I’ve said it before, one of the worst things a parent can experience is the loss of their child. And when they don’t know what happened to them, it makes it even harder. Never knowing if they will walk back into your life, or if you will only see them again in the afterlife.
Tara Leigh Calico, born in Belen, New Mexico on February 28, 1969 she had gone missing on September 20, 1988. It is believed that she was kidnapped. Very little evidence is available on this case not only because it was 33 years ago, but even then there wasn’t much to go by.
The morning of September 20, Tara had gone out around 9 in the morning for a bike ride. Something she regularly did. She had planned to ride 17 miles out, and then 17 miles back in. She told her mother if she wasn’t home by noon to come look for her. Her mother, Patty, had been concerned about Tara going out as she had been having issues with it, and there had been issues with harassment, Patty had feared for her daughter’s safety. Tara wasn’t afraid and went out.
She was never seen again.
Noon came and Tara wasn’t back yet, she had plans to play tennis with her boyfriend at 12:30pm, so Patty went out to look for her. She followed Tara’s usual route and didn’t find her, she then called police.
Witnesses that day stated they had seen Tara on her bike ride, and that she had been followed by a light colored Ford pickup truck. They thought it was someone that Tara knew to ensure she was okay on her ride. The only evidence found was a broken Sony Walkman and a cassette tape found on the side of the road. Tara and the bike have never been found.
It’s bad enough that Tara has disappeared, but in June 1989, a photograph was found in Florida. The photograph showed a young woman and a younger boy, both with tape over their mouths and their hand tied behind their backs. When shown the picture, Patty stated the young woman resembled her daughter. In the picture there was a scar on the woman’s leg that matched one that Tara had gotten from a car accident. And next to the woman was a book by V.C. Andrews, My Sweet Audrina, which was Tara’s favorite book. Patty believed this was her daughter.
The picture had been found by a woman in a Florida convenience store parking lot. It came from a white Toyota cargo van and the man driving was in his 30’s and had a mustache.
There has been little evidence to work with since 1989. The case remains open and the latest update from September 2021 states that investigators have a new lead in the case. They had a sealed warrant for an unknown private residence but no further information has been released.
Be ever alert, make good choices, stay safe
Amateur Connoisseur 