Of course, if he had realized said son and said best friend were going to wander around the forest looking for a dead body, he might have rethought his decision. His son had such a hard time making friends. But the idea of moving Stiles away from his best friend had stopped him. Sometimes he wishes that he had moved out Beacon Hills during the last evacuation, the year of the Hale House fire. It’s been quiet for almost two years now, and the longer it’s quiet, the more he feels like he’s waiting for the other shoe to drop. So when Tom gets a call about a jogger who found half a body out on the preserve, it doesn’t exactly shock him. Then unsuspecting people move in and the population gradually builds up again until there’s another exodus. In some years, people move out in droves. In terms of demographics, it seems like your typical northern California town, but the population fluctuates wildly.

The murder rate is only slightly higher than the national average, but the rate of disappearances is three times higher. It’s not exactly news that Beacon Hills is a weird place to live. Sheriff Tom Stilinski has seen some shit.