Bethany
Saturday, February 31st

  Two Bethany teenagers had a near brush with danger Friday night. Hannah Epperson and Josh Lowry, both 18-year-old seniors at Bethany High School, were sitting in a parked car at the intersection of Azure Hills and Lovers Lane in Bethany. At approximately 11:30 PM Friday, Epperson and Lowry heard a bulletin on the radio.

“We were sitting in the car and (the bulletin) really scared me,” Epperson said. “I didn’t really know what to do.”

The radio bulletin, which was broadcast on several Oklahoma City-based radio stations, alerted the public about escaped psychiatric patient Bobby Jack Simpson. Simpson escaped from Red Rock Behavioral Health Services in Oklahoma City early Friday evening.


              Intersection of Lovers Lane & Azure Hills in Bethany. Weblink

It is believed that Simpson is responsible for at least 24 murders in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas that occurred during the years 1994 to 1998. Many of Simpson’s alleged victims were teenagers. After a nationwide manhunt, Simpson was arrested in 1999. Simpson was tried for the crimes, but a jury found that Simpson was clinically insane. Simpson would serve no prison time for his crimes. Instead, in 2001, Simpson was ordered by a judge to spend the rest of his life under the care and supervision of Red Rock Behavioral Services.

Simpson is known for having a hook on his left arm in place of a hand. As a teen, Simpson was involved in a farming accident that left him with only hand. Instead of getting a prosthetic hand, Simpson asked that a hook be placed there.


Meanwhile, Epperson and Lowry were on a date with each other Friday night. After watching Bethany High School defeat Norman North High School in boys basketball, the couple decided to spend the rest of their evening at Lovers Lane, a popular hangout among Bethany teens. As the couple sat in Lowry’s car enjoying the evening, they heard the aforementioned radio bulletin. Epperson, as previously mentioned, was frightened, but Lowry wanted to stay.

“I did not take (the bulletin) serious at all,” said Lowry. “I wanted to stay. I was having fun, but it’s a good thing Hannah wanted to leave. We could have been killed.”

Lowry mentioned that he and Epperson argued for a few minutes before deciding to leave. When they left Lovers Lane, the couple went to Epperson’s home. Upon arrival, Lowry and Epperson got out of the vehicle, and noticed a hook dangling from the passenger side door handle.

“We were really freaked out,” said Epperson.

“At first I didn’t think anything of (the bulletin), but when I saw the hook hanging on my car door, my heart jumped into my throat,” said Lowry. “I was really scared and nervous at the same time.”

Sara Moss, a doctor at Red Rock Behavioral Services has been Simpson’s primary doctor since 2001. Moss claimed that Simpson has not made any improvement in his character.

“He is still the same guy that he was in 2001, and that is scary,” Moss said. “Most of our patients improve, but Bobby Jack has not.”

Moss did not explain in great detail exactly how Simpson escaped, but mentioned that everyone should be on alert, and that Simpson should not be approached.
Simpson's escape comes the same day of several murders in the Oklahoma City area, but according to officials, the incidents all appear to be unrelated.
Bobby Jack Simpson is still on the run. If anyone sees Simpson, they are urged to immediately call their local police department, or the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation at (405) 555-OSBI.


Author's Notes

First, I have made up a fake journalist for this story. It is still written by me, Zachary Peters. However, I thought having more than one writer would make the online newspaper seem more authentic. I didn’t think it would be realistic for all the stories to be written by the same person on such a heavy news day.
Now for the changes to the story. I really did not change much. Obviously, once again, I have written the story in newspaper article style, so there are interviews and quotes from multiple sources, instead of just having a solo story teller. But, the actual story is still pretty much the same, aside from the back story I have given crazed man with the hook. I have given all the characters names again, which I thought of randomly. This time, though, none of the characters have the names of real people. The Red Rock Behavioral Health Services is a real place, though I am not sure if it is the type of place that houses clinically insane criminals. Bethany High School is a real school, as well as Norman North High School. I doubt there is a Lovers Lane in Bethany, and I found that photo of the street sign using Google.

Bibliography

Title: The Hook
Websource:Snopes.com