Morbid - Episode 251: Tara Calico

Episode Date: July 30, 2021

The Tara Calico case is one that will have your mind going for days. This is a very prominent case in the true crime world, and for good reason: it’s still unsolved after 33 years. Tara Calico was 19 when she went missing after heading out on a routine bike ride. For years no one was entirely sure what to make of the case, especially when a polaroid showed up and the woman in the photo bore a striking resemblance to Tara. However, as this case unfolds, small town secrets start to surface and many are convinced the answer has been around for years but covered up by the very people claiming to want justice. https://www.taracalico.com/ https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/tara-leigh-calico As always, thank you to our sponsors: HelloFresh: Get up to fourteen free meals—including free shipping!—when you use code morbid14 at HelloFresh.com/morbid14 Betterhelp: Special offer for Morbid listeners: get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/MORBID HunterDouglas: Visit HunterDouglasdot.com/morbid TODAY for your free Style Gets Smarter design guide with fresh takes, creative ideas and smart solutions for dressing your windows. Edmunds: Shopping for a car can be overwhelming, but Edmunds is here to guide you to your perfect vehicle. Visit Edmunds.com to see their Best Car Rankings and search for vehicles near you. Rothy’s: Through August 1st, 2021, you can get $20 off your first purchase of $100 or more at Rothys.com/MORBID See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, Prime members, you can listen to morbid, early, and ad-free on Amazon music. Download the app today. You're listening to a morbid network podcast. Whether you're running errands on your daily commute, or even at home, you can enjoy all your audio entertainment in one app, the Audible app. As an Audible member, you can choose one title a month to keep from the entire catalog. This includes the latest bestsellers and new releases. Plus get full access to a growing selection of included audiobooks, audible originals,

and more. If you've been wanting to form good habits, break bad ones, and improve motivation, atomic habits written and narrated by James Clear is a great lesson. It'll reshape your mindset on progress and success by helping you develop strategies to transform your habits. New members can try audible free for 30 days. Visit audible.com slash wandery pod or text wandery pod to 500-500 to try audible for free for 30 days.

That's W-O-N-D-E-R-Y-P-O-D. Audible.com slash wandery pod or text wandery pod to 500-500 to try audible for free for 30 days. Angie has made it easier than ever to connect with skilled professionals to get all your home projects done well. Just bring them your project online, or with the Angie app, and answer a few questions. With Angie, you can book instantly at an upfront price, or request and compare quotes from multiple pros, so you can find the best price for your project.

So the next time you have a home project, just Angie that and start getting the most out of your home. Download the free Angie mobile app today or visit Angie.com. That's ANGI.com. What makes a person a murderer? Are they born to kill or are they made to kill? I'm Candice DeLong and on my podcast Killer Psychie Daily, which you can find exclusively on Amazon Music. I share a quick 10-minute rundown every weekday on the motivations and behaviors of the criminal masterminds you read about in the news.

I have decades of experience as a psychiatric nurse, FBI agent, and a criminal profiler. On Killer Psychie Daily, I'll give you my expert perspective on cases like the mysterious New York City drugings, Breaking Down Laurie Valow, aka Mommy Doomstays Motives, and what drove Caitlin Armstrong to murder. I'll also bring on expert guests who add even more insight into these criminal minds. I promise you won't regret adding these 10 minutes to your morning routine. Hey, Prime members, listen to the Amazon Music exclusive podcast Killer Psychie Daily in the Amazon Music app.

Download the app today! Hey, Weirdos, I'm Ash. And I'm Alaina. And this is morbid. I think it might always be morbid. It's a little too late for rebranding these days. I'm fairly certain that it's going to stay. You know what, I'm going to hear today.

So he's going to be morbid. Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye. You heard it here first. I rolled out this scroll and it says, it will always be morbid period. Yes. I like it. Please excuse me.

