The Tragic Case of Tara Calico
A case with few clues and a disturbing photograph. What happened to Tara?
19-year-old Tara left her home on Brugg Street in Belen, New Mexico around 9:30 am on September 20th, 1988 riding her neon pink Huffy mountain bike to go for one of her routine bike rides. She was supposed to be home at 12 o’clock and go out with her boyfriend at 12:30 but she did not return.
No one saw what happened to Tara, but 7 people came forward to say that they saw Tara biking back towards her home at 11:45 am. Witnesses noticed she had her headphones on, and an older model pickup truck was seen behind her. It is possible that the truck was towing a shell camper.
The only thing searchers found was her sony walkman and some bike tracks. Tara’s stepfather John believes the tire tracks looked like a skid mark — like there was possibly a struggle.
The Infamous Polaroid
In 1989 a polaroid picture was found in the parking lot of a convenience store in Port St. Joe, Florida, that showed the image of a young girl and a young boy; bound, in the back of a van, with black tape over their mouths.