WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.559 --> 00:00:11.640 On the morning of September twentieth, nineteen eighty eight, nineteen 2 00:00:11.720 --> 00:00:14.759 year old Tara Calico set out on her daily bike 3 00:00:14.839 --> 00:00:18.199 ride along a quiet stretch of road in Valencia County, 4 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:22.039 New Mexico, and was never seen again. Then, a year 5 00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:25.920 after she vanished, a disturbing discovery came to light. A 6 00:00:25.960 --> 00:00:29.440 polaroid photograph found in a Florida parking lot appeared to 7 00:00:29.440 --> 00:00:32.200 show a young woman bound and gagged, and she bore 8 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:37.280 a striking resemblance to Tara. This is the story of 9 00:00:37.320 --> 00:00:40.039 a young woman's disappearance who became one of the most 10 00:00:40.039 --> 00:00:44.880 haunting missing person's faces in American history. This is the 11 00:00:44.920 --> 00:00:47.079 story of Tara Calico. 12 00:00:49.399 --> 00:00:53.799 My name's Ben, I'm Nicole, and you're listening to Wicked Ingram, a. 13 00:00:53.759 --> 00:01:23.000 True crime podcast following a real intended audience. Listeners, you 14 00:01:23.079 --> 00:01:23.760 ready for this one? 15 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:24.359 I am? 16 00:01:24.719 --> 00:01:25.079 You are. 17 00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:25.680 Yeah. 18 00:01:26.040 --> 00:01:29.400 It's one way to bring in the weekend, because Happy Friday. 19 00:01:29.560 --> 00:01:30.400 It's yeah Friday. 20 00:01:30.519 --> 00:01:32.599 So yeah, it's a pretty well known one, for sure. 21 00:01:32.640 --> 00:01:33.719 I've definitely heard of this one. 22 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:38.120 This is a very well known episode. This case is 23 00:01:38.519 --> 00:01:41.359 probably one of the most well known missing person's cases 24 00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:45.120 in the US. It's quite the. 25 00:01:45.120 --> 00:01:47.519 Story it is. Yeah. I mean I don't know all 26 00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:49.879 the details, of course, but I know a little bit. 27 00:01:50.040 --> 00:01:53.519 Well, we'll get into some of it. And it's honestly, 28 00:01:53.560 --> 00:01:55.920 it's it's been going for a long time. It's been 29 00:01:56.040 --> 00:01:57.719 thirty it's a thirty seven year old case. 30 00:01:57.959 --> 00:02:00.359 Okay, see I forgot it was that old. 31 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:06.120 Yeah, nineteen eighty eight. So it's dam Unfortunately, it's not 32 00:02:06.200 --> 00:02:07.879 a solved case. I know a lot of people don't 33 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:10.280 like those ones where it's not solved. But hey, we 34 00:02:10.280 --> 00:02:14.120 were just talking this morning. Majority of true crime isn't solved. Yeah, 35 00:02:14.199 --> 00:02:17.560 so we can't just not cover ones that are not mysteries, right, But. 36 00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:19.199 I feel like this is a bit different in the 37 00:02:19.240 --> 00:02:22.759 sense that, you know, it's also like putting awareness out there, 38 00:02:22.759 --> 00:02:25.639 I suppose, right where the other ones, like, if they're unsolved, 39 00:02:25.680 --> 00:02:29.080 it's just you're not finding the douche canoe or as 40 00:02:29.120 --> 00:02:29.919 you put it, right. 41 00:02:29.960 --> 00:02:31.800 Yeah, Well, and that's the thing. We want to bring 42 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:34.280 awareness to some of these victims in some of the cases, 43 00:02:34.319 --> 00:02:36.960 and hopefully, hey, maybe someone out there who's listening to 44 00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:42.240 this knows something, maybe knows a detail that pops up 45 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:44.879 and realizes they have some information. 46 00:02:45.240 --> 00:02:47.759 Well, someone knows something. That's always the case. 47 00:02:47.800 --> 00:02:51.520 So, right, someone does know something? Yeah, are you just 48 00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:53.520 ready to dive into it? Should we? Yeah, let's just 49 00:02:53.560 --> 00:02:54.319 do it, okay. 50 00:02:54.919 --> 00:02:55.000 So. 51 00:02:55.840 --> 00:02:59.280 Tara Lake Kaliko was born on February twenty eighth, nineteen 52 00:02:59.400 --> 00:03:02.759 sixty nine, in New Mexico. At nineteen, she was a 53 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:06.280 sophomore in college. She was balancing at three point nine 54 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:09.599 gpa while studying psychology at the University of New Mexico's 55 00:03:09.800 --> 00:03:15.120 Valencia campus. She was driven, intelligent, and athletic. She had 56 00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:20.319 plans for her future future honestly, one that was really bright. Honestly, 57 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:21.919 just as bright as her personality is. What a lot 58 00:03:21.960 --> 00:03:22.479 of people. 