GA - Tara Grinstead, 29, Ocilla, 22 Oct 2005 #1 *Arrests*

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ketel0ne

The artist formerly known as 'Absolut'
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October 25, 2005
From the Ocilla Police Department


Ocilla, Georgia -- On October 24, 2005 at 8:50AM, the Ocilla Police Department responded to a missing person report made by neighbors and coworkers at the Irwin County High School.

They were concerned because Tara Grinstead did not show up for work and they were unable to make contact with her.

The last known contact was on 10/22/2005 at approximately 11:00 p.m.

http://walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=4026341

Picture and description in article.
 
absolut said:
October 25, 2005
From the Ocilla Police Department


Ocilla, Georgia -- On October 24, 2005 at 8:50AM, the Ocilla Police Department responded to a missing person report made by neighbors and coworkers at the Irwin County High School.

They were concerned because Tara Grinstead did not show up for work and they were unable to make contact with her.

The last known contact was on 10/22/2005 at approximately 11:00 p.m.

http://walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=4026341

Picture and description in article.


Her car is in her driveway but her keys and purse are missing. I hope that LE can see that something is wrong with this picture. She doesn't show up for work and evidentally that wasn't the norm for her. I hope LE suspect foul play and start investigating it as suspicious. If so, maybe they will find her in time. She's been gone since the 22nd though and this is already the 25th.
Every time we turn around a young woman is missing...not many happy endings either.
 
She teaches at the same school as my uncle does. He emailed me the article earlier this evening and said the national guard is out looking for her tonight.
 
Beauty Queen & Teacher Tara Grinstead Goes Missing

Popular, bubbly young woman vanishes from Ocilla, a tiny South Georgia town, after helping at beauty pageant.

Written by Steve Huff:
http://www.crimelibrary.com/news/original/1005/2702_tara_grinstead_missing.html

tara_grinstead_150.jpg



"After Tara Grinstead was reported missing to local, Ocilla, GA authorities and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, it was discovered that she'd made it home that Saturday from Sweet Potato Pageant. The clothes she was last known to wear were at the house, as were her car and cellphone. All that seemed to be missing at the time was Tara Grinstead, her purse, and keys."
 
Thanks fourboys for the updates. Ex-boyfriend might be a clue. She is so beautiful, and seems so kind-spirited. I do pray she's okay, but the reality of life suggests otherwise. I'm guessing here, but it does seem as if she went willingly, only later, regretting doing so....
Please keep us informed.
 
More than 50 people on horseback and ATV's searched the wooded areas of Ocilla and Irwin County for any sign of Tara Grinstead. Last Saturday was the last time anyone heard from the Irwin County High School Teacher.

"If you're with someone and you're going to go talk or whatever, this might be a place where you might come to talk and it's also if you're going to take, you know it's a very secluded area," said Sonya Popken, Volunteer.

If you're interested in more information about the search for Tara or know what may have happened to her you can contact the www.findtara.com web site or the Ocilla Police Department web site at www.ocillapolice.com
http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=4048702&nav=5kZQ
 
Nancy Grace had a good segment on Tara. She interviewed a reporter from Tifton(I think) and her sister. Two observations her sister stated raised more doubt to me. She stated that her alarm clock was found under her bed still plugged in, but the time was 6 hrs. off. The other thing was that her lamp beside her bed was cracked, but it was still on her night stand. It is awful that things like these happen, but we can only offer our prayers of her safe return. I don't know her, but according to the media, she is an outstanding person.
 
ShowerSinger said:
Thanks fourboys for the updates. Ex-boyfriend might be a clue. She is so beautiful, and seems so kind-spirited. I do pray she's okay, but the reality of life suggests otherwise. I'm guessing here, but it does seem as if she went willingly, only later, regretting doing so....
Please keep us informed.
I'm not seeing how it looks like she went willingly. The lamp bedside her bed was smashed and the alarm clock was tossled onto the floor under the bed with the hrs all off like it had been hastily plugged back in. The neighbors who were used to her habits say they didn't see her lamp in her bedroom on since Friday night, which was her signal to them that she was ok when she got home from somewhere. That doesn't sound willingly to me.
 
Hi LillyRush.
I wrote that entry a few days ago. BEFORE it was known about this lamp being smashed. Just when it was known her purse and keys were gone, car was still there. And written before the police released the info about the alarm clock, or the neighbors watching her habits.
 
This is a truly baffling case so far!

Here is the Nancy Grace Transcript for Halloween night - it's got a ton of details and an interview with her sister.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0510/31/ng.01.html

GRACE: And how far was the superintendent`s house from her house?

GATTIS: Just a few miles.

GRACE: Are you talking five, 10, 20?

GATTIS: Maybe five.

GRACE: And did she live in a home or an apartment?

GATTIS: She lived in a home.

GRACE: Anita, was the home locked from the inside when the police got there?

GATTIS: Yes, it was.

GRACE: So all the doors were locked?

GATTIS: Yes, ma`am.

GRACE: And do those doors lock automatically when you shut the door?

GATTIS: No, they did not.

GRACE: Did she have a car garage where you park your car and you close the garage door with like a Genie?

GATTIS: No, her garage was opened on two sides.

GRACE: Open on two sides, car parked in the garage?

GATTIS: Right.

GRACE: Any forced entry?

GATTIS: There`s no evidence of that.

GRACE: And the only thing amiss was the clock radio at her bedside was under the bed. Was it still plugged in?

GATTIS: Yes, ma`am.

GRACE: Still plugged in, but six hours later?

GATTIS: Correct.

GRACE: And the lamp by the bedside cracked but still on the bedside table?

