrolman/Police Field Training Officer
Eureka Springs City Police
Eureka Springs, Arkansas
DWI enforcement detection and deterrence, patrol (neighborhood and business), traffic control and law enforcement, investigations.

1991 – 1992
Patrolman/Police Officer
Huntsville City Police
Huntsville, Arkansas
DWI and traffic enforcement, night patrol, field training officer, criminal investigation.

1990 – 1991
Patrolman/Police Officer
Fayetteville City Police
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Patrol, traffic, night business patrol, DWI enforcement, traffic accident emergencies andinvestigations, physical arrests and warrants served.

1990
AK Law enforcement training

1987-1989
University AK at Fayetteville Army ROTC Mechanical Engineering

 

[Wagtales10]

Okay, I took one for the team and logged into linkedin.

Timeline for where Hardin worked is as follows. Wondering how many unsolved rapes/murders occurred around where he worked. 1997-2016 seems like a pretty big gap between offenses IYKWIM

bbm

Or was pinned on innocent people

 

[marble]

Definitely that too!

 

[marble]

His facebook. https://www.facebook.com/grant.hardin.7
not much there but liked "Keep registered sex offenders off facebook" as a cause.

 

[marble]

bbm

Or was pinned on innocent people

Huh, he was Deputy Sheriff at the time of this high profile murder case that it turns out maybe wasn't a murder?:
Arkansas man alleges police framed him for mans death

 

[marble]

Some unsolved murders being handled by the Benton County Sheriff’s Office:

• Carl Glen Booth: Booth was found dead from a gunshot wound in the back of his head on Jan. 23, 2000. His body was found in the Ozark National Forest southeast of Siloam Springs.

• Timmy Joe Collins: Collins was last seen alive by family members on Feb. 21, 1999. A few days later, family members reported him missing to the Sheriff’s Office. On March 18, 1999, a fisherman found Collins’ body floating in a creek west of Fayetteville. Authorities believe the body had been in the water several days. An autopsy showed Collins died from a gunshot wound to the head.

• Bone Woman or Jane Doe: Her true identity is still a mystery. She is known by authorities as Jane Doe, but to make her case easier to remember, she is also called Bone Woman. On May 7, 1990, a mushroom hunter discovered a pile of human bones underneath an elm tree off Blue Bird Lane near Maysville. The investigation revealed the victim had been shot in the face with a shotgun and the body had been burned.

• Sleeping Bag Man: The 40- to 60-year-old white man, dubbed “Sleeping Bag Man,”was found floating, wrapped in a sleeping bag, in Beaver Lake on Oct. 16, 1996. An angler found the body near Monte Ne. Authorities believe the sleeping bag ripped away from whatever weighed it down and floated to the surface. According to the medical examiner, the victim died from blunt trauma to the left area of his forehead.

• Socorro Moran-Mendoza: An animal trapper reported on Feb. 1, 1997, that he found a body inside a suitcase in the northeastern area of Benton County, near Pea Ridge. The suitcase, covered with rocks and debris, was located in a ravine next to a small creek. The body was identified as Socorro Moran-Mendoza. Her cause of death could not be determined. The 42-year-old woman lived in Rogers.

• Terry Alan Fremody: On Feb. 18, 1990, five ATV riders found an unidentified body on a Bella Vista hillside about 50 feet off Seaham Lane. An autopsy determined Fremody, 29, was shot once at close range with a 12-gauge shotgun. His body was found near the Bella Vista location where Dana Stidham ‘s body was discovered.

• Tim Meehan Sr.: Meehan, 55, was shot in his home at 15554 Airport Road just east of Siloam Springs. Meehan was found in his bedroom with a single gunshot wound to his head on Dec. 26, 2014.

• Dana Stidham: 18, Stidham was last seen alive leaving Phillips Food Center in Bella Vista on July 25, 1989. Her remains were discovered in a creek bed in far eastern Bella Vista, near the Arkansas-Missouri border, two months later.

via Benton County cold case finally gains traction

 

[marble]

One last post and I will step away fro this thread for a while until I find something substantial: Benton County AK is on the border of MO and OK so it would make sense to also check cases in those adjoining areas of those states as well.

 

[marble]

A news video with a lot more inf0: Hardin was fired from Police departments and then pretty much immediately hired by others. This is insanity.
Grant Hardin’s law enforcement employment history

talk about failing upwards.

 

[Wagtales10]

A news video with a lot more inf0: Hardin was fired from Police departments and then pretty much immediately hired by others. This is insanity.
Grant Hardin’s law enforcement employment history

talk about failing upwards.

I was wondering why he stopped being a cop and suddenly started hauling toxic chemicals for a living, then became chief of police.

 

[GrilledCheezy]

Just FYI to prevent confusion: Arkansas' postal abbreviation is AR. AK is Alaska and Arizona is AZ.

 

[marble]

Just FYI to prevent confusion: Arkansas' postal abbreviation is AR. AK is Alaska and Arizona is AZ.

-sorry missed that. Mod alerted.

 

[Izzylizzy]

"ADOC said Hardin was wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement when he escaped. ADOC said Hardin was not wearing a Department of Corrections uniform, and all DOC-issued equipment has been accounted for."

Former Gateway police chief, serving murder sentence, escapes from Arkansas prison

The Arkansas Department of Corrections says Grant Hardin escaped from the North Central Unit prison in Calico Rock on Sunday afternoon.

www.4029tv.com

 

[Izzylizzy]

 

[TwinkieDefense]

May 29, 2025 article

https://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/arkansas/fbi-offering-up-to-10k-for-information-to-capture-arkansas-escapee/

[…]

Hardin should be considered armed and dangerous.

[…]

 

[Izzylizzy]

May 29, 2025 article

https://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/arkansas/fbi-offering-up-to-10k-for-information-to-capture-arkansas-escapee/

[…]

Hardin should be considered armed and dangerous.

[…]

"up to" ?​

How cheap.
Probably would have to jump through hoops to collect anything.
imo

​

'FBI offering up to $10K for information to capture Arkansas escapee'​

 

[TwinkieDefense]

May 30, 2025 article

FBI increases reward for escapee known as the “Devil in the Ozarks”

Grant Hardin, 56, the former police chief in the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, was serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape. He was the subject of the TV documentary “Devil in the Ozarks.”

www.ky3.com

[…]

The reward increased by $10,000 to $20,000.

[…]

 

[TwinkieDefense]

May 30, 2025 article

Bloodhounds hunting ‘Devil in the Ozarks’ fugitive are seen as key part of manhunt

Dogs in Arkansas’ prison system have also been used to help other agencies find missing children, people with special needs or elderly people.

www.ky3.com

[…]

Although the scent of convicted killer Grant Hardin was lost because of heavy rain, experts say that even days after Sunday’s escape, the animal’s highly developed sense of smell can still pick up a fresh trail.

[…]