Please, please, please. Excuse me. Excuse me. Did you hear it? My voice just flew. Please, please, please, excuse me. Did you hear it? My voice just flew. I was like, this is not a blast. I like how we started out with like, here you hear you, you know, fancy scrolled and it's like, please, excuse me. I don't know what we're into today, but it's happening the old times. The old times. We are into the old. Apparently that movie by M Night Shyamalan, by the way. I heard it's I heard it's like the worst thing ever Yeah, it doesn't look good in my opinion somebody tweeted

He M Night Shyamalan got out of the pool and looked at his wrinkly hands and was like wait a minute And that's where he came up with it. I was like, maybe that might be it. I don't know something about it I was like, yeah, I don't know. It didn't look very good in my opinion. Didn't strike. Didn't tickle my fancy. No. But I, um, what's the one? Is it the village? I loved the village. Yeah. The village, I feel like Drew and I were talking about that the other night and he was like, you just can't beat that movie. That movie is great. Because even, um, like I was so excited for split. Yeah. I saw that. And it was amazing.

The entire movie was fucking incredible until the very end when it became like, I'm just not into like superhero villain shit. I'm sure you've been all tell. And when that happened, I was like, you lost. Because it connected to like the other ones. Like a whole superhero story. That one I didn't mind, I liked that one.

But again, if you don't like superhero stuff, I think that kind of thing. And they didn't market it like that going into it. So I thought I was going into something totally different. And you were like, I was for the entire fucking movie until the end. But you know, that's not what we're here for. That's not bad at all. This is not the M Night Shyamalan like,

we've podcast. We think we can do it better podcast. Like, who are we? The guy who made the sixth sense. I'm like, yeah, I can do it better. I don't know, M-Night. I don't know if you're really killed. Like, I'm not your great-

Yeah, you're always killing it. I mean, I think you got, I think people really like put pressure on you with that twist ending thing that got like labeled onto you. Yeah, that is very true. But you know what, you're killing it. You're doing alright, man. And you know what, we should watch the old movie. I haven't watched it, so I shouldn't be judging it. Yeah.

But I figured I'd just bring that up. Sometimes when people tell me that movie suck, I'm like, okay, like, and I go watch it and I'm like, no, that was an amazing movie. Yeah, that happens a lot. Yeah. So let's, we'll think of a way. Look at us.

We just, we just turned right around. Maybe we can watch it for screen maybe we can that's a good idea I can't know if you don't watch listen to it if you don't do it But that's not what we're talking about today what we are talking about today is a case that I have always been like Pretty fascinated with because it comes along with this strange Polaroid photograph Oh that I have seen forever and a lot of like true crime fans mostly will know this Polaroid photograph. Okay. Because it's just always floated around. And it's

horrifying, it's not graphic and it's not like bloody or anything. It's just horrifying when you look at it because no one truly knows who the people in the photograph are or what the fuck is going on in this photograph. Awesome. We're gonna get to the photographs, don't worry. What am I Google though? So we're gonna talk about Tara Calico. Writing that in.

Tara Lee Calico was born February 28th, 1969. She was 19 years old when she went missing. She left her home for a bike ride on September 20th, 1988, and this was in Belen, New Mexico. When she left, she was never seen again. What the fuck? Now, she had left her house at around 9.30 a.m. that day. This wasn't just a bike ride down the street for a couple miles, you know, like this wasn't like me saying, I'm going on a bike ride. Tara, who was like extremely intelligent, very smart, University of New Mexico,

sophomore I believe at the time. She was a serious cyclist. She routinely, and when I say routinely, I mean every single day, rode 36 miles on her bike. Holy shit. And this was what she was planning to do that day. She did it every day. This was her bike ride. Okay. And this is the day she disappeared. She was on

that 36 mile bike ride. This bike ride was supposed to usually took around two hours. Okay. Usually she went with her mother, Patty. And her name is Patty Dull. And they usually went bike riding together. It was like their thing, which I think is like, the coolest thing ever that her mom would bike ride 36 miles with her. Like, that's badass, seriously, because I love my children, but that's non-happening ever. Well, and it must have been like,

I was thinking about it. I was like, wow, that's like such a nice thing to do with your child. Like, a bike ride is always especially, I mean, when you first start, like, trust, when I first got on, like, my exercise bike recently, I was like, who chooses to do this? Like, who chooses to get on a cycle and cycle?

