Teen kidnapped with no trace until chilling Polaroid photo turns up a year later

10 December 2023 , 08:00

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Tara was just 19 when she vanished while out on a bike ride (Image: FBI)

For more than 35 years, the fate of a teenager who was kidnapped and seemingly vanished before turning up in a Polaroid photo a year later has left detectives scratching their heads.

But just six months ago, there was a potential breakthrough with investigators saying they now know what happened. On September 20, 1988, 19-year-old Tara Calico decided to go for a bike ride in Belen, New Mexico.

It was something she did every day, this day leaving at around 9.30am. Her usual routine involved a 36-mile ride, but on this day she rode her mother's bicycle, a 10-speed neon pink Huffy bicycle, as her own was damaged.

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For more than 35 years the fate of Tara Calico was a mystery, but now, detectives say they may finally have a breakthrough (FBI)

Tara is on the FBI's most wanted list of missing and/or kidnapped persons (FBI)

She had told her mother, Patty Doel, jokingly, to come in search of her if she wasn't home by noon, according to the original police report. When Tara didn't return home, Patty went out in search of her, and when she couldn't find her, reported Tara missing at around 3pm.

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Tara's regular route took her along New Mexico State Road 47. According to the FBI she was last seen along Highway 48 in Valencia County at around 11.45am. The only items she had taken with her were her Sony Walkman and headphones, and a cassette tape of the band Boston.

Normally, Tara would ride with her mother, but in a previous incident, her mother had been convinced they were being followed by a motorist and she no longer felt comfortable going. She encouraged Tara to carry mace, but the headstrong teen rejected the idea.

Tara was last seen along New Mexico State Road 47 at around 11.45am, just 15 minutes before her mother sent out searching for her (John Phelan/WikiCommons)

Later that day, police found pieces of Tara's Walkman along the cassette tape, scattered along the side of the road. But Tara and her bike were nowhere to be found.

Witnesses came forward and said they'd seen an older-model white or light pickup truck with a camper shell in the area where Tara was last seen, with some saying they saw the truck following Tara on the return leg of her journey. In 2008, several witnesses came forward to say the two young men in the truck had been following Tara, trying to talk to her while grabbing at her, and the truck hit the bicycle, knocking her to the ground.

For 10 months after Tara's disappearance Patty and her husband John heard nothing. Then on June 15, 1989, a mysterious Polaroid picture was discovered in a convenience store parking lot in Port St Joe, Florida - almost 1,500 miles from where Tara had disappeared.

It was believed Tara was the girl in the Polaroid, however, the FBI confirmed recently it was not her (Wikipedia)

In July, a friend called John with the news of the Polaroid which showed a young woman and a boy who'd been bound and gagged, saying the woman looked just like John's daughter, Tara. The photo, a colour Polaroid in good condition, was discovered by a woman in the parking lot.

Both people in the photograph are seen facing the camera, their mouths taped and arms pressed together behind their backs as though tied up. It seemed as though they were in the back of a vehicle, possibly a van, and appeared in distress.

The Polaroid raised numerous questions, with Patty believing until her death that it was Tara in that photo. The photo was analysed at least three different times over the years, including by the FBI who strongly believed it wasn't Tara but couldn't say for certain at the time.

Additional Polaroid photos were found after Tara's disappearance (National Center for Missing Adults)

The case left law enforcement racking their brains trying to figure out what had happened to the freckly-faced teen. Then, on June 6, 2023, Valencia County Sheriff's Office said they had made "substantial progress" in the joint investigation with the FBI.

"Law enforcement believes they have identified the offenders associated with Tara Calico's disappearance," said Valencia Lieutenant Joseph Rowland, lead investigator. "We are seeking to charge and arrest the offenders. New evidence was found stemming from investigative work in October 2020 to the present."

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An age progression picture of what Tara may look like in 2018 at age 49 (FBI)

Tara's mother died not knowing what happened to her daughter (National Center for Missing Adults)

Lieutenant Rowland added: "The District Attorney's Office has assigned a team of prosecutors to review the investigation. This case has obvious challenges due to its age and circumstances. Legal experts are currently being briefed and caught up on 34 years of investigative work."

Any details or names linked to suspects or any information about the evidence have remained sealed, with detectives still asking the public for information. The FBI has also confirmed the girl in the Polaroid was not Tara.

The case was handed to the District Attorney's office with the team now searching through decades' worth of files. In order to sign off on charges, they must first rule out a laundry list of other suspects who were named over the years. Only then could there potentially be some justice for Tara Calico.

Fiona Leishman