What happened to Susan Smalley and Stacie Madison

Susan Smalley and Stacie Madison were both just teenagers when they disappeared on March 20, 1988.

They both stayed Susan Smalley's house overnight. 

They both briefly left the house for a short time in one of the girls' car, a 1967 Ford Mustang convertible, which was painted green and gold.

Susan and Stacie attempted to purchase beer at a local 7-11 convenience store in the early morning hours of March 20, but were turned down.

They were later seen at the Steak and Ale in Carrollton were Susan was employed as a hostess.

One of her co-workers told investigators that Susan spent approximately five minutes inside the restaurant speaking to a friend whilte Stacie stayed inside the vehicle.
This was the last confirmed sighting of the girls.

The next morning Susan's mom reported both girls missing.

Stacie's convertible was located later in a strip mall parking lot in Dallas, Texas on Forest Lane and Webb Chapel Road.

The vehicle was locked and appeared undisturbed.

Inside the vehicle were both girl's personal belongings.

Investigators believe they may have accepted a ride to another location, probably from someone they knew. 

Stacie's boyfriend, Kevin R. Elrod, was considered a possible suspect in the girls' disappearances. 

He was allegedly abusive to her.

She had been trying to end the relationship before her disappearance. 

Elrod began dating another woman shortly after Stacie vanished, and told her he'd killed Stacie and Susan and buried them in a cemetery outside of Carrolton. 

The woman then went to the police with the story and they located and searched the cemetery indicated.

They found no evidence of a crime. 

Elrod recanted his confession immediately and later passed a polygraph about the case. 

He later moved out of state and changed his name.

A book written about the case in 2009, sparked investigators to reexamine the case from scratch.

In the book their are claims that investigators believe a particular suspect who has not been named publicly was never 'properly eliminated' during the investigation.

Their disappearances remain unsolved.