Cold Case of Tara Calico
Tara Calico lived in Belen, New Mexico with her mother Patty, and her stepfather John. The 19-year-old was studying to become a psychologist at the University of New Mexico while working at a bank part-time.
Tara had a daily routine, beginning with a 36-mile bike ride along Highway 47. Patty had stopped accompanying her daughter on the bike rides after she noticed that someone had been following her. Despite this, Tara stuck to her routine and dismissed Patty’s request that she buy mace.
On September 20, 1988, at 9:30 am, Tara left for her bike ride. She asked her mom to pick her up if she wasn’t home by noon since she had plans to play tennis with her boyfriend at 12:30 followed by a 4 pm class. Tara took off on her mother’s neon pink mountain bike since hers was broken.
When Tara failed to return home by 12:05 pm, Patty got in her car and started driving down Route 47 but was unable to find her. Frantic, she immediately called the police and reported her daughter missing.
Tara failed to meet with her boyfriend or attend her class later that evening. She was never seen again, and neither was the pink bicycle.
Several witnesses saw Tara riding her bike the day she was last seen. The last sighting was at 11:45 am, two miles from her home. Witnesses reported that a dirty white or light grey pickup truck seemed to be following Tara but she didn’t notice because she was listening to music on her Walkman.
On June 5, 1989, nearly nine months later, a woman discovered a Polaroid in the parking lot of a convenience store in Port St. Joe, Florida. It was on the ground near a parked white Toyota cargo van. The photo was of a young woman next to a little boy. Both were bound and had duct tape over their mouths. Roadblocks were set up but the cargo van was never found again.
Patty insisted that the girl in the photo was Tara but an analysis by the FBI was deemed inconclusive. The little boy also remains unidentified.
Tara was deemed a victim of a homicide and declared legally dead in 1998.
Tara was an athletic, happy-go-lucky teenager. She excelled academically and had big dreams for her future, all of which were dashed on that fateful day in 1988. Her parents have since passed away but some of her siblings are still alive and closer than ever to an answer, and much-needed closure.
On June 13, 2023, Valencia County Sheriff’s Office announced that they have investigated every tip received over the last 3 and a half decades with the help of the FBI and have sent their investigation to the District Attorney in the hopes that charges will soon be filed. The identity of the person(s) of interest has been sealed by the court. This is a monumental development in the case and the first time that the authorities have named a suspect.
