NM NM - Tara Calico, 19, Belen, 20 Sept 1988

I've long thought there were holes in this theory. If they had accidentally run her down, the instinctual thing to do would be to drive away. Would they stop to move the body, thus incriminating themselves further? I'm assuming they must have grabbed her bicycle as well. There's more evidence they now have to dispose of. I'm not saying they couldn't have done this in a panicked state but for me this looks more like an abduction.
I don't believe that it was accidental. I agree with the theory that the boys knocked her off of her bike deliberately, abducted her, raped her, murdered her, and buried her in a remote location.
 
Just recently found out about the 1988 Tara Calico case, though I know it's been one of the more popular missing person(s) cases for years. I've done some research on this, and did recently see the "Cold Case Detective" episode re: this case.

It honestly doesn't sound like there's much mystery surrounding what happened here. It definitely appears that some local scum-bags (possibly in a white van) were intentionally tailing Tara on her bike, waited until there weren't any other cars around - and then intentionally ran into her, knocking her off the bike. They then took her to another location, and assaulted her. Then, they almost certainly buried her in a remote location, which is why she's never been found. It also sounds like the authorities knew exactly who did this (probably not long after it happened) - and, for various reasons, the suspects were never charged or even questioned. At this point, it also sounds like the either all or most of the suspects are deceased.

I completely discount the disturbing/suspicious photograph that was found in Florida in 1989. I believe that's a red herring, and that it's not Tara in the picture at all.

Of course, this leads to another question - who is the young woman & the kid in that picture?! That's another mystery.
 
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Of course, this leads to another question - who is the young woman & the kid in that picture?! That's another mystery.
I don't consider it that much of a mystery, because I'm almost certain it was a hoax.

I can understand why these people have never been identified. First off, we shouldn't assume they knew about its link to Tara Calico's disappearance. The photo was found almost a year after Tara vanished, 1,500 miles away. I think it was an immature prank and nothing more. For the sake of argument, if they did find out it was linked to two missing persons investigation, they were probably wary of the repercussions and investigation. The longer they waited to come forward, the worse it would've been.

Sometimes it’s best to just stay quiet.
 
Of course, this leads to another question - who is the young woman & the kid in that picture?! That's another mystery.
Oh, and here there is an irreducible number of theories and options for who they could be, and people still have a very different opinion about this photo, someone thinks that this photo is just a joke and is not related to this case at all - but then WHERE is this girl and boy, I mean , why are they silent, why are they, if they are alive and were not abducted, then why are they still unidentified, and some believe that this photo is not a joke and the photo is really a crime and these poor young men were in danger, but here, too, there are holes like if they were kidnapped, why weren't there any calls from the parents...

As for Tara, I’m more inclined to believe that local freak boys knocked her off the bike and raped and killed and buried somewhere in the desert, and the bike could have been dismantled and also thrown somewhere.
 
Oh, and here there is an irreducible number of theories and options for who they could be, and people still have a very different opinion about this photo, someone thinks that this photo is just a joke and is not related to this case at all - but then WHERE is this girl and boy, I mean , why are they silent, why are they, if they are alive and were not abducted, then why are they still unidentified, and some believe that this photo is not a joke and the photo is really a crime and these poor young men were in danger, but here, too, there are holes like if they were kidnapped, why weren't there any calls from the parents...

As for Tara, I’m more inclined to believe that local freak boys knocked her off the bike and raped and killed and buried somewhere in the desert, and the bike could have been dismantled and also thrown somewhere.
I’m sure the people in those photos just don’t know people are looking for them. Just thinking of all the people I know, family, friends, coworkers, I bet I am the only one that even knows these pics exist.
 
I’m sure the people in those photos just don’t know people are looking for them. Just thinking of all the people I know, family, friends, coworkers, I bet I am the only one that even knows these pics exist.
I don’t know, maybe your friends don’t know about this photo simply because it doesn’t show them? Well, in those days, these unidentified young people were shown on TV, they wrote in newspapers and they were already on the Internet, and I don’t think that not ANYONE from friends, acquaintances, classmates did not notice this brunette and the kid...Here's an example '' Hey, didn’t they just show my classmate and her brother on the news lol the police are looking for them, I need to tell them this''

On the one hand, maybe no one really noticed. Well then, I will only say that this brunette and the kid lived and live in a wild forest.....
 
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This is an article from one year ago but I haven't seen anyone on here talk about the search warrant that was executed. It's good to know they're still actively investigating. I can't find an update so it's hard to say if anything came from the search warrant. Clearly, not enough for an arrest.

From the article:

Rowland tells KOAT a search warrant “relevant to this case” was recently executed at a home in Valencia County.

But investigators say that the warrant is still sealed.

 
I just found an updated article from July. There are direct quotes from a friend of Tara's and also Lt. Rowland. He mentions the search warrant from last year.

