A manhunt is underway in Arkansas after a former police chief escaped from a prison in Calico Rock on Sunday afternoon.
Grant Hardin, the former chief of police in the town of Gateway, was serving a lengthy prison sentence after being convicted on rape and murder charges.
Watch NBC 5 free wherever you are
WATCH HEREHe was discovered missing from his prison cell around 3:40 p.m. Sunday, according to a statement from the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
The Stone County Sheriff's Office said Hardin is "considered extremely dangerous and should not be approached."
Get top local stories delivered to you every morning with NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP A still image from a security camera shows Hardin wearing a makeshift Department of Corrections uniform when he escaped.
Hardin had been incarcerated since 2017 after pleading guilty to two crimes including the 2017 murder of a city water employee, and the 1997 rape of a teacher inside an elementary school.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
The latter was considered a cold case before DNA evidence linked him to the assault years later.
He eventually pleaded guilty to both charges.
In total, Hardin was sentenced to 80 years in prison.
