Tara Calico was born in 1969 in the USA. The teenager lived in Belen (New Mexico, USA). She lived with her father, David Calico, mother, Patty Doel, and sister Michele. On Tuesday, September 20, 1988, the 19-year-old left the house around 9.30am. She decided to take a daily bike ride along State Highway 47. She rode this route almost every morning, anyway. Sometimes her mother was with her. However, the woman stopped driving with her daughter after she had the impression that she was being followed by one of the drivers. She advised Tara to buy pepper spray and carry it with her, but the girl did not.
On the morning of the day of her disappearance, the teenager told her mother to come over and pick her up if she didn't come back by noon, as she planned to play tennis with her boyfriend at 12:30. When Tara did not arrive at the house at the appointed time, Doel went in search of her, following the route Calico usually took. Patty couldn't find her though, so she contacted the police. Pieces of a Walkman and cassette, that is, items belonging to the teenager, were later discovered next to the road. My mother felt that Tara might have dropped them deliberately, trying to leave a trail that would make it easier for her to find. It was also established that several people saw the 19-year-old girl riding her bicycle, which, however, was never found. However, no witness of her alleged abduction could be found, although several people noticed a bright truck (probably a 1953 Ford) followed by a camper.
On June 15, 1989, in the parking lot of a grocery store in Port St. A peculiar photo of Joe in Florida was found. The Polaroid photograph showed a young woman and boy bound and gagged with black electrical tape. The woman who found the photo said it was in a parking lot where a white Toyota van with no windows was parked. The driver of the van was a man with a mustache who looked about thirty. Police set up roadblocks to stop the vehicle, but the man was never identified. According to Polaroid employees, the photo must have been taken in May 1989 at the earliest because the film used in the camera was not previously available.
The photo was shown on the TV show "A Current Affair" in July. Doel's friends who saw the show thought the woman looked like Calico. So they contacted Patty. This episode was also seen by relatives of Michael Henley, who was also from New Mexico and went missing in April 1988. The boy reminded them of their missing child. Michael's parents and Patty met with investigators to examine the photograph. Doel was convinced that her daughter was on it. She also noticed that Tara had the same scar as the girl in the photo. It was the result of a car accident. It is also not accidental that the book of V.C. Andrews "My Sweet Audrina," who was one of the teenagers' favorites, also appears in the photo. Scotland Yard analyzed it and found that the woman in it was Calico. A second analysis by the Los Alamos laboratory, however, contradicted this theory. The FBI's examination of the photo did not bring clear results.
Michael's mother was pretty sure the boy in the photo was her son. However, this is unlikely. Henley's remains were discovered a year later, in June 1990, in the Zuni Mountains, about 11 km from his family's campsite, from which he disappeared. The body was therefore found about 120 km from the place where Calico was lost. Police believe Henley departed from the encampment and then died due to lack of food, dehydration, or temperature effects.
In 2009, twenty years after the famous Polaroid photo was found and made available by the media, the police chief of Port St. Joe, David Barnes received a strange package. These were two letters sent on June 10 and August 10, 2009, from Albuquerque, New Mexico. One of them contained a photograph of a young boy with light brown hair, printed on photographic paper. Someone had drawn a black border on the photo with ink over the boy's lips as if they were covered with tape, as in the 1989 photo.
The second letter contained the original image of the boy. On August 12, The Star of Port St. Joe received a third letter, also posted on August 10 from Albuquerque. It showed a boy with a black marker on his lips. Whether it was the same boy as in the photo received by the police has not been confirmed, however. None of the letters contained a return address or a note indicating the child's identity. Investigators concluded that the disturbing photos may have something to do with the disappearance of Tara Calico. The photos were handed over to the FBI for investigation during further investigation. There was the hope of finding fingerprints or possible DNA that could be relevant evidence.
It is also worth adding that at the time the parcels were sent, the self-proclaimed clairvoyant called about Calico. The woman claimed to have met a runaway in California with whom she worked at a strip club. The girl was about to be murdered eventually. The mysterious woman also admitted that she had dreams suggesting that the fugitive may have been Tara Calico, who was possibly buried in California. However, the search did not lead to a breakthrough in the case.
Over the years, two other Polaroid photos appeared in which Tara could have been captured. The first photo was found near a construction site in Montecito, California. It shows the blurry face of a woman whose mouth is taped. In the background is a blue striped pillow reminiscent of the Toyota interior. In this case, the film was used, which was released for sale in June 1989.
The second photo shows a bound woman with large black-rimmed glasses. A man is sitting next to her. The scene takes place on the Amtrak train. The video used was available from February 1990. Calico's mother believed the photos may have been of her missing daughter. Tara's sister admitted that the family had to identify many other photos and that all but three were excluded. However, it is difficult to say with certainty whether the prints show Calico, another kidnapped woman, or whether it was a grim joke.
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