59 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:25.360 Would say, Oh that's always the worst, right, if only 60 00:03:25.400 --> 00:03:27.520 you could be a missing person was like they were 61 00:03:27.560 --> 00:03:29.800 a complete piece of shit. Blah blah blah. 62 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:32.919 You know, yeah, this person just like hated everybody. They 63 00:03:33.039 --> 00:03:36.319 kicked dogs, they were miserable. Yeah, but it's always like 64 00:03:36.439 --> 00:03:38.039 just this glowing human. 65 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:39.159 Right they're missing. 66 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:42.520 Not that I want anyone to go missing, but well no, yeah, 67 00:03:42.680 --> 00:03:43.520 I know what you're saying. 68 00:03:43.639 --> 00:03:44.639 Yeah. Now. 69 00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:47.560 People who knew her described her as thoughtful and inclusive, 70 00:03:48.439 --> 00:03:50.840 the kind of person who went out of her way 71 00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:55.039 to make others feel seen. Her childhood friend Melinda once 72 00:03:55.080 --> 00:03:57.879 described Tara as someone who would do the right thing 73 00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:00.439 even when no one was looking. 74 00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:05.000 Oh man, oh that kind of person. That's special, especially too, 75 00:04:05.080 --> 00:04:09.240 where you just said is inclusive of everyone, right like that? 76 00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:10.719 That's rare, So it. 77 00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:13.000 Is, I think, especially in today's world. 78 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:13.599 Yeah. 79 00:04:13.800 --> 00:04:18.480 Yeah, Now, Tara's days were also very full. She was 80 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:20.680 a very full kind of person. But her days were 81 00:04:20.680 --> 00:04:23.319 packed full too. She loved a lot of things. She 82 00:04:23.319 --> 00:04:26.480 would have tennis matches with her boyfriend Jack Cole, She'd 83 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:29.759 have her school work, you know, going hanging out with friends, laughing, 84 00:04:29.839 --> 00:04:32.560 having fun, and long bike rides through the sun scorched 85 00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:35.839 roads of bilein the small town where she called home. 86 00:04:36.839 --> 00:04:39.439 She'd lived there with her mother, Patty Dwell, and stepfather 87 00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:43.879 John Dowell, and siblings after her parents divorced. Blen was quiet, 88 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:45.600 It was close knit, and it was the kind of 89 00:04:45.639 --> 00:04:48.600 place where crime felt more like fiction than a possibility. 90 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:51.480 Probably one of those places where people didn't worry about 91 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:53.439 locking their doors sort of thing too. 92 00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:53.959 Yep. 93 00:04:54.800 --> 00:04:58.319 Tara was constantly in motion. She loved being outdoors, loved routines, 94 00:04:58.319 --> 00:05:02.519 and especially loved cycling. Her favorite route stretched thirty six 95 00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:06.600 miles around trip seventeen miles along the highway forty seven 96 00:05:06.639 --> 00:05:08.040 and seventeen miles. 97 00:05:07.720 --> 00:05:09.040 Back good for her. 98 00:05:09.240 --> 00:05:12.040 She took this route almost every day, often listening to 99 00:05:12.120 --> 00:05:14.560 music on her walkman as she wrote, and sometimes her 100 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:16.600 mother would joined her on these rides as well, but 101 00:05:16.680 --> 00:05:20.759 that had recently stopped. Patty had recently become uneasy about 102 00:05:20.759 --> 00:05:24.439 those bike rides. On more than one occasion, she had 103 00:05:24.439 --> 00:05:26.759 the unsettling feeling that they were being followed by a 104 00:05:26.839 --> 00:05:30.560 driver who had never made themselves known. So spooked, Patty 105 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:33.519 eventually stopped going, and she told Tara to be careful 106 00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:37.079 and even urged her to carry Mace along the route too, 107 00:05:37.240 --> 00:05:40.720 But Ta, very independent and strong willed, just brushed it off. 108 00:05:41.040 --> 00:05:42.839 She didn't want to live in fear, right, She wanted 109 00:05:42.879 --> 00:05:46.279 to continue to do the things that she loved. Yeah, 110 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:49.720 and this, honestly would be a chilling detail in hindsight. 