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.
The Alachua County Sheriff’s Department (ACSD) has never given up on solving the case. They recently reopened the unsolved murder in hopes of still making an arrest even after more than 50 years.
In a short clip on Facebook, the ACSD stated they had at least one item from the crime scene that they believe was dropped by a suspect.
With advances in DNA technology, detectives are hoping that this might lead them back to a suspect and an eventual arrest.
They stated on the clip that they “revisited evidence,” and it is currently being processed. The investigators are hoping this will bring them new clues and a suspect, which could lead to a possible arrest.
New’s sister, Retha Bolton, who now lives in Georgia, has never given up hope that the brutal crime will be solved.
Retha is one of 12 siblings that Betty had back in West Virginia and Kentucky.
“The last day I saw her was my graduation day in June of ’72. I left that fall to Ohio, then Chicago and got married,” Bolton recalled. “I was ready to deliver my first baby and had gotten Gladys and Homer’s phone number from Mom. My husband and I discussed getting in touch with them just that July to see if we could visit after I gave birth. We were going to ask about Christmastime because the baby would be old enough to travel. I never got the chance. Betty was buried Thursday and I had Katrina Ann on Saturday, Sept. 14, 1974.”
That missed visit still weighs on Bolton, who carries the ache of all the moments that never came.
“I hope this is solved before I pass on,” Bolton said. “We could have shared so much as a family through the years. She is very much missed.”
Shifting from memory to reflection, Bolton described the sister she lost.
“Betty was a typical teen. I have parts of her diary the victim’s advocate sent me. She was trying to make the transition to adulthood and it was hard. Young and in love with someone who wasn’t the settling-down kind, she just wanted to be a wife and mom with him. Unsettled, she was leaving home and really didn’t know where to go. He lived in Texas, she had relatives in West Virginia, some in Ohio, she was confused,” said Bolton.
“I have been involved in this cold case investigation since 2004, when I got my first computer. There have been many detectives on the case and several stories done on Betty. I will never stop,” Bolton stated.
If Betty were alive today, she would be 68 years old. She still has relatives and old grade school friends in the Nolan and Mingo County areas.
The ACSD hopes to bring closure for Bolton and the rest of Betty’s family and friends.
(Writer’s Note: Retha Bolton contacted this journalist because I grew up in Nolan and attended grade school with Betty Tye New. She thought that readers in the Tug Valley area would be interested in the story.)
(Kyle Lovern is a longtime journalist in the Tug Valley. He is now a retired freelance writer and columnist for the Mountain Citizen.)