On May 4, 1986 three friends set out for a ride around Lake Hawkins, a popular hangout for teens and young adults.  Suzanne, Gena, and Bryan were good kids from Hawkins, TX, the type of small town where nothing ever happens. Residents of the small town didn't know there was an "animal" that had been released from prison living right near the lake but when the three friends didn't return home it started a manhunt that would shock and traumatize everyone in the tight knit community.  

Sources:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-02-08-8701100399-story.html

https://www.thecinemaholic.com/who-were-jerry-walter-mcfaddens-victims-is-the-animal-dead-or-alive/

http://apnews.com/article/cda6372b700defb0507687bb712fef8

https://www.foxnews.com/us/dna-links-oregon-womans-40-year-old-cold-case-murder-to-executed-killer

https://tylerpaper.com/news/local/a-town-in-terror-how-jerry-mcfaddens-1986-crime-spree-stole-the-lives-of-hawkins/article_3b5bf742-020d-5a91-88a...

https://tylerpaper.com/news/local/a-town-in-terror-part-ii-hawkins-mourns-three-young-victims-as-law-enforcement-searches/article_10cfe93c-dbae-5...

https://tylerpaper.com/news/local/a-town-in-terror-part-iii-accused-murderer-jerry-mcfadden-takes-hostage-escapes-jail-and/article_fa91f0e9-c18e-5b...

https://tylerpaper.com/news/local/a-town-in-terror-part-iv-a-look-into-the-legal-challenges-that-freed-serial/article-a7df011e-8058-57dc-9245-a714e85...