Barbara Ann Hackman Taylor
Encyclopedia
Barbara Ann Hackman Taylor (b. December 1943 - d. 1968), also known as The Tent Girl, was an (initially) unidentified young woman ("Jane Doe") found dead near Georgetown, Kentucky
on May 17, 1968.
, such as might be used to wrap up a tent. A police investigation failed to identify the deceased woman, much less name any suspects in her apparent murder. She was buried in the Georgetown Cemetery with a donated headstone that bore her likeness as it appeared in a police sketch of how she might have looked in life, and the following inscription:
TENT GIRL
FOUND MAY 17 1968
ON U.S. HIGHWAY 25, N.
DIED ABOUT APRIL 26 - MAY 3 1968
AGE ABOUT 16 - 19 YEARS
HEIGHT 5 FEET 1 INCH WEIGHT 110 TO 115 LBS.
REDDISH BROWN HAIR
UNIDENTIFIED
The gravesite existed as such for many years and was a popular legend tripping
destination among area adolescents.
in late 1967, he forwarded information on the Tent Girl to the Hackman family. The family felt that this was likely their missing relative, and this led to the exhumation of the body and DNA testing, which confirmed her identity. The family opted to have Barbara's remains re-interred in Georgetown, with an additional stone base placed under the original grave marker, bearing her real name.
The prime suspect in the murder is Barbara's husband, George Earl Taylor, who died of cancer in October 1987.
Georgetown, Kentucky
Georgetown is a city in Scott County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 29,098 at the 2010 census. The original settlement of Lebanon, founded by Rev. Elijah Craig, was renamed in 1790 in honor of President George Washington. It is the home of Georgetown College, a private liberal arts...
on May 17, 1968.
History
Mr. Wilbur Riddle, who had been scavenging for glass insulators alongside Highway US-25, discovered the decomposing body wrapped in a heavy green canvas tarpaulinTarpaulin
A tarpaulin, colloquially tarp, is a large sheet of strong, flexible, water-resistant or waterproof material, often cloth such as canvas or polyester coated with urethane, or made of plastics such as polyethylene. In some places such as Australia, and in military slang, a tarp may be known as a...
, such as might be used to wrap up a tent. A police investigation failed to identify the deceased woman, much less name any suspects in her apparent murder. She was buried in the Georgetown Cemetery with a donated headstone that bore her likeness as it appeared in a police sketch of how she might have looked in life, and the following inscription:
TENT GIRL
FOUND MAY 17 1968
ON U.S. HIGHWAY 25, N.
DIED ABOUT APRIL 26 - MAY 3 1968
AGE ABOUT 16 - 19 YEARS
HEIGHT 5 FEET 1 INCH WEIGHT 110 TO 115 LBS.
REDDISH BROWN HAIR
UNIDENTIFIED
The gravesite existed as such for many years and was a popular legend tripping
Legend tripping
Legend tripping, also known as ostension, is a name recently bestowed by folklorists and anthropologists on an adolescent practice in which a usually furtive nocturnal pilgrimage is made to a site which is alleged to have been the scene of some tragic, horrific, and possibly supernatural event or...
destination among area adolescents.
Identification of Taylor
Decades later in 1998, the Tent Girl was positively identified as Barbara Ann Hackman Taylor as a result of the ongoing efforts of Mr. Todd Matthews. Matthews, the son-in-law of Wilbur Riddle, had maintained a longstanding interest in the case. He had collated information on the Tent Girl and combed through many missing persons reports on the internet. When he encountered a report from the family of a young woman who went missing in Lexington, KentuckyLexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
in late 1967, he forwarded information on the Tent Girl to the Hackman family. The family felt that this was likely their missing relative, and this led to the exhumation of the body and DNA testing, which confirmed her identity. The family opted to have Barbara's remains re-interred in Georgetown, with an additional stone base placed under the original grave marker, bearing her real name.
The prime suspect in the murder is Barbara's husband, George Earl Taylor, who died of cancer in October 1987.