Tara Calico; Missing 21 Years

Tara Calico, then 19 years old, left her house on Brugg Street in Belen, New Mexico to go on a bike ride at 9:30 on the morning of September 20, 1988. She took her mother's pink neon HUFFY mountain bike with yellow control cables and sidewalls on them. Her own bike was damaged from a previous incident. She was last seen on Highway 47 in Valencia County, at approximately 11:45 a.m. This location is approximately two miles from her home. She has never been seen again. 
Calico biked the route daily during her routine 36-mile ride. Her bike was never located. 
When Tara did not return by 12:05 PM, her mother, Patty Dooel, walked along her usually bike route to look for her. She could not find Tara, and called police. The following day, police recovered some of Tara's items. One was a Boston cassette tape on the opposite side of the highway, 3 miles from her home. Bike marks and skid marks were also examined by the tape. Nineteen miles east of Highway 47, part of Tara's Sony Walkman was recovered as well.
On April 21, 1988, a nine-year-old boy named Michael Henley vanished in April 1988 from the same area of New Mexico as Calico. He was believed to be the boy in a Polaroid taken with a girl believed to be Calico that are both bound with black tape over their mouths. His mother identified him in the photograph.
 A twist came when Henley's remains were found in the Zuni Mountains in 1990. Authorities now believe he was not the boy in the polaroid, because it seems he wandered away and died from exposure, never leaving New Mexico. The kids in the photograph remain unidentified, and some question if the picture itself is just a cruel hoax.
The FBI examined the photo and cannot determine whether the girl is Calico, but experts at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Arizona believes the girl is Calico.

Tara was an active college student with the world at her feet. Investigators believe multiple individuals know who took that away from her.

 Investigators believe the photo was taken after May 1989 because the film used was not available until then. The girl's hairline and ear are similar to Calico's, and she has a mark on her calf similar to a scar Calico got from an car accident injury. It is not known whether the Polaroid was staged or whether the boy and girl were being held against their will. Today Tara would be 40 years old. 

Witnesses saw a dirty white or light gray-colored 1953 Ford pickup truck with a white handmade shell following Calico during her ride. It is not known if the truck is connected to her presumed abduction, but it was said Tara was unaware of its presence.

Above is the infamous Polaroid picture found in the parking lot of a convenience store in Port St. Joe, FL. The girl and boy in the photograph remain unidentified.

Tara has hazel eyes and brown hair. She has a lazy eye and a cowlick on her right temple. She is 5'7" and weighs 120 lbs. Calico has a large scar on the back of her right shoulder and a scar on her calf. She has a dime-sized brown birthmark on the back of one of her legs.
Tara loved making lists, and was worried about staying on schedule that day because she had plans to play tennis with her boyfriend at 12:30 PM that day, followed by class at 4:00 PM at the University of New Mexico in Valencia, where she excelled and carried a high GPA. 

Tara Calico age progressed photograph.

Tara is said to be a very organized girl-she was efficient and independent. No one knows if it's her in the Polaroid picture. I've looked at it, and I have doubts myself that it is, but I would never count the possibility out. I think she either must have got accidentally killed on her bike or abducted for some kind of slavery ring. Police also have a second set of information that Tara was approached by two male teenagers who were following her closely on her bike and harassing her. It was said they accidentally hit her with their truck, then panicked afterwards. It is believed by police, it's believed multiple people have information of where Tara is, but are not talking. After doing research of my own, that's about all I can come up with. That definitely doesn't mean that she isn't alive-she still has a stepfather and siblings alive who is still searching for her. Her mother, Patty, passed away in 2006.
A documentary about Tara's life and disappearance is being made as a tribute and publicity vehicle to push those forward who have stood in silence for so long. A #justice4TaraCalico program is also up and running, with directors, actresses and others posing with "Justice4Tara" on tennis balls. You can see the photos at www.taracalico.com . It this simple people: do the right thing!!

This is the cover of the website made by Melinda Esquibel, Tara's former classmate. It has updates on Tara's case, on the documentary and the #Justice4TaraCalico movement . Visit the Pinterest link below to see the celebrities who are joining the movement to bring Tara home!

*Police Info: 
Valencia County Sheriff's Department 505-865-9604 
Federal Bureau Of Investigation Albuquerque, New Mexico Office 505-224-2000
 Belen Police Department 505-864-4403 
The New Mexico Department of Public Safety 505-827-9297

*Source:  
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/calico_tara.html
https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/654/36?current_page=case_information
www.taracalico.com
http://pinterest.com/takeme2mypeople/justice4taracalico/