 
Tricia is on live right now talking to a friend of Tara who has info on the case

Just watched part of it- thanks for posting the link. Tara’s friend said she has talked to the boy that was in the Polaroid picture. He told her the picture wasn’t a hoax and that he didn’t know who the girl was in the picture. He says he was five years old in that picture. He says he won’t go to the police because he was taken into a trafficking ring and police were part of this ring. I remember hearing that one of the boys who was rumored to have taken Tara, his dad was a local police officer.

Call me skeptical, but this guy could be like what happens in a lot of cases, somebody who wants attention and to insert themselves in the case. I don’t believe it yet, but totally open to changing my mind should the facts present themselves.
 
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Just watched part of it- thanks for posting the link. Tara’s friend said she has talked to the boy that was in the Polaroid picture. He told her the picture wasn’t a hoax and that he didn’t know who the girl was in the picture. He says he was five years old in that picture. He says he won’t go to the police because he was taken into a trafficking ring and police were part of this ring. I remember hearing that one of the boys who was rumored to have taken Tara, his dad was a local police officer.

Call me skeptical, but this guy could be like what happens in a lot of cases, somebody who wants attention and to insert themselves in the case. I don’t believe it yet, but totally open to changing my mind should the facts present themselves.
The boy looks way older than five.
 
I don't consider it that much of a mystery, because I'm almost certain it was a hoax.

I can understand why these people have never been identified. First off, we shouldn't assume they knew about its link to Tara Calico's disappearance. The photo was found almost a year after Tara vanished, 1,500 miles away. I think it was an immature prank and nothing more. For the sake of argument, if they did find out it was linked to two missing persons investigation, they were probably wary of the repercussions and investigation. The longer they waited to come forward, the worse it would've been.

Sometimes it’s best to just stay quiet.
Being from the pre Internet generation I have no problem believing it was many years if at all before people knew it was them.
 
We will have our answer to if the girl in the polaroid is Tara or not soon. Her Doe Network says "Case Closed.". Note that it does not say "Identified... Identified... Identified" like it normally says on Doe's. Who knows though, maybe this is Tara or another girl. Will have to wait and see.

A reason this could not be a staged prank is that the boy's page does not say "Closed Case" and is the same as before. Maybe they identified the girl but not the boy?


 
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We will have our answer to if the girl in the polaroid is Tara or not soon. Her Doe Network says "Case Closed.". Note that it does not say "Identified... Identified... Identified" like it normally says on Doe's. Who knows though, maybe this is Tara or another girl. Will have to wait and see.

A reason this could not be a staged prank is that the boy's page does not say "Closed Case" and is the same as before. Maybe they identified the girl but not the boy?


Who is going to answer?
 
We will have our answer to if the girl in the polaroid is Tara or not soon. Her Doe Network says "Case Closed.". Note that it does not say "Identified... Identified... Identified" like it normally says on Doe's. Who knows though, maybe this is Tara or another girl. Will have to wait and see.

A reason this could not be a staged prank is that the boy's page does not say "Closed Case" and is the same as before. Maybe they identified the girl but not the boy?


Thanks so much for posting this. My big question is how can the case be closed if the girl is unidentified? The page also shows it was last updated in 2018. This is very confusing and leads to more questions.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the infamous photo couldn't have been taken until May 1989 right? And the other photos are dated even later.

Seems incredibly unlikely that a kidnapper would've kept Tara alive all that time. And why would she still be bound and gagged in a van after at least eight months?

I know there are cases such as Jaycee Lee Dugard and Elizabeth Smart who were kept in captivity for prolonged periods, although both were some years younger than Tara, and their abductors weren't in the habit of leaving photos of their crime in public.

I still think it was a thoughtless prank that backfired and those involved took a vow of silence.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the infamous photo couldn't have been taken until May 1989 right? And the other photos are dated even later.

Seems incredibly unlikely that a kidnapper would've kept Tara alive all that time. And why would she still be bound and gagged in a van after at least eight months?

I know there are cases such as Jaycee Lee Dugard and Elizabeth Smart who were kept in captivity for prolonged periods, although both were some years younger than Tara, and their abductors weren't in the habit of leaving photos of their crime in public.

I still think it was a thoughtless prank that backfired and those involved took a vow of silence.
I agree about the whole timing thing being strange if this was Tara but wouldn't Doe Network flag the boy's case as closed if it was a prank? There is the possibility that they identified who the girl was but not the boy though. I will link the boys Doe Network.

 
The type of film used in the 1989 photo wasn’t available until 1989. It’s definitely not Tara in that photo. But thanks to the internet, it has a strong association with her case. I just wish the people could come forward so we could put this to rest. Maybe someone secretly came forward and doesn’t want to be identified.
 

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