Resolved FL - Port St Joe -2 Children Bound & Gagged in Photo - 96UMFL & 66UFFL - Jun'89 - #2

[Venom Goose]

Right now I can't find the boy's Doe Network page, but here is the girl's:

66UFFL

The Doe Network:
Case File 66UFFL

Colour photo here:

Unidentified Female Last seen on June 15, 1989 in Port St. Joe, Gulf County, Florida.

Vital Statistics

* Estimated age: 15 - 16 years old
* Approximate Height and Weight: 5'0"
* Distinguishing Characteristics: Brown hair and blue eyes.

Case History
On June 15, 1989, a Polaroid photo of this girl bound and gagged was found in a Port St. Joe, FL convenience store parking lot by a customer. The photo also showed an unidentified boy, also bound. The photo was found where a white, late 1980's Toyota cargo van with no windows had previously been parked. This unidentified teenage girl was also seen on the beach in Port St. Joe, Florida on June 15, 1989. She was accompanied by several older caucasian males, who appeared to be ordering the girl along the beachfront. It is not known if this girl was being held against her will by these individuals or if the incident was staged. Investigators are still trying to ascertain the girl's identity, which would allow them to close the case or investigate further.

A tattered copy of "My Sweet Audrina" by V.C. Andrews, a lastic cup and a squirt gun are also visible in the photo. Polaroid officials say the picture was taken with film not available until May 1989. Two other photos have surfaced over the years. The first was found near a residential construction site in Montecito, California. The haunting Polaroid, taken on film not available until June 1989, shows the blurry image of a girl's face, her mouth again covered with tape, her hairline exhibiting that same cowlick at the right temple. Behind her is light-blue striped fabric similar to that on the pillow in the Toyota van photo. Another Polaroid, this one taken on film not available until February 1990, shows a woman loosely bound in gauze, her eyes covered with more gauze and large black-framed glasses. A man is sitting next to her on a passenger seat of an Amtrak train.

There have been speculations that the girl in this case file is Tara Calico who disappeared from New Mexico in 1988.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this girl's identity, please contact:
Port St. Joe Police Department
850-229-8265
You may remain anonymous when submitting information to any agency.

--------

From http://www.angelfire.com/mi3/mpccn/calico.html

"A copy of the V. C. Andrews novel My Sweet Audrina, a plastic cup, and a squirt gun are also visible in the photo. There is apparently a phone number written on the spine of the book, but some of the digits are unreadable. Experts say it could be 300 possible numbers, 57 of which are valid."

"The Federal Bureau Of Investigation (FBI) examined the photo and cannot determine whether the girl is Calico or the boy Henley, but experts at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Arizona believes the girl is Calico. The girl has a similar hairline and ear to Calico's, and a mark on her calf similar to a scar Calico got in a car crash."

Thread #1

 

[YaYa_521]

66UFFL

Closed Case

Circumstances of Discovery
On June 15, 1989, a Polaroid photo of this girl bound and gagged was found in a Port St. Joe, FL convenience store parking lot by a customer. The photo also showed an unidentified boy, also bound. The photo was found where a white, late 1980's Toyota cargo van with no windows had previously been parked. This unidentified teenage girl was also seen on the beach in Port St. Joe, Florida on June 15, 1989. She was accompanied by several older Caucasian males, who appeared to be ordering the girl along the beach front. It is not known if this girl was being held against her will by these individuals or if the incident was staged. Investigators are still trying to ascertain the girl's identity, which would allow them to close the case or investigate further.

A tattered copy of "My Sweet Audrina" by V.C. Andrews, a plastic cup and a squirt gun are also visible in the photo. Polaroid officials say the picture was taken with film not available until May 1989. Two other photos have surfaced over the years. The first was found near a residential construction site in Montecito, California. The haunting Polaroid, taken on film not available until June 1989, shows the blurry image of a girl's face, her mouth again covered with tape, her hairline exhibiting that same cowlick at the right temple. Behind her is light-blue striped fabric similar to that on the pillow in the Toyota van photo. Another Polaroid, this one taken on film not available until February 1990, shows a woman loosely bound in gauze, her eyes covered with more gauze and large black-framed glasses. A man is sitting next to her on a passenger seat of an Amtrak train.

There have been speculations that the girl in this case file is Tara Calico , who disappeared from New Mexico in 1988.