Like, who chooses to do this? It's horrific. But then when you get, like, a little more, like, you start working through those muscle pains and everything, you're like, wow, this is like very enjoyable. Yeah. And I just imagine, like, bike riding outside with your mom, just like chat and see in the sights,

feelin' the wind go by must be such a nice time. You know what's going on together? It's back when I liked my mom and she was married to my step down and he wasn't such a shit yet. We used to actually go on bike rides all the time. It's like a very nice thing, yeah, I remember that. It was like a really fun thing to do. I have to be honest.

See, it's like a, it's a positive memory. Yeah. It's like a nice thing to do. No, they've been doing this for a while together, but her mom had actually stopped doing it in recent weeks because there was one ride where someone in a vehicle had followed them. It was for a little too long and it freaked her mom out.

And she wanted Tara to stop, but Tara was like, no, I'm going to keep bike riding. So she had tried to convince her like, you know, can you like carry meace? Can you like do something to the texture sign? No, it's fine. And she was like, okay, well please just stay in well at areas and go during the day. Right. Stay on the main path. And like, and I don't know if you already said this because I was looking at the photograph. Did she ride the same route every single day? She did. Okay.

And she was 19 at the time. So it's not like there was much room on her mom couldn't be like, you're not allowed. Like she was like, I'm just getting on my bike. But like I said, Tara was a University of New Mexico student. She was studying psychology. She has one sister, Michelle Dole, and a brother Chris. Her family has done, and she has a stepfather named John. She has, her family has done an amazing job

keeping this case like fresh in the eyes and the minds of everyone who will listen. I'm definitely gonna say more about her family, so don't worry, like stay tuned for that. But Tara herself was described as very intelligent, really funny, really outgoing, just like really enjoyable to be around. She would always help people out.

She was never, like if somebody was being picked on, she was the one that was gonna go against the crowd and take care of that person. I love that. And she was also said to be like a huge bookworm. She also loved physical activity, obviously. She biked, she was a runner. She kept herself in really healthy shape.

I mean, to bike that much. Yeah. Her day, I can only imagine. And she loved it. Yeah. That she just loved it. And she was also very organized and very self-sufficient. That's what a lot of people said.

Her stepfather, John, said that even as a child, she was just very independent and wanted to do everything herself. Yeah. And he said, like, she was just very independent and wanted to do everything herself. And he said she was always a little firecracker, and that was a stepfather, but he really raised her. Yeah. She was a list maker, and she liked to keep a daily schedule. And when she went missing, she was actually working at a bank and was hoping to eventually become a psychiatrist

someday after working her way through school. OK. And she was a huge list maker in that day. She had actually written out a schedule like she would do that during the day, like what she needed to do. So because her mother wasn't going that day, she asked her mom if she could use her bike,

her mother's bike, because Tara's bike had something wrong with it. It was getting fixed. I think it had like a flat tire and something had bent on it. So her mother allowed her to use her own Neon Pink Coffee mountain bike. I love it had like a flat tire and something had bent on it. So her mother allowed her to use her own neon pink coffee mountain bike. I love it. It's like this is such like an 80s bike.

I love it. It had the like bright yellow cables and like accents on it. Yes. If I were to have a bike, that would be it. And with her, she brought a bright yellow Sony Walkman with a cassette tape of the band Boston. I con it. Yeah. So it's just awesome.

Now, according to the FBI, she was wearing a white t-shirt with first national bank of Bellen on it. White shorts with green stripes, white ankle socks, and white and turquoise avia tennis shoes. She was also wearing a gold butterfly ring with a little diamond in it, and a gold amethyst

ring and a half inch gold hoop earrings. Just so you know exactly what she was wearing, it can be useful. Now the last time she was seen that day, she left for her bike ride, the last time any witnesses saw her was 11.45 a.m. riding along highway 47 in Valencia County. Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondries Podcast American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in US history, presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our newest series, we look at the kids for cash scandal, a story about corruption inside America's system of juvenile justice. In

Northeastern Pennsylvania, residents had begun noticing an alarming trend. Children were being sent away to jail in high numbers, and often for committing only minor offenses. The FBI began looking at two local judges, and when the full picture emerged, it made national headlines. The judges were earning a fortune, carrying out a brazen criminal scheme, one that would shatter the lives of countless children and force a heated debate about punishment and America's criminal justice system.

