Chapter 1: Discovery of Tent Girl

On May 17, 1968, a well digger named Wilbur Riddle arrived at a drilling site near Georgetown, Kentucky. While searching the woods for glass fragments, he stumbled upon a large green bag resembling a tent. Intrigued by the unusual sight, Wilbur tugged at the cord securing it.

Suddenly, he was overwhelmed by a putrid odor—one indicative of a decomposing body. Wilbur promptly alerted the police, who arrived to inspect the scene. Upon cutting open the bag, they uncovered the naked and decayed body of a girl, presumably a teenager. Due to the advanced decomposition, she was nearly unidentifiable. The coroner estimated her to be a white girl, aged between 16 and 18, with reddish-brown hair. Standing at about five feet tall, there were no clear identifying features available.

The cause of death was ambiguous; there were no signs of gunshot wounds or slashes. However, a discoloration on the right side of her skull suggested a possible head injury, leading detectives to theorize that she had been struck and then suffocated in the bag. By