111 00:05:49.839 --> 00:05:52.879 That was the kind of warning that only takes shape 112 00:05:52.879 --> 00:05:53.879 after it's too late, you. 113 00:05:53.800 --> 00:05:56.560 Know, Oh dang, And then I'm sure the mom is 114 00:05:56.720 --> 00:06:00.879 just like wishing she stopped her daughter as well. 115 00:06:01.079 --> 00:06:03.480 Yeah, but how do you right? You can't stop a 116 00:06:03.480 --> 00:06:06.800 person from living well, live in fear constantly. 117 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:08.680 And like, yeah, she's an adult too, right and can 118 00:06:08.759 --> 00:06:11.480 kind of make her own decisions and stuff at that point. 119 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:12.279 So yep. 120 00:06:13.560 --> 00:06:16.600 So on the morning of Tuesday, September twentieth, nineteen eighty eight, 121 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:19.600 it began like any other day for Tera. She left 122 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:22.160 her family home on Brugg Street in Blen, New Mexico, 123 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:26.360 around nine thirty am. Dressed for comfort and speed, a 124 00:06:26.360 --> 00:06:29.360 white T shirt with the words First National Bank of Bolen, 125 00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:33.759 white shorts with green stripes, white ankle socks, and white 126 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:37.800 and turquoise avia tennis shoes. She wore a few pieces 127 00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:40.480 of jewelry, a gold butterfly ring with a diamond insert, 128 00:06:40.759 --> 00:06:44.639 a gold Amesis ring, and half inch gold hoop earrings, 129 00:06:44.920 --> 00:06:48.199 small details that would later help authorities piece together her description. 130 00:06:49.720 --> 00:06:49.879 Now. 131 00:06:49.879 --> 00:06:52.240 Her own bike was unfortunately out of commission, so she 132 00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:54.560 rode her mother's that day. It was a bright neon, 133 00:06:54.680 --> 00:06:59.439 pink Huffey mountain bike with yellow control cables and matching sidewalls. 134 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:03.399 It was hard to miss, so was Tara. She stood 135 00:07:03.399 --> 00:07:06.199 between five foot five and five foot seven inches tall, 136 00:07:06.519 --> 00:07:08.399 weighing around one hundred and fifteen to one hundred and 137 00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:11.120 twenty pounds, and had brown hair, a cowlic on her 138 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:15.319 right temple, and hazel eyes. Her destination that morning was 139 00:07:15.319 --> 00:07:18.560 her usual thirty six mile loop around Highway forty seven, 140 00:07:19.079 --> 00:07:22.600 a mostly isolated, open stretched road that she knew very well. 141 00:07:23.319 --> 00:07:25.720 She was planning to be back home before noon, just 142 00:07:25.759 --> 00:07:29.240 in time to play tennis with her boyfriend. So she 143 00:07:29.319 --> 00:07:31.680 had a tennis appointment with her boyfriend at twelve thirty, 144 00:07:32.360 --> 00:07:35.199 and usually she didn't go out riding this early, so 145 00:07:35.240 --> 00:07:37.680 she kind of like was making sure that she got 146 00:07:37.720 --> 00:07:38.839 her ride in for the day. 147 00:07:38.839 --> 00:07:39.319 Which she was. 148 00:07:39.560 --> 00:07:41.879 She always went for this ride unless like you know, 149 00:07:41.920 --> 00:07:44.439 weather pending, you know, it's storming or super bad rain, 150 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:47.519 so she rarely missed it. She rarely missed it, and 151 00:07:47.560 --> 00:07:49.319 so she went out a little bit earlier on this 152 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:51.240 day just to make sure that she could squeeze her 153 00:07:51.279 --> 00:07:53.279 ride in before going out to play tennis with her 154 00:07:53.319 --> 00:07:54.800 boyfriend at twelve thirty. 155 00:07:55.160 --> 00:07:57.920 Good for her, that is, like, that's an active lifestyle. 