96UMFL

Circumstances of Discovery
On June 15, 1989, a Polaroid photo of this boy, bound and gagged was found in a Port St. Joe, FL convenience store parking lot by a customer. The photo also showed an unidentified female, also bound. The photo was found where a white, late 1980's Toyota cargo van with no windows had previously been parked. This unidentified teenage girl was also seen on the beach in Port St. Joe, Florida on June 15, 1989. She was accompanied by several older Caucasian males, who appeared to be ordering the girl along the beach front. It is not known if this girl was being held against her will by these individuals or if the incident was staged. Investigators are still trying to ascertain the girl's identity, which would allow them to close the case or investigate further.

The girl in the photograph is speculated to be Tara Calico, who disappeared from New Mexico in 1988.

A tattered copy of "My Sweet Audrina" by V.C. Andrews, a plastic cup and a squirt gun are also visible in the photo. Polaroid officials say the picture was taken with film not available until May 1989. Two other photos have surfaced over the years. The first was found near a residential construction site in Montecito, California. The haunting Polaroid, taken on film not available until June 1989, shows the blurry image of a girl's face, her mouth again covered with tape, her hairline exhibiting that same cowlick at the right temple. Behind her is light-blue striped fabric similar to that on the pillow in the Toyota van photo. Another Polaroid, this one taken on film not available until February 1990, shows a woman loosely bound in gauze, her eyes covered with more gauze and large black-framed glasses. A man is sitting next to her on a passenger seat of an Amtrak train.

The child was speculated to be Michael Henley, who, like Calico, disappeared from New Mexico in 1988. Henley's remains were later recovered near the campground he disappeared from, likely dying from exposure.

An additional photograph of was mailed to the Port St. Joe police in 2009 depicting a boy with a similar appearence to the subject of the 1989 poloroid. It bore New Mexico postmarks but police were still unable to identify the boy.


Thread #1

 

[Copper]

Whenever there is any doubt, there is no doubt. Sorry DN, but "Closed Case" doesn't cut it for me. I will go to my grave believing that girl and boy were in trouble until shown otherwise.

 

[Truly_Mysterious]

Quote from Thread #1 - Nov 30, 2022 at 12:40 AM

I recieved a response from Becky Turner, who is the Florida Researcher for Doe Network

Hi (my name)
......I was as baffled about this case as your were.

The only thing listed on Doe is the following:
66UFFL discovered on June 15, 1989 in Port St. Joe, Florida is now a closed case. No further information is available.

Apparently the police didn’t release any info about who this woman was.

I tried searching online using a variety of words and found nothing.

Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.

Take care.......Bex

Quote from Thread #1 - Nov 30, 2022 at 3:10 PM

DS2021​

I recieved a follow up email

Hi (my name)......I found some additional info on case 66UFFL and why it was closed by Doe.

Apparently the photo of the bound woman on a train or bus was considered a hoax and the Doe case was closed.

The people in the photo were never identified.

Hope that gives you some additional info.

Take care......Bex

If this is true then the police could do with releasing a statement about this to clear things up. It's difficult for us to accept without knowing the circumstances around how the police originally obtained the Amtrak train photo and how they have now classified this photo as a hoax (a hoax to what by-the-way?). For the police to know for sure that this specific photo is some sick joke then they would need to get corroborating information in the form of maybe a statement from someone in the actual photo whom would have to prove it was them in the photo. Then maybe a statement from the person that took the original photo and if they had taken anymore photos then the police may have these as proof.

Sure it may not be Tara Calico in the train photo as long believed as you can't even really make out the womans face.

To me, this photo shows physical abuse being committed on this women and so hopefully it has been thoroughly investigated by the police. You can clearly see the guy's right hand grasping the back of the woman's neck and his fingers digging in deep (see red circle below), with enough pressure to make her neck tense up causing her head to tilt back. The guy's left arm grasping the women's top. Also, to me she looks petrified, but I know this photo can be very subjective. The only counter to that I would say is that gauze around her wrists looks very loose.

Also, the problem with the DN 66uffl page was that there is no real proof that the 3 photos on there are the same female. So really they should have 3 different unidentified female pages. One for each photo. Or just two now if it's true that the police have officially identified one of the females, declaring the photo as a hoax/sick joke.

