A mother and her three children, trapped for more than a week behind a wall of storm debris, were rescued in rural Oklahoma thanks to a group of inmates from the Mack Alford Correctional Center.
The family had been unable to leave their property after an EF-3 tornado tore through the region on May 19, downing trees, flattening homes, and knocking out water and power lines.
Mack Alford Correctional Center inmates come to the rescue
County crews, already stretched thin by the widespread destruction, turned to social media in desperation.
That plea caught the attention of Margaret Green, warden at the Mack Alford Correctional Center, who took swift action.
“I saw on Facebook, they need help. They need manpower. I thought, let me see if I can get a work crew,” Green said.
Ten inmates, housed at the minimum-security facility, volunteered immediately.
Meeting the facility’s strict eligibility standards to work outside its walls, the men were deemed unlikely to jeopardize their limited freedom.
“There is a criteria they have to meet to get to work out in the public. They already have one leg out. They aren’t going to do anything wrong to jeopardize that,” explained Lt. David Easley of Mack Alford Correctional Center.
Dressed in orange jumpsuits and equipped with chainsaws and heavy machinery, the inmate crew completed what would have taken local workers several days in just eight hours.
They managed to clear the path to the family’s home, where the mother and her children had been trapped since the storm struck over a week earlier.
“They just cleared a path to a house, and the lady hasn’t been out since last Monday. I just feel like it was giving back to the community,” Green said.
“The inmates felt the same way. This one little section we’ve been watching, I’m really proud.”
Mack Alford Correctional Center inmates made a huge difference
J.B. Sharp, a road foreman in Pittsburgh County, also noted the impact of their work.
“I think they are a great help to us. We are highly appreciative for them to come help us,” he said.
Mike Haynes, district two commissioner of Pittsburg County, praised the inmates’ determination and labor.
“It was a godsend,” Haynes said. “They worked their tails off. We handed them chainsaws. They were cutting wood. Some of them looked like lumberjacks.”
One of the inmate volunteers, Brandon Boring, shared what the experience meant to him.
“All a man needs to do is atone, and they’ve given us a chance to do that. If you let a man atone, we can actually go back and be great members of society.”
Not all inmates are so eager to atone for their crimes, or even do their time in prison.
On the same weekend as the tornado rescue, a convicted murderer and rapist managed to escape from an Arkansas prison by disguising himself as a corrections officer.
Devil in the Ozarks escapes from prison
Former Gateway Police Chief Grant Hardin, 56, vanished from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock on Sunday afternoon.
Hardin had been serving a 30-year sentence for the 2017 murder of James Appleton, a municipal water worker found shot in the face in his vehicle.
During his initial processing at the facility, DNA evidence linked Hardin to a cold rape case dating back to 1997, resulting in an additional 50-year sentence.
According to a court filing, Hardin fled the prison by mimicking the dress and behavior of a correctional staff member. A gate officer, believing him to be personnel, granted access through a secure exit.
Rand Champion, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Corrections, said the outfit Hardin used was not a standard issue. Officials are still trying to determine how he obtained or created the uniform.
Surveillance footage revealed Hardin left the facility at approximately 2:55 p.m. Sunday. Authorities publicly acknowledged his escape about two hours later.
Search efforts have since intensified across the rugged terrain of northern Arkansas. Rainfall and rocky landscapes have hindered progress, though drones, helicopters, and search dogs are being deployed.
The FBI has joined the manhunt and is offering a $20,000 reward for information that leads to Hardin’s recapture.
Hardin’s escape occurred just days after 10 inmates broke out of a New Orleans jail through a hole behind a toilet. Eight of those men have since been apprehended.
Hardin, once a law enforcement officer himself, had gained a notorious reputation and was dubbed the “Devil in the Ozarks” for his crimes.
