Woman Disappears in New Mexico in 1988 and Kidnapper Leaves Behind a Creepy Polaroid
It's almost like he was toying with the police...
Tara Calico was a young woman from Belen, New Mexico who disappeared in September of 1988. The only traces found of her afterward were a polaroid photo of an unidentified young woman and a boy, both gagged and tied up, which was televised after its discovery in a convenience store parking lot in Port St. Joe, Florida. While Calico’s mother seemed convinced that the photo was of Tara, the FBI was skeptical and after a few analyses, the matter was inconclusive.
Where Did She Disappear To?
Calico left her house at 9:30 am for her daily bike ride down New Mexico State Road 47. She would sometimes be accompanied by her mother who stopped after some time as she felt she was being stalked by a motorist. On the morning Calico disappeared, she asked her mother to come to get her if she wasn’t home by noon. She said she had plans to play tennis with her boyfriend at around 12:30. When Calico didn’t return, her mother went searching up and down route 47 but found nothing. She then called the police.
While witnesses saw her riding along the road, nobody saw her getting kidnapped, although some say she was being closely followed by a light Ford pickup truck with a camper shell. In 1989, a polaroid picture of a gagged and bound young woman and a boy was found in a Florida convenience store parking lot and subsequently televised. The woman who found the photo claimed that a windowless white Toyota van had been parked in the spot where she found it. She claimed that the van was driven by a mustached man who looked to be in his 30s. Polaroid officials believe the photo had to have been taken in 1989, as the film the photo was shot with was not available until then. After the photo was televised, friends of Calico’s mother contacted her telling her about the photo. A number of relatives of Michael Henley, who also disappeared from New Mexico in 1988, saw the episode of A Current Affair which showcased the photo and claimed that they believed the boy to be Michael. Scotland Yard analyzed the photo and thought the woman was Calico, but the Los Alamos National Laboratory believed otherwise. An FBI examination led to inconclusive results.
While Henley’s mother was entirely convinced he was the boy in the photo, his identity as the boy was considered unlikely. His remains were found in the Zuni Mountains in 1990, about 7 miles from the family campsite he disappeared from, and close to 75 miles from where Calico disappeared. The police believe he wandered from the camp and died of exposure.
Several other photos have surfaced over the years. Some were of a boy, with a stripe of black marker drawn across his mouth like the gagged photo from 1989, and some of a young woman who resembled Calico. By 2009, Both the police of various locations as well as Calico’s mother and sister had had to sift through many possible photographic leads, but none except for one from Montecito, California gave them the impression that it was really Calico.
Later Developments in the Search:
In 2008, Valencia County Police Chief Rene Rivera claimed he had received a tip on two teenagers who accidentally hit Calico with their truck, panicked, and accidentally caused her demise. According to Rivera, the boys, who reportedly knew Calico, drove closely behind her and got into a traffic accident. They covered up the crime upon Calico’s death. Rivera claimed to know the names of the men in question but refused to disclose any information as he felt that the lack of physical evidence was not enough to build a case around. John Doel, Calico’s stepfather, felt otherwise; he believed that the Sheriff should not have commented on this evidence if he was unwilling to arrest anyone and that he felt the evidence, circumstantial as it was, was enough for a conviction. In 2013, a task force of 6 people was put together to investigate Calico’s disappearance, but as of 2017, no arrests were made. The case remained open, and in 2019, the FBI announced that they were offering a $20,000 prize for precise details that could lead to a location or identification of Calico, as well as information leading to the arrest and conviction of the responsible individuals. In 2021, Valencia County and New Mexico State Police announced that they have a new lead, and have issued a sealed warrant for an unidentified private residence in the Valencia County area. No further information has been presented.
Final Thoughts?
What do you think? Is a body required to build a homicide case as Rivera believes, or is the identity of the probable perpetrators enough? Was Calico killed or kidnapped? Was she hauled across the country, presumably to be raped or sold off, or was she buried in some nondescript location after a horrible accident?