 

[thebigcookie]

Quote from Thread #1 - Nov 30, 2022 at 12:40 AM


Quote from Thread #1 - Nov 30, 2022 at 3:10 PM


If this is true then the police could do with releasing a statement about this to clear things up. It's difficult for us to accept without knowing the circumstances around how the police originally obtained the Amtrak train photo and how they have now classified this photo as a hoax (a hoax to what by-the-way?). For the police to know for sure that this specific photo is some sick joke then they would need to get corroborating information in the form of maybe a statement from someone in the actual photo whom would have to prove it was them in the photo. Then maybe a statement from the person that took the original photo and if they had taken anymore photos then the police may have these as proof.

Sure it may not be Tara Calico in the train photo as long believed as you can't even really make out the womans face.

To me, this photo shows physical abuse being committed on this women and so hopefully it has been thoroughly investigated by the police. You can clearly see the guy's right hand grasping the back of the woman's neck and his fingers digging in deep (see red circle below), with enough pressure to make her neck tense up causing her head to tilt back. The guy's left arm grasping the women's top. Also, to me she looks petrified, but I know this photo can be very subjective. The only counter to that I would say is that gauze around her wrists looks very loose.
View attachment 384741
Also, the problem with the DN 66uffl page was that there is no real proof that the 3 photos on there are the same female. So really they should have 3 different unidentified female pages. One for each photo. Or just two now if it's true that the police have officially identified one of the females, declaring the photo as a hoax/sick joke.

As far as that train photo goes, the woman there is wearing glasses. Did Tara wear glasses?

 

[Tired Professor]

Quote from Thread #1 - Nov 30, 2022 at 12:40 AM


Quote from Thread #1 - Nov 30, 2022 at 3:10 PM


If this is true then the police could do with releasing a statement about this to clear things up. It's difficult for us to accept without knowing the circumstances around how the police originally obtained the Amtrak train photo and how they have now classified this photo as a hoax (a hoax to what by-the-way?). For the police to know for sure that this specific photo is some sick joke then they would need to get corroborating information in the form of maybe a statement from someone in the actual photo whom would have to prove it was them in the photo. Then maybe a statement from the person that took the original photo and if they had taken anymore photos then the police may have these as proof.

Sure it may not be Tara Calico in the train photo as long believed as you can't even really make out the womans face.

To me, this photo shows physical abuse being committed on this women and so hopefully it has been thoroughly investigated by the police. You can clearly see the guy's right hand grasping the back of the woman's neck and his fingers digging in deep (see red circle below), with enough pressure to make her neck tense up causing her head to tilt back. The guy's left arm grasping the women's top. Also, to me she looks petrified, but I know this photo can be very subjective. The only counter to that I would say is that gauze around her wrists looks very loose.
View attachment 384741
Also, the problem with the DN 66uffl page was that there is no real proof that the 3 photos on there are the same female. So really they should have 3 different unidentified female pages. One for each photo. Or just two now if it's true that the police have officially identified one of the females, declaring the photo as a hoax/sick joke.

I know, right? Probably staged, but creepy as heck. Looks like his hand is about to go up her shirt.

 

[Tired Professor]

As far as that train photo goes, the woman there is wearing glasses. Did Tara wear glasses?

Speaking of glasses… the sunglasses on the tray look like like there is something off with one of the lenses. At first I thought there was a tissue in front of it, now I am wondering if this is a bad photo shop job. If you enlarge it, it’s noticeable. There is also a white line through the beard of the man like a face was photoshopped on the head and face already there. is anyone else seeing this?

 

[Truly_Mysterious]

Speaking of glasses… the sunglasses on the tray look like like there is something off with one of the lenses. At first I thought there was a tissue in front of it, now I am wondering if this is a bad photo shop job. If you enlarge it, it’s noticeable. There is also a white line through the beard of the man like a face was photoshopped on the head and face already there. is anyone else seeing this?

I can't find any articles anywhere that say Tara wore glasses so who knows. Perhaps she was forced to where them as a disguise so that she wouldn't be recognised in public (like superman lol) because photos of Tara were plastered all over the newspapers at the time.

Sorry, the image posted above was digitally upscaled, enhanced version and so some of the marks you are seeing may be due to digital artifacts.

