Man Still Requests Road Renamed for Tent Girl

I think part of my miscalculation was in calling my request a "name change" rather than a dedication. I see roads dedicated to veterans and political figures every day. I don't argue with that at all, but I do see a need to reach deeper and consider other options and reasons for such dedications. I never really got a clear cut answer as to just who has to approve this action...the county or the state.

-Todd

Man requests road renamed for Tent Girl

By ERICA OSBORNE
Georgetown News-Graphic
11/17/04

While the story of Tent Girl has drawn worldwide attention, the Tennessee man credited with cracking the case wants the story to receive recognition in Scott County.

Todd Matthews is working to drum up support for a memorial to Tent Girl by having the stretch of road where her body was found, U.S. 25 near Sadieville, renamed in her honor.

"This is something more permanent," Matthews said. "It's not like an article in a paper or a magazine that is going to be thrown away next month."

Tent Girl's body was found wrapped in a tent May 17, 1968, by then-Scott County resident Wilbur Riddle. No positive identification of Tent Girl was made until 1998, when Matthews, Riddle's son-in-law, learned about Hackman from a posting on the Internet. DNA testing later confirmed the woman was Barbara Ann Hackman-Taylor, a 24-year-old woman missing from Lexington since December 1967.

While the story has received attention on national news shows like 48 Hours and Good Morning America and has been in the international spotlight with stories by the London media, Matthews said he doesn't think people in Scott County realize how important the Tent Girl case has been.

"She's become like an icon," he said.

Matthews contends Tent Girl's identification has helped to solve several other missing person cases, as it created missing-persons organizations and placed more attention on the work to unravel the mystery of unidentified bodies.

Though it has been several years since Tent Girl was identified, Matthews said he still receives about 800 e-mails a day about the case.

"Here it is, nearly seven years later, and it hasn't ended yet," he said.

The idea to rename the highway came to him when he was recently in the area with a Court TV camera crew filming a story about Tent Girl, Matthews said. Though he had considered other memorial features, such as an eternal flame or marker to be put in the spot where Tent Girl's body was found, Matthews said he decided the renaming of the highway would be a more fitting tribute.

"I think she is worthy of it," he said.

Unlike a marker, Matthews said renaming the highway would not require any maintenance and would not create a roadway distraction that could cause motorists to have accidents. Having the roadway named in Tent Girl's honor will also hopefully help to raise awareness for other missing-person cases, Matthews said.

Matthews has contacted several Scott County and state officials about his desire to establish the memorial, but so far, his efforts have not sparked any legislation that could prompt the renaming of the highway.

"I've written to everyone that I can get a hold of," Matthews said.

U.S. 25 is a state road, but the decision to change what the road is known as locally would have to be made by county officials, said Ed Whitaker, branch manager of the transportation department in Frankfort.

If the issue were brought before the Scott County Fiscal Court, Judge-Executive George Lusby said changing the name of the road, which is also known as Cincinnati Pike, would be a "major undertaking."

Since everyone who lives on the road would have to change their address, Lusby said changing the road name would be an inconvenience to many people.

Matthews said he will continue "pushing on, one way or another," for the memorial, as he has learned from his work with the case that persistence can pay off.

"I will keep on," he said. "It took me 10 years to identify the Tent Girl, and I will keep on."