Tent Girl
Barbara’s gravestone. The color difference signifies the original donated headstone on top reflecting the unknown victim, and the newer bottom stone honoring Barbara’s life and legacy.
In May of 1968 the body of a young unidentified woman was found crudely wrapped in a piece of canvas tent material along U.S. Route 25 near Georgetown Kentucky. In spite of extensive public coverage of the case police were unable to determine the identity of the victim, or locate any suspects in the case. The remains would ultimately be buried in the Georgetown Cemetery in 1971 with a donated headstone, under the moniker of “Tent Girl”. Almost 30 years later, in 1998 due to the obsessive efforts of one man, and the availability of DNA testing, the identity of this nameless victim was finally revealed. This is the story of Barbara Ann Hackman.
On May 17th 1968 local man Wilbur Riddle was walking the roadside along Route 25 in search of electrical glass insulators (valued as scrap). Although his role in this story was small, the experience left a profound impact on Mr. Riddle. His emotional burden was so great that he managed to pass it on to his son-in-law Todd Matthews. Although Mr. Matthews lived in almost 200 miles away in Livingston, TN, his growing obsession was fueled by the wealth of information provided by the newly popularized internet.
During his extensive search he happened to stumble across a missing person’s notice for a young woman reported missing in nearby Lexington, Kentucky around the same time as “Tent Girl’s” discovery. The young woman in question had been living in the area with only her husband and young daughter (other family lived out of state), so her report had gone largely unnoticed at the time.
Mr. Matthews reached out to the listed family member of the young woman (now living in Arkansas), and the Georgetown police felt this evidence merited an exhumation of the woman’s remains. After genetic testing against Mrs. Hackman’s now-adult daughter who had moved to Ohio to live with her family, Barbara’s remains were finally identified.
Owing to her long and loving history with the community of Georgetown, the family chose to have her remains reinterred where they had lain for the better part of 3 decades. An additional base-stone was added to the original anonymous tombstone to include her true name. The family did however opt to NOT include her married name. Based on the available evidence including a history of domestic violence, police are all but certain that Barbara’s husband George Earl Taylor was her killer. Unfortunately he passed away from cancer in 1987, escaping all earthly retribution for his heinous crime.
This case has been covered extensively in the “true-crime” circuit of television shows, blogs, and podcasts. This is probably the one adventure we’ve gone on where my wife knew more than me going into. If you are also a true-crime junky, or perhaps just looking to pay your respects to a young woman taken far too early from her young daughter, this gravesite is well worth the trip.
Want to Experience This Adventure for Yourself?
Barbara Ann “Tent Girl” Hackman’s remains are interred in the George Town Cemetery. They are in the south-east section along the fence row, underneath a large tree. The following coordinates should put you almost on top of it.
https://goo.gl/maps/VzkcToEEHQweAJ9P6
