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

[kevmob77]

The police should have released the pictures that they withheld from the public, as bad as they may have been. Personally, I think the picture found in Florida had way too many similarities with Tara in appearance. Along with the fact that her favorite book was sitting next to her in the picture. If it was a staged photo, how would the person who took the picture know her favorite book? By chance? I doubt that. If Scotland Yard says it's Tara in the photo, including her mother, I tend to believe them. I really think the police should have looked a lot more into the Florida connection in relation to where the photo was found. Hope this case gets solved someday.

 

[Mr. E]

I am new to this mystery but have read back through the threads. I am confused by the following posts:


Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - OSBI Needs Help to Identify Woman Found In Photo
Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - Tara Calico and the Photographs

Which pic had an Iraqi girl in it? :waitasec:
TIA

If I recall, the first link regards a since-solved case involving a photograph that was found at a gas station. The photo turned out to be an Iraqi woman who had been murdered -- maybe it was a police photo, I can't remember. It had nothing to do with Tara Calico or the photos found in FLA.

 

[Harmony 2]

If I recall, the first link regards a since-solved case involving a photograph that was found at a gas station. The photo turned out to be an Iraqi woman who had been murdered -- maybe it was a police photo, I can't remember. It had nothing to do with Tara Calico or the photos found in FLA.

Nice to meet you Mr. E and thanks for your reply. Is the photo solved the one where a young male or female are bound with duct tape on their wrists and ankles?

 

[Mr. E]

Nice to meet you Mr. E and thanks for your reply. Is the photo solved the one where a young male or female are bound with duct tape on their wrists and ankles?

No, that case is still a mystery. The case that was solved was the one with the Iraqi woman. A photo of a woman was found at a gas station, but I think (it's been awhile, so I can't remember details) it turned out that the photo was among some items brought back from Iraq (from a military person, I think?). It was a murder case in Iraq, and I think it was solved.

The case of the photo found in Florida is a mystery all around. Who are the kids? Is it authentic, or a joke? Apparently there were some other photos found that may have the girl in them, but to my knowledge they have never been published.

Nice to meet you, too!:wave:

 

[Harmony 2]

No, that case is still a mystery. The case that was solved was the one with the Iraqi woman. A photo of a woman was found at a gas station, but I think (it's been awhile, so I can't remember details) it turned out that the photo was among some items brought back from Iraq (from a military person, I think?). It was a murder case in Iraq, and I think it was solved.

The case of the photo found in Florida is a mystery all around. Who are the kids? Is it authentic, or a joke? Apparently there were some other photos found that may have the girl in them, but to my knowledge they have never been published.

Nice to meet you, too!:wave:

Thanks for clearing that up for me.

 

[kandoo76]

I have mentioned this before but what if the other child is not a boy and is actually a girl with her hair pulled back? Does anyone else think this maybe a possibilty? :waitasec:

 

[believe09]

I have mentioned this before but what if the other child is not a boy and is actually a girl with her hair pulled back? Does anyone else think this maybe a possibilty? :waitasec:

I agree with you. I would also like to know what makes LE so sure about her age and that the girl was the one seen on the beach being hustled around?

To me the smaller child looks like Jacob Wetterling, which is of course impossible.

 

[SarahR]

With this being such an old case would there be any possibility getting a hold of any of the police investigation documents, like in the Caylee Anthony case?

 

[Kat]

http://www.newsherald.com/news/joe-76835-port-rekindled.html

August 22, 2009 12:23:00 PM

Missing children mystery rekindles in Port St. Joe

...The recent mailing of three letters containing a new, disturbing image of an unidentified young boy to the Port St. Joe Police Department and The Star newspaper has added a twist to a 20-year-old mystery: Who are the children in these photos? Are they dead or was it a hoax? And how did the photos end up in Port St. Joe?...

...Earlier this month, Port St. Joe Police Chief David Barnes received two letters, postmarked June 10 and Aug. 10 from Albuquerque, N.M. The children in the 1989 picture are believed by some to be two children — Tara Calico and Michael Paul Henley — reported missing in New Mexico.

