This month marked the 51st anniversary of the death of Betty Ann New in Alachua County, Florida. New, who was also known by Betty Tye because she was raised by foster parents Homer and Gladys Tye, grew up in Borderland, West Virginia, and attended Nolan Grade School in Nolan.
Betty moved with her foster parents to Alachua, Florida (near Gainesville) in 1972. She relocated to Florida with the Tyes when she was just 15. She graduated from Newberry High School there in the Sunshine State. This would have been her 50th class reunion this past summer.
Betty’s body was found in a wooded area in Alachua by a railroad worker in early September 1974. She was only 17 years old. There were railroad tracks running through the rural area where her lifeless body was found. Alachua County is in north-central Florida. She had been sexually assaulted and murdered.
The blonde-haired, blue-eyed West Virginia native was last seen at a gas station on University Avenue in the town of Alachua. One report was that she was running away or moving from home, which was typical of many teenagers in the 1970s…