Editing Big Sandy, Texas (section)

==="Texas' Largest Manhunt"===

On July 10–11, 1986, more than 1,000 law enforcement officers responded to Big Sandy Chief of Police Richard Lingle's request for assistance after the convicted murderer [[Jerry Walter McFadden|Jerry "The Animal" McFadden]] escaped from the Upshur County jail. He took jailer Rosalie Williams, the wife of a Department of Public Safety trooper, as hostage.<ref>[http://www.tylerpaper.com/TP-McFadden/235055/a-town-in-terror-how-jerry-mcfaddens-1986-crime-spree-stole-the-lives-of-hawkins-best-brightest "A Town in Terror: How Jerry McFadden's 1986 Crime Spree Stole the Lives of Hawkins' Best and Brightest"], ''Tyler Paper''</ref> Lingle broadcast his call for help after Upshur County authorities were unable to track down McFadden and his hostage that evening. Responding officers securely cordoned off the city, leaving McFadden little chance of escape, and he was recaptured and returned to jail. Due to severe overcrowding in prisons, he had been paroled despite a past marked by violence, and committed additional crimes. McFadden was executed in October 1999 for the murder of Suzanne Denise Harrison, a teen from nearby [[Hawkins, Texas|Hawkins]].