A former small-town police chief in Arkansas escaped from prison Sunday while serving decades-long sentences for murder and rape and is still on the loose, officials said Wednesday.

In and around Calico Rock, where the prison is located, Covington said there are around 300 to 400 reported caves that could make ideal hiding places, if only temporarily.

Arkansas authorities are looking at whether a job in the prison kitchen played a role in the escape of a convicted former police chief known as the “Devil in the Ozarks.”