156 00:07:58.199 --> 00:08:00.560 She was very active. She loved being active, and she 157 00:08:00.639 --> 00:08:03.680 loved to make sure that she was going to continue that. Yeah, 158 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:05.639 so she's very busy with her studies and you know, 159 00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:07.959 friend's family life, all these sort of things. But she's 160 00:08:08.040 --> 00:08:12.160 making sure that there's time for these things. So before leaving, 161 00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:15.480 she made an offhand comment to her mother quote, if 162 00:08:15.480 --> 00:08:17.839 I'm not back by noon, come looking for me. 163 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:24.759 Oh, that's kind of like daunting considering what happens. I guess. 164 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:28.120 Yes, it was more so playful with joke. It was well, 165 00:08:28.439 --> 00:08:31.720 because like she's she's she's got things to do. She's 166 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:34.720 very much so a scheduled person, sticks to the schedule. 167 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:36.600 So like, if she's not back by noon, she's going 168 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:39.519 to be late for twelve thirty with her boyfriend playing tennis. 169 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:41.279 So she's like, if I'm not back by noon, like 170 00:08:41.320 --> 00:08:44.200 come get me because I'm I'm late. That's kind of 171 00:08:44.200 --> 00:08:44.840 her attitude. 172 00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:46.679 Well yeah, but definitely a little bit eerie. 173 00:08:46.759 --> 00:08:50.879 Hey, it's eerie for sure. And of course something like 174 00:08:50.879 --> 00:08:53.559 that would probably stay with her mom for a long 175 00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:57.679 time too. Unfortunately, now as it pass the hours passed, 176 00:08:57.720 --> 00:09:00.360 and twelve pm came and went, Patty you do well 177 00:09:00.440 --> 00:09:03.480 started to worry. It was at twelve oh five, five 178 00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:06.720 minutes after when her daughter was supposed to be back home, 179 00:09:06.879 --> 00:09:08.879 that she got in the car and began driving Tara's 180 00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:12.519 usual route. She expected to find her daughter pedaling back. 181 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:15.120 Maybe dealing with a flat tire, just running a little late, 182 00:09:15.159 --> 00:09:18.799 who knows what, But the road was empty. Patty drove 183 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:20.679 all the way out to the train tracks where Tara 184 00:09:20.759 --> 00:09:25.399 would typically turn around, and still nothing. She retraced the drive. 185 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:29.039 No Tara, no pink bike, no sign of anything out 186 00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:31.919 of place. By the time she returned home, her panic 187 00:09:31.960 --> 00:09:34.759 had taken over as she was still not there. 188 00:09:35.399 --> 00:09:36.039 Dang. 189 00:09:36.519 --> 00:09:39.600 She called Tara's boyfriend, who hadn't heard from her. Then 190 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:44.039 she called the police. At first, some thought Tara might 191 00:09:44.039 --> 00:09:46.759 have just changed her plans or lost track of time, 192 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:50.120 but this wasn't like her. She was punctual and responsible, 193 00:09:50.120 --> 00:09:54.480 and Patty made this clear. This wasn't typical teenage disappearance 194 00:09:54.519 --> 00:09:58.320 type scenario. Tara was someone who never veered from routine 195 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:01.679 or made impulsive decisions. She had plans that day, she 196 00:10:01.720 --> 00:10:04.600 had responsibilities. She would have been home by now to 197 00:10:04.639 --> 00:10:07.360 make sure that she saw those out, which is exactly 198 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:09.159 why the hints of if I'm not home by twelve, 199 00:10:09.159 --> 00:10:11.679 you don't come get me, because she was making sure 200 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:13.120 she was sticking to those plants. 201 00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:15.519 There's a problem kind of thing, exactly. 202 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:20.279 So responding officers from the Valencia County sheriff's office took 203 00:10:20.320 --> 00:10:25.399 the report seriously, recognizing the urgency. Within hours, friends, neighbors, 204 00:10:25.399 --> 00:10:28.360 and law enforcement were out scouring the quiet desert road 205 00:10:28.519 --> 00:10:31.720 where Tara often rode her root along the Highway forty seven. 