DALLAS, Ga. -- It's been one year since a woman was brutally attacked on the Silver Comet Trail. Police still don't know who did it – or why. But Tina Waddell says she needs answers.
Waddell is now talking publicly for the first time about what happened, hoping it will generate new leads in the case and protect others on the trail.
For four years, Waddell says she jogged the same stretch in Paulding County, usually heading out for her run around four o'clock. But Waddell says she'll never do it again.
"I don't ever want to see the trail, I don't ever want to go back to the trail," she said.
Waddell no longer lives in Georgia, but she returned this past weekend to talk with investigators and meet several of the people who played a role in her survival.
Cyclists have now organized two rides to bring attention to the case and "Take Back the Trail." The title was chosen to send the message the trail is still safe.
"Obviously when the brutal attack happened, it just tugged at everybody's heart, not just cyclists," said Robert Wilhite who helped organize the events.
Waddell was there as the cyclists took off on the second ride. She also had a chance to meet the man who found her on the trail and called 911. Waddell says there was no hug big enough to express her gratitude.
"It's meeting the man who saved my life. He's the one who found me. Took care of me until the paramedics got there," explained Waddell.
Waddell has talked with Peter Skott since the attack, but this was the first time she got to see him, as well as the paramedic that responded to the call. Together, they remembered that day.
"It was just gut wrenching. There was honestly no words for it. It's the worst thing I've ever seen," said paramedic Tiffany Gilmer, still clearly moved by what happened.
Waddell remembers nothing about the attack, but investigators believe it was personal. She was beaten severely, but only in the face. She wasn't sexually assaulted and nothing was stolen.
Waddell was left in the woods, but she managed to crawl close enough to the trail so that Skott could see her. She was near mile marker 19.5.
Waddell has had two surgeries to rebuild her face. Just about every bone was broken. Investigators say they found a blood stained rock and believe it could have been used as a weapon.
"They took one of my ribs and they used it in my face to build my eye back up. My nose is completely different," says Waddell point out the changes to her face.
Waddell says she also has titanium in her upper lip and 14 screws. Doctors had to move her palate 15 millimeters back into place.
After the first surgery Waddell said, "I was in such horrible pain. I do remember saying 'face hurts', that's what I was saying. Face hurts."
Waddell wishes she could someday return the pain to the person that hurt her so bad.
"If someone gave me a baseball bat and that person was standing in front of me, I think I would want them to feel the same thing that they did to me."
But Waddell quickly adds, hurting people is not in her nature. She doubts she'd actually be able to make the first swing.
Waddell didn't take pictures of her injuries or her recovery. She still avoids mirrors.
"I remember I wanted it all to go away, just go away," she said. "Every time I looked in a mirror I would cry. I had all the emotions and I would cry just because I looked like I did. And I would always ask myself, why?"
But now she says she is ready to remember – ready for answers.
"Why? Why would somebody do this? I'm ready to see and hear, and I'm ready for the person who did this to be caught," she says.
Since the attack Paulding County has used SPLOST money to install 47 high definition cameras on the most popular spots along the trail. The cameras can be accessed from the 911 center.
"The deputies on the trail also have the ability to look at the cameras via an iPad or some other tablet device," said Corporal Ashley Henson with the Paulding County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies have also increased patrols on the trail, using smart cars to keep an eye on activity. They are tools that could have made a difference in the search of a suspect the day Skott called 911 for help. In the call, he tells dispatch he saw a deputy on the trail just about a mile away.
There is $23,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Anyone with information is urged to call the Paulding County Sheriff's office at 770-443-3010.
