I was 10 at the time that she first appeared and my school friends
told me she had drowned while swimming in the river and she
wandered the road in her swimming suit at night looking for help.
It seemed that everyone knew of someone who had seen her, so one
night I begged my mom to take a different way home to check it out.
We drove slowly down the road and plastered our faces to the
window, looking around every tree, corner, and street sign
carefully searching for her. A few times we thought we could almost
see a figure… but we never did.
Some of the sightings were proven to be hoaxes and others were
never explained. She may be still wandering down this road, maybe
you can try to find her…or at least our cache.
If you go out at night beware of the traffic (and phantom
ladies), if you go during the day admire the beautiful view of the
river from the top of the hill on Kennedy Hill Road.
Taken from “Haunting the Prairie” by Michael Kleen
“Between mid-December and early January 1980/81, dozens of
people reported seeing a young woman in various stages of dress
walking down Kennedy Hill Road outside of Byron. By January 20,
1981, the sightings reached a fevered pitch. Motorist parked their
cars in the frigid temperatures along the narrow rural road to
catch a glimpse of what became known as 'The Phantom Lady of
Kennedy Hill Road.' Newspaper reports reached as far away as
Chicago, and the Rockford Register Star ran five consecutive
articles on the sightings…”
Congrats to rperchen for the FTF!!