206 00:10:32.120 --> 00:10:34.879 You know, was initially just a daily routine thing, but 207 00:10:34.919 --> 00:10:37.200 now it was the focus of a full scale search. 208 00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:42.279 The community had mobilized quickly. People were searching on foot, horseback, 209 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:45.440 by car. Helicopters were even brought in to scan from 210 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:50.000 the skies. Boats patrolled nearby stretches of the Rio Grande Rotc. 211 00:10:50.159 --> 00:10:53.759 Students from nearby Albuquerque even joined in, covering miles of 212 00:10:53.759 --> 00:10:57.279 open land. They were going shoulder to shoulder looking for 213 00:10:57.320 --> 00:11:00.519 any trace of her, and as the sun dipped behind 214 00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:03.720 the New Mexico horizon, the air turned colder, and so 215 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:07.000 did the mood. Tara wasn't just late, she was officially 216 00:11:07.480 --> 00:11:10.320 gone missing and no one knew where she was. 217 00:11:11.159 --> 00:11:14.240 They were on this though, Hey, they were because lots 218 00:11:14.240 --> 00:11:16.720 of times there's been cases where you have to wait like, 219 00:11:16.759 --> 00:11:19.200 I don't know, twenty four forty eight hours or whatever, 220 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:22.039 but like not in this one. They were just like boom. 221 00:11:22.159 --> 00:11:23.519 I think it had a little bit to do with 222 00:11:23.559 --> 00:11:25.919 the type of person that Tara was and the urgency 223 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:29.720 in what her mom did, Like this was not normal behavior. 224 00:11:29.960 --> 00:11:31.679 She was supposed to be back by twelve. She had 225 00:11:31.720 --> 00:11:35.159 all these scheduled things. She was a punctual individual. This 226 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:36.440 is out of the blue. 227 00:11:36.600 --> 00:11:39.039 Well and someone like heard that too, though, right. 228 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:41.639 Yes, someone did here, that's you're right, someone took that 229 00:11:41.720 --> 00:11:43.080 and actually took it seriously. 230 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:43.559 Yeah. 231 00:11:43.679 --> 00:11:46.120 Yeah, that's the other part of the puzzle for sure. Now, 232 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:49.799 over the next five days, the search intensified. It wasn't 233 00:11:49.799 --> 00:11:52.039 just a missing person's case anymore. It was a mystery, 234 00:11:52.120 --> 00:11:55.039 and one that wasn't giving up its answers very easily. 235 00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:58.960 On September twenty first, just one day after Tara Kalico 236 00:11:59.080 --> 00:12:02.919 was reported missing, search teams began finding physical evidence along 237 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:05.279 the Highway forty seven, near the edge of the small 238 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:08.960 community called Real Communities, roughly two to three miles south 239 00:12:09.080 --> 00:12:11.879 of where she had last been seen. The first discovery 240 00:12:11.960 --> 00:12:14.559 came near the side of the road, fragments of a 241 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:18.759 broken sony walkman bright yellow plastic pieces that were cracked 242 00:12:18.759 --> 00:12:22.639 and scuffed. Nearby, a cassette tape was found partially ejected 243 00:12:22.679 --> 00:12:26.200 from its case. The magnetic film unspooled and tangled in 244 00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:29.320 the dirt. Patty Dwell confirmed that both the walkmen and 245 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:32.399 the tape belonged to her daughter didn't seem like litter. 246 00:12:32.519 --> 00:12:35.879 It was developing debris like Tara had been trying to 247 00:12:35.960 --> 00:12:39.279 leave the trail or something. A little farther down the highway, 248 00:12:39.639 --> 00:12:44.039 investigators noted something even more unsettling, tire tracks veering sharply 249 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:47.639 off the road, alongside what looked like bike tracks and 250 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:51.519 scuffle marks in the dirt. Some described the tire impressions 251 00:12:51.559 --> 00:12:54.559 as spun out, quote unquote, as if the vehicle had 252 00:12:54.600 --> 00:12:58.960 suddenly accelerated or swerved. The pink Huffey bike, however, was 253 00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:02.519 never found. Despite the damage to the walkman and the 254 00:13:02.559 --> 00:13:05.600 