Follow American scandal wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free on the Amazon Music or Wonder App. Flashmore. Now, this is what honor her route, and she was actually saying that she was planning to be, she was thinking she was going to be done around noon. So this is right on target. And one of the things that had happened to her bike was, like I said, it got a flat tire. So she adjokingly said to her mother, if she didn't see her by noon, she should come

looking for her because she might have another flat tire. Okay. Again, her mother Patty saw this as a joke because she also had plans to meet her boyfriend at 1230 that day to play a tennis match. So she was like, she's definitely going to be back by noon. Tara is that kind of person. Timely. She's very timely, very scheduled.

I have an appointment at 1230 with my boyfriend to play tennis. I'm going to be home at noon to change and be there on time. Right. So she had even laid out her tennis gear and outfit and anticipation for it and had also organized her school stuff like her books and homework because she had a class at 4pm. Jesus, I strive to be as organized as her. Yeah, she was on that shit. Now noon rolls around and nothing. Nothing's happening. So she's like, okay, maybe she did get a flat tire. So she takes off to go look for her. So Patty goes along the route and doesn't see her.

And she's starting to panic. She goes down the route and up the route. And she's like, she wouldn't be anywhere else. She's nowhere. So then she's like, okay, maybe I just missed her. Maybe she's back home. And I just missed her. So she goes back home.

And when she gets back home, Tara isn't there either. So this is bad. This is really bad immediately because like we now know, Tara is not one to fuck around with time. And she's not, and she's just not gonna tell you she's gonna be there and not be there. Her mom and her were close. She had all her stuff laid out for the rest of the day.

So it's just, this is not a good thing at all. So the problem here was she was like, okay, I'm trying to think of anything that can make this, like, make sense. But if she's not on the route she took and she's not home, where literally nowhere else, she like, the only answer to this is bad.

Yeah, because she doesn't stray from her routine ever. Exactly. So then her, her and her husband, John, were like, okay, maybe she got hurt. Maybe she got hurt. Maybe she's at a hospital. Maybe somebody picked her up, she went to the hospital. So they call local hospitals first

to see if they happened, you know, an accident happened, something, nothing came of it. She wasn't in any of them. So they immediately called the Valencia County Sheriff's local hospitals first to see if they happened, you know, an accident happened, something. Nothing came of it. She wasn't in any of them. So they immediately called the Valencia County Sheriff's Department and filed a missing person's report right away. Now, the search was extensive. Immediately, they went to work on this. Now, according to the Albuquerque journal, within five hours of terror, excuse me, Tara being reported missing. Her missing person's status was entered into the National Crime Information Center. A note was added saying that foul play was something they were considering already.

Because of course, the first thing they're going to look at is one she's an adult. But they're also going to look at, you know, could she have taken off? Is this something she's just going to take off? No. There's just no, no. There's absolutely, there's no reason. There was no conflicts. There was no issues in the family. We've said it a million times. She laid out her stuff for the rest of the day. Just no. So, and they all know that. So, that's now the next thing they're thinking of is she's not in the hospital. She's not on that route, something bad happened here. So her younger sister Michelle said she remembers that day really well. She said quote, I was 15, a sophomore in high school.

I remember one of my sister's best friends and her boyfriend came to get me from school. They picked me up and when we got home, there was a bunch of cops. And she said they told, basically told her what had happened that Tara had left for her normal bike ride. And she had not come back at the scheduled time. She was told her mother had searched for her and that they couldn't find her. And she said that's when she started really getting nervous. And now she was told that people like volunteers are actively searching for her sister, which

I can't even imagine how horrifying them are. No. Like this isn't just she didn't come home, the police are involved now and actively searching for her. Right. Like you, you must feel so out of control and just like helpless. Yeah. So she said, quote, I didn't understand what was going on. I just assumed that she maybe had gone a different way and that we were going to find her. I didn't understand what was going on. I just assumed that she maybe had gone a different way and that we were gonna find her. I didn't think that she was missing until later on that evening when I started to realize how serious it was,

but I just kept thinking that she was gonna come back. Right. Because like, you have ever like gotten separated from a parent in a store or something like that and my god, yeah. Your first thought is like, oh my god, like, I'm never gonna find them. Like, you're like, you lost your forever.

