Barbara Ann "Bobbie" Hackmann Taylor (September 12, 1943 – c. December 1967), also known as the "Tent Girl", was notable as an unidentified homicide victim for nearly 30 years after her body was found on May 17, 1968, near Georgetown, Kentucky. She was referred to as "Tent Girl" because of the material wrapped around her. On April 23, 1998, the Scott County Sheriff's Office announced that this victim had been identified. Hackmann Taylor, born in Illinois, was married and had an eight-month-old daughter when she went missing from her home in Lexington, Kentucky.
Homicide victim who was not identified for 30 years
Height
5 ft 1 in (1.55 m)
Spouse
George Earl Taylor
Her late husband, George Earl Taylor, was a carnival worker and the prime suspect in the murder case. He did not file a missing person report but told her family that she had left him for another man. He died of cancer in October 1987. Because he was a prime suspect, Hackmann's family excluded his name when they commissioned a new tombstone for her gravesite. This gave her full name and dates and was added beneath one formerly identifying her as "Tent Girl" at her grave at the Georgetown Cemetery. She had been buried in 1971 by local authorities when her case was stalled.
Wilbur Riddle, who had been scavenging for glass insulators alongside U.S. Route 25 near Georgetown, Kentucky, on May 17, 1968, discovered a decomposing body wrapped in a heavy green canvas tarpaulin. It was material such as might be used to wrap up a tent. A police investigation failed to identify the deceased woman, or to name any suspects in her apparent murder, despite efforts to publicize her description and check reports of missing women.[1]
With no new leads in the case, her remains were buried in 1971 in the Georgetown Cemetery. A local company donated the headstone, which was inscribed with the following:
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
It also included an engraving of a police sketch made to depict how she might have looked in life.
Identificationedit
In April 1998, the Tent Girl was positively identified by the Scott County Sheriff's Office as Barbara Ann Hackmann Taylor. They were aided by the efforts of Todd Matthews, then 27, of Livingston, Tennessee. In the late 1980s, he married a daughter of Wilbur Riddle, who found the young woman. Matthews heard about the missing woman, whose fate had haunted his father-in-law.[2] He became intensely interested in the case and, as the Internet began to be frequently used for posting of public databases and volunteer websites of missing and unidentified persons, Matthews combed through many reports to identify her.[3] In 1997 he created his own website for the Tent Girl, as another way to make people aware of her.[2]
In 1998 Matthews discovered a description of Taylor posted by the Hackmann family on a missing persons website. They had a young married female relative who had gone missing in Lexington, Kentucky (approximately 15 miles from Georgetown) in late 1967.[2] She had been living there with her husband and infant daughter. He emailed information on the Tent Girl to Rosemary Westbrook of Arkansas, who was listed as a contact for the family. She believed the information matched her missing sister and contacted the Scott County Sheriff's Office. They confirmed elements of her description of her sister, including a distinctive gap between her top two center teeth.[2][3]
The police arranged to exhume the body, to extract DNA for analysis and potential match to Hackmann family members. A match was made and on April 26, 1998, the Sheriff's Office confirmed the victim's identity as Barbara Ann Hackmann. She was survived by three sisters: Rosemary Westbrook of Benton, Arkansas; Jan Daigle of Placerville, California; and Marie Copeland of Arundel, Maine.[3]
In addition, Hackmann Taylor's own daughter had been traced to Ohio, where her father's family had lived.[2] She had married and had her own children by the time her mother was identified.[4]
The family chose to have Hackmann's remains re-interred in Georgetown Cemetery, with an additional stone base placed under the original grave marker, bearing her birth name, nickname, date of birth, presumed date of death, and the inscription "Loving Mother, Grandmother & Sister".[4]
The Hackmann family excluded Barbara's married name from her gravestone. The police have identified her late husband, George Earl Taylor, as the prime suspect in the murder case. He died of cancer in October 1987.[1]
Representation in other mediaedit
An episode of the true crime series Who Killed Jane Doe? covered the case of the "Tent Girl".
The true crime podcast Crime Junkie covered the case in their episode titled "Tent Girl."
The true crime podcast My Favorite Murder covered the case in their episode titled "Namaste Sexy."
The true crime podcast Anatomy of Murder covered the case in their episode titled "Swapping Ghost Stories." October 27, 2021
The true crime podcast Cold Cases covered the case in their episode titled "Tent Girl and Julie Doe."
