‘He is just an evil man’: A sister’s grief and trauma reopened after Grant Hardin’s escape
It’s been two days since convicted murderer and rapist Grant Hardin escaped from prison
By Ka’Tani Gouch
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GATEWAY, Arkansas (KHBS) — It’s been two days since convicted murderer and rapist Grant Hardin escaped from prison, and in Gateway, Arkansas, the news has reopened deep wounds — especially for Cheryl Tillman, the sister of James Appleton, the man Hardin killed in 2017.
Hardin, a former Gateway police chief, was serving a 30-year sentence for Appleton’s murder and additional time for a 1997 rape case. On Sunday, he escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, reportedly wearing a fake law enforcement uniform.
Tillman, now Gateway’s mayor, was on the city council in 2017 when Hardin was fired. She said news of his escape immediately took her back to the day she lost her brother.
“It’s almost like déjà vu all over again,” she said. “It took me until this year to drive that road again. Now, I don’t know if I can do it.”
“He could never give us a reason why. That’s all we ever wanted,” she added. “James cared for everyone in town.”
Her sister, also on the council at the time of Hardin’s firing, shares her fear. “It is a little scary for both of us,” Tillman said.
Tony Bland, with NEBCO Fire EMS, who responded to the 2017 crime scene, remembers it clearly.
“It was a horrific scene — nothing like we’d ever dealt with,” he said. “It’s absolutely brought it back to the front of everyone’s mind.”
Tillman is urging residents to stay alert while the manhunt continues.
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