FBI offers $20,000 for capture of former Arkansas police chief on the run since one week ago

The FBI this week offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the capture of a former Arkansas police chief serving time for murder and rape, known as "the Devil in the Ozarks."

Former Gateway Police Department Chief Grant Hardin, 56, escaped from the North Central Unit, a medium-security prison, on Sunday afternoon, May 25, according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC).

The federal investigative agency said Hardin has ties to Garfield, Eureka Springs, Holiday Island and Huntsville.

"A very dangerous individual"

"The FBI Little Rock Field Office is assisting the U.S. Marshals Service, Arkansas Department of Corrections and Arkansas State Police with the search and apprehension of Grant Matthew Hardin," read an FBI wanted poster.

Former FBI agent Rob D'Amico revealed to the media that Hardin's past as a police chief could give him a unique advantage in his escape. "I think that makes it a lot harder. He knows how they do it. He knows what they look for, he knows how they follow leads. He knows how they do surveillance," he added.

Agents handling the case also noted that there are likely many unstaffed, unlocked cabins and sheds in wooded areas around Stone County, which is east of the Ozark Mountains, where the fugitive could be.

They reiterated to the public that Hardin is "a very dangerous individual" and that there is a risk that he will commit more crimes while on the lam.

Authorities have begun the search for the fugitive. Hardin is described as a 6-foot-6, 259-pound white male, according to the authorities' post.

The former police chief's escape came two days after 10 prisoners escaped from a New Orleans correctional facility, eight of whom have been recaptured and two remain at large.