The Hunt for The Yorkshire Ripper: A series of horrifying murders that plagued working-class Britain during the '70s. Police sponsored billboards in order to seek the public's aid after letters and messages purportedly sent by the killer were received by authorities, earning him the moniker Wearside Jack due to his accent evident on audio missives, one of which featured a snippet from the song "Thank You For Being A Friend" by Andrew Gold, later to be covered as the theme song for "The Golden Girls" (?!). Resources were diverted away from Yorkshire when police became convinced that the murderer resided outside the killing zone. Many will claim that the hoax kept The Ripper free to kill for another two years before he was ultimately apprehended.
Twenty-fives years later, DNA would unmask the trickster as a crank named John Humble. He was sentenced to eight years in prison for obstruction of justice.