WARD, Arkansas — It was a budding romance in the small town of Ward, Arkansas.
When Lori Hannah and Brian Keith Freeman started seeing each other, her parents explained how everything pointed to a loving and lasting relationship.
"Well, when they first started dating, you know, he was just really, really nice. She really liked him," said Judy West, Hannah's mother.
"He always seemed to be okay… got that wrong evidently," said Randy West, Hannah's stepfather.
Not long after the couple got engaged, Lori's parents started hearing about a different side to Freeman that they hadn't seen before.
"The controlling and manipulating that he was doing, or trying to do, she just said she couldn't do that. She said we aren't even married yet and he's already acting like that," said Judy West.
In the fall of 2016, Hannah called off the engagement, but Freeman wasn't ready to call it quits.
"When he and I were working together he told me she had ended it with him and wanted my advice on how he could get back together with her. I said give her two or three months. Walk away and give her some time. [Then] circle back and if it's going to be, it's going to be. If it's not, move on," Randy West explained.
On March 23, 2017, Hannah was found dead inside her home.
The lead detective of the case, Jeremy Hammons, said police know Freeman sent text messages to several family members where he explained he had done something horrible.
"The instant you find out, that's forever burned in your mind," said Randy West.
Hammons said police charged Freeman with Hannah's murder, but before they could arrest him— he disappeared.
However, he made one last phone call.
"He called a female acquaintance and said over the phone he had done this horrible thing. He [said] he had murdered Lori, [and] that he was going to kill himself there in the woods," said Hammons. "He said, 'I love you, will you say a prayer with me?' And then hung up. And that's the last contact we've had with him."
Investigators later found Freeman's truck abandoned in Royce City, Texas next to a wooded area.
Detectives combed the area multiple times over the years, and at one point got one of the largest search warrants ever. It was a multi-agency team where more than 20 cadaver dogs were all looking for any sign of Freeman.
Though they came up empty-handed.
"We got down there. We had a couple of hits from the dogs. They alerted different areas. We had the Texas Rangers with us. They went out and brought a forensic team. We had forensic anthropologists there with us. No remains were found," Hammons described.
One key question remains unanswered— Is Brian Keith Freeman still alive?
Hannah's stepfather thinks he's not, but her mother said she believes he is.
"I just don't think he has the courage to kill himself. He had the courage to kill her, but not himself," said Judy West.
U.S. Marshals have revamped the case and are looking through the files once again to see if there is anything they missed.
They will be bringing in new analysts to profile Brian to determine if he is still alive, where he would be, and how he would survive this long.
Hammons said he will never give up.
He keeps a reminder in his office of the Marshals' most wanted man— a bottle of bourbon.
"I vowed I will not open that bottle until he's apprehended. And if I retire and he's not apprehended I will pass that bottle to the next guy and hope they can do better than I did," Hammons explained.
There's a $10,000 dollar reward for anyone with information that leads to Freeman's arrest.
You can report the information to the U.S. Marshals' office at (501) 324-6356.