scattered debris, there was no blood, There was no clothing, 255 00:13:05.639 --> 00:13:08.600 no sign of a struggle that left obvious marks. But 256 00:13:08.679 --> 00:13:11.960 the implication was loud and clear. Something had happened here 257 00:13:12.519 --> 00:13:17.200 and it involved Tara. In the days that followed, multiple 258 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:20.039 witnesses came forward to report having seen Tara along her 259 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:23.759 route that morning. Several recall a white or light colored 260 00:13:23.759 --> 00:13:27.120 pickup truck, possibly a nineteen fifty three Ford with a 261 00:13:27.159 --> 00:13:31.240 camper shell, following her closely In one account, the truck 262 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:34.919 was creeping behind her at an unusual speed, sometimes even 263 00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:38.080 partially on the shoulder. Another witness saw what looked like 264 00:13:38.200 --> 00:13:41.360 more than one person in the vehicle. One man said 265 00:13:41.399 --> 00:13:43.440 he saw someone running from the front of the truck 266 00:13:43.480 --> 00:13:46.720 over to the passenger side before the vehicle then sped off. 267 00:13:47.480 --> 00:13:50.799 These were not random reports. The truck, its erratic movements, 268 00:13:50.799 --> 00:13:54.080 and the timing all pointed to a potential abduction. A 269 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:56.679 composite sketch of the driver, described as a white male 270 00:13:56.759 --> 00:13:59.480 around thirty five to forty five years old, about six 271 00:13:59.559 --> 00:14:02.720 feet tall, with red hair and noticeable crow's feet on 272 00:14:02.799 --> 00:14:05.960 around his eyes, was released to the public. In all, honestly, 273 00:14:06.039 --> 00:14:07.879 that kind of sounds like me, except I got a 274 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:10.399 beard and no red hair. I got those crow feet though, 275 00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:11.279 that's for sure. 276 00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:14.519 Well isn't okay? Like what is that's kind of from 277 00:14:14.559 --> 00:14:15.919 like smiling and stuff as well. 278 00:14:16.120 --> 00:14:19.519 It's like wrinkling. Yeah, it's like the lines coming off 279 00:14:19.840 --> 00:14:22.240 your eyes. It happens when you smile. It's more prominent 280 00:14:22.279 --> 00:14:22.919 than for sure. 281 00:14:22.759 --> 00:14:24.240 I know, but I almost feel like it kind of 282 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:28.279 it kind of describes like a happier person. So I 283 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:31.039 almost was like alarmed when I heard that, but well. 284 00:14:30.919 --> 00:14:32.879 I mean, like those crow feet, like if you WinCE 285 00:14:32.879 --> 00:14:35.000 your eyes, you squint your eyes, those crow feet appear. 286 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:36.639 Yeah, that's true, that's true. 287 00:14:36.879 --> 00:14:40.600 Just your photographer. Mine's taken over, I think so. Yeah. Now, 288 00:14:40.600 --> 00:14:43.519 despite these efforts in the circulation of the image, though 289 00:14:43.559 --> 00:14:47.519 no solid leads came of it, Terra's pink bike had vanished, 290 00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:51.679 and so did she. The pieces were beginning to come together, 291 00:14:51.759 --> 00:14:54.720 but the picture was still painfully and complete, and as 292 00:14:54.759 --> 00:14:58.120 October turned to November, the search lost momentum. There were 293 00:14:58.120 --> 00:15:01.039 no sightings, no new ones at LEAs, no arrests, no 294 00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:04.360 evidence that pointed to where she could possibly have gone 295 00:15:04.440 --> 00:15:08.679 or where she would be. It just was running into 296 00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:10.879 a dead end, that's about it. Like what do you 297 00:15:10.919 --> 00:15:11.519 do from there? 298 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:15.480 That's just the worst I feel like that is I 299 00:15:15.480 --> 00:15:19.360 don't even know how like a friend, a parent, you know, 300 00:15:19.799 --> 00:15:21.960 boyfriend would deal with that, just like they just like 301 00:15:22.600 --> 00:15:26.080 vanished from thin air, like poof gone. 302 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:31.799 Yeah. Now, for her family, this was unbearable. Her mother, Patty, 303 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:35.000 refused to believe Tara was just simply gone. She was 304 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:38.919 certainly somewhere out there. You know, someone knew something, that 305 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:42.200 someone would have seen something, happen. She continued to press 306 00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:45.080 law enforcement, push for updates, and maintain a high public 307 00:15:45.080 --> 00:15:50.039 profile to keep Tara's name in the headlights headlines. Either 308 00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:51.879 way you say it, I guess headlines is what I said. 309 00:15:51.919 --> 00:15:52.879 But I said headlights. 