This is the best web image I could find that hasn't been digitally enhanced as far as I can tell. To me it looks like a digital photo taken of the original polaroid photo.

All I can see on the table is what look like a black purse, a can of Sprite, a pair of sun glasses and a red/white box of cigarettes maybe.

 

[Tired Professor]

I can't find any articles anywhere that say Tara wore glasses so who knows. Perhaps she was forced to where them as a disguise so that she wouldn't be recognised in public (like superman lol) because photos of Tara were plastered all over the newspapers at the time.

Sorry, the image posted above was digitally upscaled, enhanced version and so some of the marks you are seeing may be due to digital artifacts.
View attachment 384785
This is the best web image I could find that hasn't been digitally enhanced as far as I can tell. To me it looks like a digital photo taken of the original polaroid photo.

All I can see on the table is what look like a black purse, a can of Sprite, a pair of sun glasses and a red/white box of cigarettes maybe.

Oh yes, you are correct it’s not looking so much like a photoshop in this picture. I was also thinking those were cigarettes as well, possibly Marlboro?

 

[Truly_Mysterious]

Oh yes, you are correct it’s not looking so much like a photoshop in this picture. I was also thinking those were cigarettes as well, possibly Marlboro?

Yes, I think so too.

 

[Truly_Mysterious]

Can you image if you were on public transport and you witnessed this happening, even if it was a joke the passengers may not have known that. They would have been terrified and I wonder why no one came forward to the police. Unless it was private or empty railroad car of course. Also, sometimes people have a single stationary railroad car on their property that they use as a second home. There's a serial killer I'm trying to remember, a guy who took his younger victims into his railroad car, well away from his main family home, neighbors and from prying eyes. He then assaulted and murdered them.

 

[Truly_Mysterious]

Found a couple of photos of what looks like the same train interior as in the train photo. It is indeed an Amtrak train which is what we've always been told, but more specifically it's a 1980s Amfleet II type of railway coach.


P.s sorry about this minecraft character. I could not find any rear facing photos without passengers in view.

Amfleet II Coach-interior

 

[case researcher]

I had not followed this case for a long time and saw that the case of this girl and boy was closed!
Who seriously identified them already, or did the investigation simply lead to a dead end???

 

[YaYa_521]

Both cases have now been closed according to The Doe Network. Thread is now tagged as Resolved and moved to the Identified sub forum.

66UFFL

66UFFL - Unidentified Female​

Closed Case

96UMFL

96UMFL - Unidentified Male​

Closed Case

 

[Friday Fan]

The two kids could appear on TV and speculation would go on forever.


Was LE even involved in identifying the two kids?
Was there a NAMUS file?
Why is the pic still connected to Tara Calico? I believe it's been established that it isn't Tara, but the myth lives on.
If it was Tara wouldn't there be like a NAMUS file or something?

 

[ifindedout]

Found a couple of photos of what looks like the same train interior as in the train photo. It is indeed an Amtrak train which is what we've always been told, but more specifically it's a 1980s Amfleet II type of railway coach.

View attachment 384849
P.s sorry about this minecraft character. I could not find any rear facing photos without passengers in view.
View attachment 384850
Amfleet II Coach-interior

The difference between Amfleet I and Amfleet II is that Amfleet II has taller windows, as well as wider seat spacing and the legrests. Some of the Amfleet IIs were also upholstered in blue for Metroliner service, in the years before the Acela. FWIW, I have ridden in all types of Amfleet (and the original Metroliner on which Amfleet was based) numerous times.

Amfleet - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[sony12]

Sigh. We were so close to letting these photos rest in peace. Guess the only thing that will stop the 'looks real/no it doesn't' talk is for the girl to make a public appearance and say it was her.

 

[sonz82]

This case is not resolved according to the detective in charge of this case.

 

[Jgrabko]

Yeah, frankly it's not resolved in my mind until the people involved are identified. Never saw why they didn't blast them on tv... the guy in the train photo could be clearly identified if someone knew them.

 

[Lwieckowicz]

Yeah, frankly it's not resolved in my mind until the people involved are identified. Never saw why they didn't blast them on tv... the guy in the train photo could be clearly identified if someone knew them.

I agree it’s a very clear photo with his features all illuminated well and facing forward, if someone knows that guy they would be able tell with 100% certainty who that guy is