No, let's be real. Like, let's be rational and you're like, you always end up finding them. It's like, that's God, I'm never gonna find them. Like, you're gonna be lost here forever. No, let's be real, let's be rational. And you're like, you always end up finding them. It's like, that's probably how you feel in this situation, I would assume. And it's always that kind of thought process that we all have as humans that never happen to us. It can't happen to me.

Right. This isn't happening to my family. No, she's gonna come back in the dorm. We're all gonna laugh about this. And we're gonna be like, you're never going bike riding again. Yes. It's gonna be a big joke. Like, no, we are not one of those families that somebody goes missing.

Right. That's just not something that happens. And I'm sure every single person who has ever gone through anything like this that has to be one of the thoughts. Absolutely. No one's ever prepared for this. Because you also obviously don't want to be that.

Of course not. Of course not. Like lost somebody. You never want to think that they're just not coming back. You don't want to be in that position. They got on a bike, said goodbye, love you, and that's it. Right.

You never see them again. That's not how anything is supposed to go. Never. And also, this is the middle of the day. In the morning, really? This is the mid afternoon morning. Yeah. Middle of the day, on a busy road, that's pretty out in the open.

Yeah. It's like desert, right? So it's like, what the hell is that she's like along the highway? Yeah, it's wild. So Patty and John, her parents, joined in the search themselves, which included local and state police, volunteers, like civilian volunteers, and other investigative outlets from all around the area.

They were on foot, they had helicopters, they were on horseback, they were going all out. Nothing's coming up. Wow. But then that same day, searchers did come across something. They stumbled upon that Boston cassette tape on the road shoulder, on the road shoulder, in the dirt, only about three miles from her home.

Oh no. Now, Patty looked at it and she immediately was like, that's Tars. That's what was in her cassette. And later during that same search, about 19 miles east on the same route that she was taking, which was near the John F. Kennedy campground. There was a broken piece of her Sony Walkman. Oh no. It was like the little plastic window

where you can like see the tape inside. That's what was in there. That was, so while they were collecting these items, they noticed that there's tracks nearby and they're clearly bicycle tires. Now, that would be like, oh, okay, she's here, but it kind of appeared that the bike had gone off the road a little bit and that there appeared to be some kind of like struggle or like kerfluffle that happened.

Like it looked like there was, it either looked like she had spun out off the road or that she was like shoved, like the bike was shoved off the road. Right. Like maybe even like hit. And there, well, there was also car tire marks nearby. So they were like, okay. So Patty said she initially thought those items could have been left intentionally by her daughter to leave a breadcrum trail for anybody who was investigating. And how smart Tara was, that's not out of the realm of possibility. I know that would have been like, yeah, that's always so smart when anybody's able to. Of course. course. And to have the wear with all the presence of mind in that kind of situation, to even

think of that, I'm always so impressed by people's minds who can do that. In the most terrifying situation you could ever possibly be in. Exactly. And then, of course, there's also obviously the possibility that in a struggle, like a violent struggle, these were fallen to the ground. Right. It's like, you know, if you're still holding the Walkman and part of it, fell. It is a little strange to me that only pieces, like a piece of the Walkman, because it's

like, if the Walkman fell and broke, it was the rest of it. It was a broken in one spot. Yeah. And like, where's the rest of it? Right. It just doesn't, but I don't know. Like, it's very strange. So now they have all these items and they start talking to people in the area.

Witnesses are suddenly coming forward with what, and they said that, you know what, we did see her. We saw her on her route. And they're saying that, you know, they saw her at the times that she was, like, she wasn't off the route. She wasn't out of the time frame. But seven witnesses said that they saw her that day. And these are the ones who last saw her around 11.45 AM.