310 00:15:53.080 --> 00:15:54.919 Good for her mom. I just have to say, like, 311 00:15:54.960 --> 00:15:57.240 her mom's doing what she can. 312 00:15:57.559 --> 00:15:59.480 I think that's a big portion of making sure that 313 00:15:59.480 --> 00:16:03.799 these missing person's cases don't fade into obscurity. Needs an advocate, Yeah, 314 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:08.039 you need someone who pushes. And it's easy to trust 315 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:10.840 in local authorities in your area to say, Okay, they're 316 00:16:10.840 --> 00:16:14.200 handling it. They're doing their job. They're doing their job, sure, 317 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:18.159 but they're not media people. They're not going to push 318 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:20.480 for everyone around to hear the story and keep talking 319 00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:23.279 about the story and keep leads coming in. Yeah they 320 00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:27.000 might do, you know, public releases and press releases once 321 00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:29.559 in a while. But to be an advocate and pushing 322 00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:32.399 and even pushing the police to keep doing their stuff 323 00:16:32.519 --> 00:16:35.679 is it's good. I mean, we can all think about 324 00:16:35.720 --> 00:16:37.799 it in our daily lives. To have someone there to 325 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:39.639 push you to keep doing what you need to do, 326 00:16:39.879 --> 00:16:42.039 it's a good thing and it gets things done well. 327 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:44.480 The thing is the police have, like, you know, numerous 328 00:16:44.519 --> 00:16:46.759 cases and stuff they're dealing with the new ones coming 329 00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:49.200 in and stuff, right, So yeah, for sure, just to 330 00:16:49.240 --> 00:16:52.879 have that little like voice that's like houses coming along, 331 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:55.279 like are we still working on this? Yeah, not a 332 00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:56.000 bad thing at all. 333 00:16:56.080 --> 00:16:58.240 Well, exactly as you put an advocate, and I think 334 00:16:58.279 --> 00:17:03.960 that's that's what many people need in these situations. But unfortunately, 335 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:07.119 by nineteen eighty nine, the case had stalled. There's no 336 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:09.880 new leads, no fresh evidence, no break in the case. 337 00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:12.799 In the public eye, the disappearance of Tarra Calico was 338 00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:15.440 starting to feel like one of those tragic small town 339 00:17:15.480 --> 00:17:18.240 mysteries that might never be able to be solved. Law 340 00:17:18.279 --> 00:17:22.559 enforcement agencies had exhausted their available eight avenues, and investigators 341 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:26.839 had nothing solid to work with then out of nowhere. 342 00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:31.480 Nine months after she vanished, the case would explode back 343 00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:37.440 into national conversation because of a single disturbing photograph found 344 00:17:37.559 --> 00:17:44.920 nearly one thousand, five hundred miles away. It was June fifteenth, 345 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:49.640 nineteen eighty nine, nearly nine months since Terra Calico had vanished, 346 00:17:49.880 --> 00:17:52.359 when a woman in Port Saint Joe, Florida, stepped out 347 00:17:52.359 --> 00:17:54.839 of a convenience store into the parking law and noticed 348 00:17:54.880 --> 00:17:58.559 something odd on the ground. There. Left behind in a 349 00:17:58.599 --> 00:18:02.960 recently vacated parking space was a Polaride photo. The image 350 00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:05.680 was immediately jarring to this individual when they picked it 351 00:18:05.759 --> 00:18:08.319 up and looked. It was of a teenage girl and 352 00:18:08.359 --> 00:18:11.079 a young boy, both lying side by side on what 353 00:18:11.160 --> 00:18:14.160 looked like a mattress. Their mouths were sealed shut with 354 00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:16.759 black duct tape, their hands appeared to be bound behind 355 00:18:16.759 --> 00:18:19.759 their backs, and the setting looked cramped, possibly in the 356 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:23.640 back of a van. The photo was grim and terrifying, 357 00:18:24.119 --> 00:18:26.720 but there was something else, something that gave it weight. 