Aftermathedit
After Taylor's identification, Matthews co-founded The Doe Network. It is a group that maintains an online database for volunteers dedicated to matching missing persons with unidentified decedents.[4]
barbara, hackmann, taylor, this, biography, recently, deceased, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, recently, deceased, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, remo. This biography of a recently deceased person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about recently deceased persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Barbara Ann Hackmann Taylor news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Barbara Ann Bobbie Hackmann Taylor September 12 1943 c December 1967 also known as the Tent Girl was notable as an unidentified homicide victim for nearly 30 years after her body was found on May 17 1968 near Georgetown Kentucky She was referred to as Tent Girl because of the material wrapped around her On April 23 1998 the Scott County Sheriff s Office announced that this victim had been identified Hackmann Taylor born in Illinois was married and had an eight month old daughter when she went missing from her home in Lexington Kentucky Barbara Ann Hackmann TaylorBornBarbara Ann HackmannSeptember 12 1943Illinois U S Disappearedc December 6 1967 aged 24 Lexington Kentucky U S Cause of deathHomicideBody discoveredMay 17 1968near Georgetown Kentucky U S Resting placeGeorgetown Cemetery in Georgetown KentuckyOther namesBobbie Taylor Tent Girl Known forHomicide victim who was not identified for 30 yearsHeight5 ft 1 in 1 55 m SpouseGeorge Earl TaylorHer late husband George Earl Taylor was a carnival worker and the prime suspect in the murder case He did not file a missing person report but told her family that she had left him for another man He died of cancer in October 1987 Because he was a prime suspect Hackmann s family excluded his name when they commissioned a new tombstone for her gravesite This gave her full name and dates and was added beneath one formerly identifying her as Tent Girl at her grave at the Georgetown Cemetery She had been buried in 1971 by local authorities when her case was stalled Contents 1 History 2 Identification 3 Representation in other media 4 Aftermath 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksHistory editWilbur Riddle who had been scavenging for glass insulators alongside U S Route 25 near Georgetown Kentucky on May 17 1968 discovered a decomposing body wrapped in a heavy green canvas tarpaulin It was material such as might be used to wrap up a tent A police investigation failed to identify the deceased woman or to name any suspects in her apparent murder despite efforts to publicize her description and check reports of missing women 1 With no new leads in the case her remains were buried in 1971 in the Georgetown Cemetery A local company donated the headstone which was inscribed with the following 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 UNIDENTIFIEDIt also included an engraving of a police sketch made to depict how she might have looked in life Identification editIn April 1998 the Tent Girl was positively identified by the Scott County Sheriff s Office as Barbara Ann Hackmann Taylor They were aided by the efforts of Todd Matthews then 27 of Livingston Tennessee In the late 1980s he married a daughter of Wilbur Riddle who found the young woman Matthews heard about the missing woman whose fate had haunted his father in law 2 He became intensely interested in the case and as the Internet began to be frequently used for posting of public databases and volunteer websites of missing and unidentified persons Matthews combed through many reports to identify her 3 In 1997 he created his own website for the Tent Girl as another way to make people aware of her 2 In 1998 Matthews discovered a description of Taylor posted by the Hackmann family on a missing persons website They had a young married female relative who had gone missing in Lexington Kentucky approximately 15 miles from Georgetown in late 1967 2 She had been living there with her husband and infant daughter He emailed information on the Tent Girl to Rosemary Westbrook of Arkansas who was listed as a contact for the family She believed the information matched her missing sister and contacted the Scott County Sheriff s Office They confirmed elements of her description of her sister including a distinctive gap between her top two center teeth 2 3 The police arranged to exhume the body to extract DNA for analysis and potential match to Hackmann family members A match was made and on April 26 1998 the Sheriff s Office confirmed the victim s identity as Barbara Ann Hackmann She was survived by three sisters Rosemary Westbrook of Benton Arkansas Jan Daigle of Placerville California and Marie Copeland of Arundel Maine 3 In addition Hackmann Taylor s own daughter had been traced to Ohio where her father s family had lived 2 She had married and had her own children by the time her mother was identified 4 The family chose to have Hackmann s remains re interred in Georgetown Cemetery with an additional stone base placed under the original grave marker bearing her birth name nickname date of birth presumed date of death and the inscription Loving Mother Grandmother amp Sister 4 The Hackmann family excluded Barbara s married name from her gravestone The police have identified her late husband George Earl Taylor as the prime suspect in the murder case He died of cancer in October 1987 1 Representation in other media editAn episode of the true crime series Who Killed Jane Doe covered the case of the Tent Girl The true crime podcast Crime Junkie covered the case in their episode titled Tent Girl The true crime podcast My Favorite Murder covered the case in their episode titled Namaste Sexy The true crime podcast Anatomy of Murder covered the case in their episode titled Swapping Ghost Stories October 27 2021 The true crime podcast Cold Cases covered the case in their episode titled Tent Girl and Julie Doe Aftermath editAfter Taylor s identification Matthews co founded The Doe Network It is a group that maintains an online database for volunteers dedicated to matching missing persons with unidentified decedents 4 See also editList of solved missing person cases List of unsolved murdersReferences edit a b Tent Girl Who Killed Jane Doe season 2 episode 1 Investigation Discovery January 23 2018 a b c d e AP Internet sleuthing may help to identify Tent Girl The Tennessean Nashville TN February 22 1998 accessed May 5 2019 a b c Wolfe Charles Thirty years later Tent Girl homicide victim identified Daily News Bowling Green Kentucky April 23 1998 Retrieved on August 24 2014 a b c O Neil Helen March 30 2008 Amateur sleuths restore identity to the dead Seattle PI Retrieved July 23 2015 External links editTent Girl and the start of the Doe Network Seattle Post Intelligencer https www wired com wired archive 12 08 matthews html WIRED Series Who Killed Jane Doe The Tent Girl IMDb Barbara Ann Hackmann Taylor at Find a Grave nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Barbara Ann Hackmann Taylor amp oldid 1176972158, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
