‘Someone knows who killed Tracy Sue’

Published 1:30 pm Tuesday, May 13, 2025

By Contributed Content

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Elizabethton students help TBI with media blitz on cold case

 By Buzz Trexler
 Star Correspondent

The Elizabethton High School sociology class whose past efforts inspired the popular “Murder 101” podcast, as well as a documentary that is currently in production, is working with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on solving a decades-old cold case.

The case of Tracy Sue Walker, who disappeared in 1978, is one of two that Alex Campbell’s class has worked on this year.

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The previous semester, the 11-member class worked on the case of Lori Ann Mealer Pennell, whose body was reportedly found on Jan. 24, 1985, along Highway 78 in Olive Branch, Miss. “We were working with her brother and the detective that’s been looking into her case,” Campbell said. “And we’re still kind of doing that too, but we’ve also this semester been working really hard with the Tracy Walker case.”

The TBI reached out to the EHS class in mid-March, presenting the known facts of the case, and two weeks later the students came back with ideas. The result has been a public relations blitz that includes a narrative of the case, the Justice4TracySue.com website, YouTube videos, a sky banner, posted signs, direct mailings, and a car wrapped with Walker’s image, the TBI tip line, the website domain name, and the message, “Someone knows who killed Tracy Sue in the 1980s. Is it you?”

Another development: Last week, at the request of 8th Judicial District Attorney Jared Effler, Gov. Bill Lee issued a reward of $10,000 for information leading to the apprehension, arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for killing Tracy Sue Walker. “We are determined to bring justice to Tracy Sue’s case,” said Effler. “Through the vital efforts and commitment of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, it is our sincere hope that someone, somewhere, holds the crucial piece of information to bring her killer to justice.”

“The TBI agent told me that was like the biggest thing that the governor had ever done that he knew of,” Campbell said. “I’m glad that the governor has recognized the work of the students, you know, the desires of the family and law enforcement to try to push and get something done.”

What happened to Tracy Sue?

According to the TBI, Walker and a friend were dropped off at a McDonald’s restaurant in Lafayette, Ind., the last week of July in 1978. She was last seen outside the Tippecanoe Mall JCPenney store getting into a car with a group of older men who are believed to have been temporarily working in the area.

Skeletal remains were found in April 1985 in the Big Wheel Gap area of Elk Valley in Campbell County. From that point on, the remains were known simply as “Baby Girl.”

In 2007, a sample of the “Baby Girl” remains was submitted to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, and a DNA profile of the victim was entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) as well as the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

In 2013, a TBI agent and intelligence analyst revisited the case and began searching for new leads regarding the girl’s identity. It would be nine more years before they received a break in the case.

In 2022, working with the University of Tennessee Anthropology Department, a sample of the child’s remains was sent to Othram, a private laboratory that analyzes human DNA, which provided a possible relative connected to the child who was living in Indiana. Using that information, a TBI intelligence analyst located potential family members in the Lafayette area and confirmed they had a family member go missing in 1978. DNA standards for possible siblings of the girl were submitted to the TBI Crime Lab in Nashville for entry into CODIS, and “Baby Girl” was determined to be Tracy Sue Walker.

“When Brandon called me with that information a couple of years ago, it was the happiest day of my life,” Randy Walker said in the TBI release. “I never did forget about her. It was so hard not knowing.”

The students are determined to help solve the case. Her abductors may have been well organized, investigators say, and Walker may not have been their only victim. The TBI said anyone who has information, or who may have encountered this group of men in and around that time period, should contact the TBI tip line at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

“When my classmates and I think about Tracy, we think about how scared she must have been,” said Elizabethton High School student Shelby Edmonds. “She was just a girl like me. She had a whole life ahead of her — dreams, hopes, maybe siblings like we have — and that was all taken away. She didn’t deserve what happened to her.”

Investigators believe someone in Campbell County holds the key to determining who is responsible for the teenager’s death.

“In cold case homicides, we often find that relationships and relationship changes are the key to solving a case,” said TBI Special Agent Brandon Elkins. “I believe those types of changes may now make it possible for people in this community to speak up and give us the clues we need in Tracy’s case. Someone out there is Tracy’s hero, and I just hope they have the courage to come forward.”

Getting the word out

In addition to designing yard signs, handing out flyers and creating postcards to direct mail to residents in Campbell County, the release said, students also designed and worked with a business in Elizabethton to have a car wrapped with Tracy’s photo. The idea is to get residents to scan the QR code or visit the website displayed on the vehicle.

“We hope that by sharing her story now, someone who knows something will come forward,” said EHS student Andrew Barnett. “There are still people out there — even in Campbell County — who haven’t heard her name or what happened. We want to change that. We want her story to be heard everywhere, in hopes that someone will come forward with the information the TBI needs to help solve this case.”

As for the Pennell case, Alexander said progress has been made, and it’s still ongoing.

“Well, we did present back to her brother and to the detectives, and we felt like we gave them a lot of great information,” Alexander said. “The brother said it helped him with a lot of closure.” The class work led to the release of “a couple hundred pages of documents” resulting in new information.

“So, we actually have to inform him about some of the new things we’ve learned next week,” the teacher said, later adding, “I can only assume it’s very hard to try to process, you know, without your loved one. It’s been 40 years …”

 

 

Seeking Justice for Tracy Sue Walker

The Elizabethton High School sociology class whose past efforts inspired the popular “Murder 101” podcast is working with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on solving a 1985 cold case: the disappearance and death of 15-year-old Tracy Sue Walker.

Tip website: Justice4TracySue.com

In their words: Watch these videos on YouTube to hear from Tracy Sue Walker’s brother, some of the EHS students involved, and TBI Special Agent Brandon Elkins.

To learn more about Tracy Sue Walker’s case, visit Justice4TracySue.com. Anyone with information or knowledge about individuals Walker may have been with before her death is asked to call 1-800-TBI-FIND.

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