358 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:33.559 The girl bore a striking resemblance to Tara Kalico, The 359 00:18:33.599 --> 00:18:36.279 woman who found the photo didn't hesitate. She handed it 360 00:18:36.279 --> 00:18:39.119 over to police right away. She also reported that just 361 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:42.240 moments before discovering it, she had seen a white, windowless 362 00:18:42.440 --> 00:18:45.440 Toyota van pull out of that same parking spot. 363 00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:46.920 Oh Man. 364 00:18:47.160 --> 00:18:49.559 The driver, she said, was a man in his thirties 365 00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:52.680 with a mustache. It was a vague description but one 366 00:18:52.680 --> 00:18:55.240 that matched, you know, countless men across the county. But 367 00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:56.559 it was at least something. 368 00:18:56.319 --> 00:18:58.079 Right, Yeah, it was something, for sure. 369 00:18:58.400 --> 00:19:02.039 Police set up roadblocks, but nothing came of it still. 370 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:05.000 When the photo aired on the TV program A Current 371 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:09.079 Affair in July, it was instantly recognizable to people who 372 00:19:09.160 --> 00:19:12.440 knew Tara. Friends called her mother, telling her to turn 373 00:19:12.440 --> 00:19:16.599 on the TV. When Patti Duell saw the image, she froze. 374 00:19:17.839 --> 00:19:20.039 There was a scar in the girl's leg. It was 375 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:22.000 the same place where Tara had won from a past 376 00:19:22.039 --> 00:19:25.920 car accident, and lying beside her was a paperback copy 377 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:31.519 of My Suite Adrina by VC Andrews, a book that 378 00:19:31.640 --> 00:19:34.119 was Tara's favorite book by her favorite author. 379 00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:37.480 Oh my gosh, oh. 380 00:19:37.960 --> 00:19:40.440 To Patty, it was her daughter, old, a little older, 381 00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:42.519 looked tired, but it was still Tara. 382 00:19:42.720 --> 00:19:46.319 Well, she would have changed so much in those nine months, 383 00:19:46.359 --> 00:19:48.319 because it clearly it looks like she's gone through shit. 384 00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:51.680 Yeah. Now to the FBI, the Scotland Yard and the 385 00:19:51.759 --> 00:19:55.000 Los Alamos National Laboratory were all brought in to analyze 386 00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:58.920 the photo. The Scotland Yard concluded, yes, this was in 387 00:19:58.920 --> 00:20:03.400 fact Tara. The Los Angeles, sorry, Los Alamos, I should 388 00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:05.480 say not Los Angeles. I saw the la in my 389 00:20:05.519 --> 00:20:08.880 head and it just dinged. But they disagreed, and the FBI, 390 00:20:09.759 --> 00:20:11.079 to them it was inconclusive. 391 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:14.000 They couldn't say either way, okay, because just there I 392 00:20:14.119 --> 00:20:16.839 was like, oh, dang, I didn't realize they had determined 393 00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:20.160 that was her from the photo. But just certain people have. 394 00:20:20.599 --> 00:20:24.039 Yes, one said yes, one said no, and one said 395 00:20:24.119 --> 00:20:27.279 oh yeah. So we have a literal split down the center. 396 00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:31.359 But the mom did think it was her, yes. 397 00:20:31.319 --> 00:20:35.759 Based yeah, okay, yeah, she believes it's her in that photo. Yeah, 398 00:20:35.799 --> 00:20:38.799 but the boy in the photo. Another family, also from 399 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:42.519 New Mexico, was struck with disbelief. The boy in the photo, 400 00:20:42.519 --> 00:20:47.160 they said, looked exactly like their missing son, Michael Henley. Now, 401 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:50.599