GATTIS: That`s correct, too.

GRACE: Also, Anita, her clothing that she wore to the party that evening, it was found in the home?

GATTIS: It was. It looks like that she changed into maybe the clothes she was going to sleep in that night.

GRACE: Why do you say that?

GATTIS: Well, she had made the comment that she was tired and was going to go home and watch the video from the pageant. She normally put on sweat pants and a t-shirt to sleep in.

GRACE: Now, she told you this?

GATTIS: No, this is what she told the people at the party she was at.

GRACE: Oh, OK. Now, was she drinking at the party?

GATTIS: Tara does not drink. She never has drank.

GRACE: So her clothing, Anita, was it laid out, like, you know, when I take my clothes off in the evening, I normally put them away or throw them in the dirty clothes, one or the other. Were they put away neatly, or were they found lying on the floor? Where were they?

GATTIS: The shoes were found lying on the floor, which a friend of mine told me was very unusual, because they were fairly expensive pair of shoes. She usually boxed them up and put them in the closet. The rest of her clothes were lying piled on a chest.

GRACE: Piled on a chest. Would that be normal for her?

GATTIS: It appears so. There were more clothes on that chest, also.

GRACE: Yes. Now, Anita, you stated she normally sleeps in sweat clothes, shirt, you know, socks maybe. Did you go through her home looking? I remember the Laci Peterson case. Her family went through looking for things, because they were familiar with her habits. Did you do this?

GATTIS: I have somewhat. But she has so much clothes it`s really hard to tell exactly what`s missing.

GRACE: What`s interesting to me is her car`s still there. Only missing is her purse and her keys. Wasn`t her cell phone put back on the charger?

GATTIS: Yes, ma`am. It was by her bed, where the lamp and the clock were.

GRACE: Still sitting in the charger?

GATTIS: Correct.

GRACE: You know, I just want to ask you one more thing about these keys and this pocketbook. Did she normally put her keys, like, on the table separate from her pocketbook, or would she put the keys back in her pocketbook?

GATTIS: Back in her pocketbook.

GRACE: So the fact that she had keys and pocketbook missing could mean she simply grabbed the purse and left.

GATTIS: I guess that`s so.

GRACE: And, Anita, one more thing about the home. The lights in the home, were the lights on or off? And is she an energy freak like me? Would she cut off all the lights but a night light or what?

GRACE: She left a porch light on. And the lamp by her bedside table she always turned on so that her neighbors would know that she was home. And that had not seen that lamp on since Friday night.

GRACE: So it was on Friday night?

GATTIS: It was on Friday night. It never got turned on Saturday night.

GRACE: You know, Anita, that is a very interesting fact. Listen, when she would come in, would that bed light already be on or would she go in there and cut it on?

GATTIS: She would go in there and cut it on. That was her normal habit.

GRACE: Doesn`t it sound to you, based on that fact, that someone was either in the home or followed her into the home. And when she went to the bedroom to flick the light on, the neighbors never saw that light come on?

GATTIS: That`s what they`ve told me. Yes, ma`am.

~much more at link~
 
Tara Grinstead: 10 days, no leads, not good
With very little news on the missing person case of Tara Grinstead, we again turn to WALB first, then Crime Library and The Darkside-Steve Huff. In the Crime Library article there is a bit of info about Tara’s relationships and in Steve’s article there is some analysis as well. But the Sheriff’s quote tells you exactly where the investigation is:


“Not good. Not good. We don’t have any leads,” says Sheriff Youghn. “The GBI has been interviewing several people from family to friends to boyfriends. They’re doing everything they can. Everybody has been working almost night and day. As time goes on, I’m getting more concerned about what the possible outcome of this is going to be.”

“Right now, what we’re going to do, unless something breaks and we get some kind of tip to help us locate Tara, until that time comes, we’re going to continue the search in Irwin county, just like we’re doing now right now until we’ve covered the whole county,” says Sheriff Youghn.

Citizens hope for the best-WALB.com


The Men in Tara’s Life?-Steve Huff
 
Cadaver Dogs Search for Missing Georgia Teacher

Nov 2, 2005

Irwin County Sheriff Donnie Youghn says cadaver dogs are searching ponds and the area around Tara Grinstead's home. This is the first time cadaver dogs were brought out.

Search and rescue crews are also searching the south part of the county from 129 to highway 90 on horse, foot, four-wheeler and by air.

It's been nine days of searching, hoping and waiting, but family members and friends of missing teacher Tara Grinstead still have no answers. The last time they saw Tara was Saturday, October 23 at a friend's home in Ocilla. Tara's originally from Hawkinsville.

So far authorities have not released any suspects or leads in the case, which friends say makes the days seem even longer. Still, they're not giving up.

Continued at link:

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/georgia/news-article.aspx?storyid=46616
 
It's interesting that her former boyfriend was in town the day of the Pageant. If she was pushing the relationship, and he was backing off, it seems like he wouldn't want to be around her. I wonder if he still had the key to her house. The glove is suspicious.
 
Well, I just checked Google News, and there is no update tonight.

This is a real mystery. :(
 
ShowerSinger said:
Hi LillyRush.
I wrote that entry a few days ago. BEFORE it was known about this lamp being smashed. Just when it was known her purse and keys were gone, car was still there. And written before the police released the info about the alarm clock, or the neighbors watching her habits.
I didn't see the timestamp of your post at first, showersinger. Sorry.
 
I saw a preview of Greta's show for Wednesday, and they mentioned something about a problem with a student. But darn, I fell asleep and missed it! Anybody catch this?
 
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