Resolved FL - Port St Joe, 2 Children 96UMFL & 66UFFL, bound & gagged in photo, Jun'89

[case researcher]

hmm, if they were kidnapped at the beginning of summer....you can clearly see..who gets used faster...and who else is in shock and fear...that's what I said by the way.

 

[Romulus]

I repeat to get to something you have to identify that man, only he knows the truth and yet the face is clearly visible.

 

[case researcher]

I repeat to get to something you have to identify that man, only he knows the truth and yet the face is clearly visible.

To be honest, if all these three pictures turned out to be fake, then the police WOULD definitely have to make sure whether it was a joke or not. Well, imagine that you get pictures that show minors who are still tied up and their mouths are taped shut and you won’t check ?! And the police must and must identify everyone who is in these pictures, but there is no such thing!

 

[shinimeggie]

I repeat to get to something you have to identify that man, only he knows the truth and yet the face is clearly visible.

In the train photo? I feel pretty confident that one is the prank. It was done in public, on a train. As far as this trio of possibly unrelated photos, most people and possibly LE feel it's fake when you look it up.

 

[Romulus]

If these photos are on Doe Network I have reason to believe that the police don't think it's a joke, otherwise you would have already closed the case; but even if it were a joke, identify the man, ask for clarification, make inquiries even if only to exonerate him; I also understand that the case is old, that money and staff are needed and many of these cases no longer matter.

 

[case researcher]

In the train photo? I feel pretty confident that one is the prank. It was done in public, on a train. As far as this trio of possibly unrelated photos, most people and possibly LE feel it's fake when you look it up.

in the first and second photo the girl may well be the same.

 

[shinimeggie]

If these photos are on Doe Network I have reason to believe that the police don't think it's a joke, otherwise you would have already closed the case; but even if it were a joke, identify the man, ask for clarification, make inquiries even if only to exonerate him; I also understand that the case is old, that money and staff are needed and many of these cases no longer matter.

I think part of the problem is that the photos aren't related. It's not like they were all found at the same time, or show the same scene with different angles. It's of (likely) different people, at different times, in different situations, including just... in public, on a train. I think if the first photo (the van photo, to clarify) hadn't been found, no-one would have been bothered by the next two.

I swear I read somewhere that someone had come forward about the second photo, but you know how it is -- you can never find something when you want to. I'll link to the article if I do manage to find it, however.

 

[bears10]

(fixed-reupload)
well, and perhaps with your permission, so to speak, I will share with my last (so far) theory, it will be about how the objects turned out to be in the photos: the girl has a book, a plastic glass, and it’s hard to understand what it is, well, let’s say it’s a water gun .. So, on one hot, sunny day, two young people, brother and sister, decided in the midst of summer to arrange a picnic, camping somewhere, in nature, in short, they wanted to relax in nature, but their parents said “no” to them, maybe due to lack of capital or just didn't have time. And they decided then to go and find a nice quiet place and have a picnic or camping, you understand. Well, when the parents were not at home, they began to collect things the girl took food, water and those same plastic cups (2) to pour juice or something else because this is the best choice and of course the girl took the very book "my sweet audrina" to read in silence and fresh air. And the kid, in that turn, took his water pistol, you know, at his age, I think 80 percent of the children also took whatever kind of sticks or water pistols and imagined that they were holding a powerful plasma rifle or a formidable sword, they did everything in childhood. Well, they gathered everything they needed and moved on, and here there are several options, either when they left the house they were already followed by a white van, or they were caught when they already found a place and settled down then they were most likely caught, well, and then it’s already clear what happened ... Well, I seem to have spoken out, naturally this theory should not be taken seriously, this is just my opinion ...

This sounds like a writing prompt, no offense. So two siblings, who may or may not be orphans/have alcoholic parents, go off into the woods one day and get abducted, and their abductor makes sure to also abduct their book and water gun?

 

[bears10]

look at the paradox about these children, no one said that they disappeared once or twice, if they are alive now, WHY are they silent, because this photo has long become well, of course, not popular, but it hasn’t gone unnoticed either, and what it turns out is that this girl or boy is not they never noticed on the Internet this photo in which they themselves or one of their friends would not report this, like: "hey, look, I found your photo on the Internet, it's exactly you are depicted on it" .....
well, or these young people are really alive, they just live in a wild forest, it turns out ...


There may still be an option that these young men may have been captured in general in another country.

BBM. Because they probably have no idea this photo exists and that it's floating around on the internet. I would bet my paycheck that 100% of my family, friends, coworkers, and acquaintances have never seen this picture before and many have probably never even heard of Tara Calico either. This photo is known in the "true crime community" (for lack of a better term), but outside of the true crime community, there really isn't much reason to stumble across this picture.

 

[GatorFL]

In the train photo? I feel pretty confident that one is the prank. It was done in public, on a train. As far as this trio of possibly unrelated photos, most people and possibly LE feel it's fake when you look it up.

IIRC it was not a train but a Toyota minivan. The one where she's tied up with toilet paper?

 

[shinimeggie]

IIRC it was not a train but a Toyota minivan. The one where she's tied up with toilet paper?

And wearing sunglasses -- it's a very dopey, 'dumb teenagers doing dumb things' photo. IIRC it was maybe something called an Amtrack train? (Again, sorry, I'm not American!) But that may have been in debate or otherwise clarified later, so you might be right!

 

[Vern]

IIRC it was not a train but a Toyota minivan. The one where she's tied up with toilet paper?