One letter contained a photo, printed on copy paper, of a young boy with sandy brown hair. Someone had drawn a black band in ink on the photo, over the boy’s mouth, as if it were covered in tape like the 1989 picture. The second letter contained an original image of the boy.

On Aug. 12, The Star newspaper in Port St. Joe received a third letter, also postmarked in Albuquerque on Aug. 10 and depicting the same image, of a boy with black marker drawn over his mouth.

None of the letters contained a return address or a note indicating the child’s identity...

Much more at link.

There are three pictures to the top right of the article. They are copyrighted and I could not save them to my computer to post here.

ETA: link to three pictures (large size) http://www.newsherald.com/sections/article/gallery/?pic=3&id=76835

 

[Kat]

I just wanted to add an observation that I made about the writing on the envelope in which these latest pictures were sent to LE.

The numerals are made in a very old style. The seven in particular and the four and the six remind me of the European style of writing numerals. Just a thought.

 

[dearmont]

repost from Tara Calico thread:
This may be what the boy looks like in original photo

 

[Mr. E]

There is a slight resemblance to Scott Allen Kleeschulte.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/k/kleeschulte_scott.html

I almost didn't post it because there are differences, too. Scott has a longer face, I think, and a longer nose. But I do see a resemblance around the eyes, and the way Scott's eyebrow kind of arches. It's hard to tell because it's not a clear picture of the boy, and I've only ever seen the one picture of Scott.

 

[dearmont]

Shawn Patrick Betz missing from Upland CA Jan 1988

 

[believe09]

I love the betz possible, dearmont, but i think the UID boy has some pretty distinctive ears...I mean the earlobe is pretty pronounced and fleshy and unattached...JMO

 

[dearmont]

It's a longshot - I agree - but I've looked over all the photos on all missing persons sites for children in the age group 2 years before and 2 years after the date the photo of the bound kids was found. Shawn Betz is closest match I can find so far. It's almost a straight line - going east - from where Shawn went missing to where Tara Calico was abducted. I have not finished the analysis but there is a pattern of child abductions along the path east to Florida following Tara's disappearance. I'm not ready to discount the possibility that these two cases are connected, yet.

 

[Harmony 2]

http://www.newsherald.com/news/joe-76835-port-rekindled.html

August 22, 2009 12:23:00 PM

Missing children mystery rekindles in Port St. Joe



Much more at link.

There are three pictures to the top right of the article. They are copyrighted and I could not save them to my computer to post here.

ETA: link to three pictures (large size) http://www.newsherald.com/sections/article/gallery/?pic=3&id=76835

Shawn Patrick Betz missing from Upland CA Jan 1988

I agree that they look very similar. The eyes appear to be the same color. Shawn Betz has green eyes which appear grayish and so does the boy in the article Kat posted.

http://dojapp.doj.ca.gov/missing/image.aspx?img_id=4478802131132mp2.jpg&width=200

http://dojapp.doj.ca.gov/missing/detail.asp?FCN=4478802131132

 

[TripleA]

I see a strong resemblance to Betz.

 

[Kat]

With this being such an old case would there be any possibility getting a hold of any of the police investigation documents, like in the Caylee Anthony case?

Hi Sarah, I think the reason we have so many LE docs available to us in the Anthony case is that because of the Sunshine Law there once a suspect is arrested and the state must prove it's case against that suspect, the LE docs are submitted to the court and then become public info. If I understand how it works in a very broad sense.

Since there isn't a suspect, and there isn't a crime being tried at this time, I don't imagine that we will have any access to LE documents in relation to this case.

 

[January.]

Their eyes are strikingly similar, but their noses are quite different. Also the width between the eyes and eyebrows are different. Definitely a possibility though. It's so hard to tell from just a couple photos.

 

[Spurser]

I have a few questions that I hope someone can answer (or at least give a theory).
Does anyone know if a hoax has been ruled out for the new pics? If it is the boy from the orignal pics, what reason would the kidnapper have for sending them? It seems like a stupid thing to do. Technology and forensics are much more advanced now (than when the original photo was found) and the chance of being caught seems risky. Plus, wouldn't the kidnapper be getting kind of old for such games with the police. That's assuming the kidnapper is the one that sent the pics.
Any thoughts?