From deadly medical transport ambushes to large-scale jail breakouts, inmate escapes dominated headlines this year and triggered investigations, manhunts and policy responses across the country.
Corrections1 followed several high-profile cases that underscored the real-world risks tied to escapes. Here’s a look at the biggest escape-related stories covered this year.
‘Devil in the Ozarks’ escapes state prison
On May 25, a former Arkansas police chief serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape escaped from Calico Rock, prompting a statewide search.
The Arkansas Department of Corrections identified the escapee as Grant Hardin, the former Gateway Police Department chief known as the “Devil in the Ozarks.” He was found nearly two weeks later, just 1.5 miles from the prison.
Department officials said Hardin had planned the escape for months, exploiting security gaps in the prison kitchen where he was assigned to work. According to a court document, Hardin escaped by impersonating a corrections officer “in dress and manner,” which allowed him to pass through a secure gate and walk out of the facility.
Following his escape and recapture, the ADOC disciplined multiple corrections employees. The department later said the escape was the result of staff failure rather than a breakdown in departmental policy.
10 inmates escape from New Orleans jail
In May, 10 inmates escaped from the Orleans Parish jail after breaking through a cell door and slipping through a hole behind a toilet, with portions of the escape captured on surveillance video released by the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff’s officials said the inmates were able to jam cell door locks using Scrabble tiles and other objects, then move through unsecured areas of the jail while a lone corrections officer took a meal break. Surveillance video showed the inmates climbing through the wall and exiting the facility. Graffiti left behind at the scene read “To Easy LoL,” with an arrow pointing toward the hole, according to authorities.
The escape triggered a massive, multi-agency manhunt that stretched on for months. While most of the inmates were recaptured within the first several weeks, two were arrested in Texas following a vehicle pursuit captured on body-worn camera video, and the final escapee, Derrick Groves, was not captured until October, when he was found hiding beneath a house in Atlanta and taken into custody following a standoff with law enforcement.
The U.S. Marshals Service, Louisiana State Police and Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office assisted in locating the 10 escapees. All 10 inmates are back in custody.
North Carolina detention officer killed during medical transport escape
In July, a federal inmate escaped from custody during a medical appointment in western North Carolina and fatally shot a detention officer with his own duty weapon before fleeing in a stolen vehicle, authorities said.
The inmate, Kelvin Simmons, escaped while being treated at an orthopedic clinic in Murphy, where a struggle broke out with officers from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, according to Sheriff Dustin Smith. Simmons took the officer’s gun and shot Detention Officer Francisco Paul Flattes, a four-year veteran of the agency.
Simmons fled the scene in a stolen vehicle and was later captured in Macon County following a short standoff. Another officer was injured during the incident but was not shot and later recovered, Smith said.
Simmons was already in custody on bank robbery charges and will face a first-degree murder charge in connection with Flattes’ death, officials said.
3 inmates escape from Louisiana jail amid infrastructure concerns
Three inmates escaped from the St. Landry Parish Jail in early December after exploiting long-neglected structural failures in the facility, with the escape captured on surveillance video released by the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said the inmates were able to remove weakened cinder blocks from an upper wall and escape through the damaged area before climbing down the outside of the building using cords, rope and other materials left behind by contractors who had been working on the jail’s roof. Video and photographs presented by the sheriff showed extensive deterioration throughout the facility, including moisture-damaged walls and missing locks.
Officials said the escape was discovered during a head count. Two of the inmates were later recaptured, while the third died by suicide during a SWAT standoff while on the run, according to the sheriff’s office.
Guidroz said the escape was the result of failing infrastructure — not staffing or training issues — citing years of deferred maintenance at the overcrowded jail.
Escaped California inmate captured after killing Mexican police officer
An escaped California inmate was captured after fatally shooting a Mexican police officer while on the run, according to Mexican law enforcement officials and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).
CDCR said the inmate escaped custody in December 2024 shortly after arriving at a Kern County courthouse for a scheduled court appearance, evading staff during transport. After fleeing California, the inmate crossed into Mexico, where a police officer was killed during an encounter with the suspect in April.
The case drew attention to the international risks posed when escaped inmates cross borders.