Tied with TP = train:

Chilling Polaroid snaps give sinister clues to what happened to missing woman

Tara Calico, 19, disappeared during a bike ride on September 20, 1998, and 23 years on investigators have never been able to find her, but mysterious Polaroid photos could paint a sinister picture of her demise

www.dailystar.co.uk

I have no idea when the train photo was actally discovered, but Tara went missing on 20/09/88. It seems to me that this cannot possibly be her in the train photo as it looks like there is a smart phone under the wallet on the meal tray even though it too is a polaroid.

Anyone else seem to see that?

 

[GatorFL]

Tied with TP = train:

Chilling Polaroid snaps give sinister clues to what happened to missing woman

Tara Calico, 19, disappeared during a bike ride on September 20, 1998, and 23 years on investigators have never been able to find her, but mysterious Polaroid photos could paint a sinister picture of her demise

www.dailystar.co.uk

I have no idea when the train photo was actally discovered, but Tara went missing on 20/09/88. It seems to me that this cannot possibly be her in the train photo as it looks like there is a smart phone under the wallet on the meal tray even though it too is a polaroid.

Anyone else seem to see that?

Ah ok, thanks. I don't follow this one very close.

Yeah it does look like a cell phone on the table.

 

[case researcher]

This sounds like a writing prompt, no offense. So two siblings, who may or may not be orphans/have alcoholic parents, go off into the woods one day and get abducted, and their abductor makes sure to also abduct their book and water gun?

Uh, there’s no point in leaving these things there, I’ll even say more when they were kidnapped by the kidnapper - (he, they), he / they even threw it, if possible, well, for example, the place where these young people rested with leaves, in short, they completely hid the trace. And just leaving everything like this is at least nonsense on the part of the kidnapper.

 

[case researcher]

BBM. Because they probably have no idea this photo exists and that it's floating around on the internet. I would bet my paycheck that 100% of my family, friends, coworkers, and acquaintances have never seen this picture before and many have probably never even heard of Tara Calico either. This photo is known in the "true crime community" (for lack of a better term), but outside of the true crime community, there really isn't much reason to stumble across this picture.

I know why none of your friends know about this photo because they are not depicted on it. This is where the thing is, I think that it’s almost impossible not to see yourself on the Internet ..... for so many years .... it’s not real ... Well, maybe the girl and the boy didn’t have and don’t have access to internet???

 

[shinimeggie]

I know why none of your friends know about this photo because they are not depicted on it. This is where the thing is, I think that it’s almost impossible not to see yourself on the Internet ..... for so many years .... it’s not real ... Well, maybe the girl and the boy didn’t have and don’t have access to internet???

What? Of course it can be impossible to see yourself on the internet if you don't know the photo of you is out there. They aren't tagged in it and likely aren't looking for random photos of themselves, if they even remember being in that photo to begin with.

 

[Springrain]

Trying to say this as respectfully as I can: I think a lot of people want this to be a sensational, tragic thing because it's more "interesting".

Ah ok, thanks. I don't follow this one very close.

Yeah it does look like a cell phone on the table.

I remember reading speculation that it was a cigarette case.

I know why none of your friends know about this photo because they are not depicted on it. This is where the thing is, I think that it’s almost impossible not to see yourself on the Internet ..... for so many years .... it’s not real ... Well, maybe the girl and the boy didn’t have and don’t have access to internet???

I...yeah, you can absolutely be on the internet and not know it. This is a weird point to make in my respectful opinion.

 

[case researcher]

What? Of course it can be impossible to see yourself on the internet if you don't know the photo of you is out there. They aren't tagged in it and likely aren't looking for random photos of themselves, if they even remember being in that photo to begin with.

Okay, this photo is a joke, yes, they took a picture, looked at how they look and left it, but then they accidentally lost the photo in the parking lot and soon they realized that they had lost the photo, which shows them tied up and with their mouths sealed. And the sister says to her brother: “Imagine what will happen if our photo is found and shown to the police, they will look for us, I think our photo will soon appear on the news and we may even be on the Internet,” the girl said laughing. And that's exactly how when they got access to the Internet, I think IF they didn't forget, of course, the first thing they tried to do was find their photo.

 

[shinimeggie]

Okay, this photo is a joke, yes, they took a picture, looked at how they look and left it, but then they accidentally lost the photo in the parking lot and soon they realized that they had lost the photo, which shows them tied up and with their mouths sealed. And the sister says to her brother: “Imagine what will happen if our photo is found and shown to the police, they will look for us, I think our photo will soon appear on the news and we may even be on the Internet,” the girl said laughing. And that's exactly how when they got access to the Internet, I think IF they didn't forget, of course, the first thing they tried to do was find their photo.

I really just don't think that's happened.

If I lost a physical copy of a photo back in the 80s, and then got the internet in the 2000s, I wouldn't be looking for that photo.

I don't even know how you'd begin to search, what keywords, why you'd assume it would be found, why you would assume someone uploaded it onto the vast, vast internet, why it would stick out in your mind (I don't remember every photo taken of me as an adult, let alone in my childhood), why you would assume it would go to the police...

I just don't think that's plausible.

 

[GatorFL]

Trying to say this as respectfully as I can: I think a lot of people want this to be a sensational, tragic thing because it's more "interesting".

I remember reading speculation that it was a cigarette case.

I...yeah, you can absolutely be on the internet and not know it. This is a weird point to make in my respectful opinion.

BBM: If I have learned one thing on Websleuths, there are not many sensational cases. Occam's razor seems to fit most of these mysteries, IMO.