Like, some of them had seen her along the route, and the last one saw her at 11.45. Out of these seven witnesses, five of them said they saw something strange. So five witnesses said they saw an older pickup truck following her for a while. Oh, I hate that. This pickup truck had a camper shell. Like one of the, I'm sure you can like picture it.

It's like those old timey looking ones. Yeah. It almost looks like an Oregon trail. I like the truck. I like the truck. I like the truck thinking, you know, it always reminds me that. And this pickup truck, so it had the camper shell. It was also light colored, possibly tan,

or dirty white kind of thing. It was possibly a Ford pickup truck. Okay. Now, and that's all they could say. They just saw it following her. They thought it was weird. They thought it was a little too close to her. They just didn't like it.

Now, the next day, there was some bad weather. So things kind of got, which bad weather can also ruin everything, really ruin everything for everybody. They kept searching, though. They kept searching for weeks and weeks. They are not finding Tara. They are not finding any more clues. And they're not finding the bike, which is scary. Volunteers came out in the hundreds to search tirelessly and her family never stopped for even a moment So for nine months Nothing I can't even imagine what you go through as like a mother or a sister or any kind of family member or friend Nine months like I can't imagine No, I literally can't think even fathom it. And I don't know, like this just sticks out to me.

Like that's the time it takes to create a life. It is like very symbolic and like really just like a fucked up thing. And it's, I like, I say this every time everybody's probably like shut the hell up a little, we get it. But I'm like, how do you go to sleep? What do you do? What do you do when you rest? It's one of those things where you probably just like,

nod off your body or just shuts down, I think. Sitting there, and you just wake up and hell again. Because that's all I keep thinking, because I think everybody can agree that at night time, a lot of times is when you think about things. Oh, yeah, absolutely. Things come into your mind that normally don't during the day, because you're so busy

during the day usually, and like things are going on that can distract you or take up your time. But at night, you're always sitting there like thinking of these deep things or like going over something stupid you said in like seventh grade. I was literally just gonna say something you said 22 years ago that you're still embarrassed about.

And it's like so in this situation, at night to me would be the time when these horrific things and thoughts 22 years ago that you're still embarrassed about. And it's like so in this situation, at night to me would be the time when these horrific things and my- Your badger just reeks. And images would just be flooding my brain. I can imagine. I would be an absolute shell of a human being.

So whenever I see these, but like when you find out like her parents, bad asses, like her family just never stopped and it's like kudos to them. I always get like the victims' families who can like get up and move in the morning and like keep going. I'm like damn, like you are some strong.

Because how strong, strong stock because you're just motivated by like unconditional love. Yeah. That you just need to find your baby. Yeah, you're loved one, whatever it is, whatever it may be. Like, oh, it's just like nine months. That's a very long time. Nine months is brutal for nothing.

And I mean, it turns into a lot longer than that, unfortunately. But for nine months, like, you're probably right after it happens, thinking, okay, something's gonna happen. We're gonna find some things. We're gonna get something. And then it just, you know, it's gonna be so hard as each passing month goes. But it was just a cold trail that was leading nowhere. something and then it just, you know, it's going to be so hard as each passing month goes. But it was just a cold trail that was leading nowhere. And they're just left to wonder, you know, what's what happened? What could have happened? And they're trying everything they can to drum up leads.

I mean, they went in front of cameras. They did everything they could. Then on July 15th, 1989, so a little less than a year, something crazy and weird happened. John Dole, which is Tara's stepfather, got a phone call, and it was from a family friend who said they had something kind of weird to tell him. And they said that they had been watching a popular tabloid TV show at the time called Current Affair. And I think it was probably like a,

almost like a, like America's most wanted kind of thing or like something like that. Sure. During a recent episode they had done a story about a Polaroid photo found that was very concerning. And he said it might be of interest to you. Okay. It's like why would why? Like what are you talking about? Why would why? Like what are you talking about? I'm God. Now the Polaroid was found in Port St. Joe, Florida, at a convenient story. Remember we're in New Mexico. Sure. A woman had been walking into the store and just

noticed a guy sitting in a white van. And she only noticed it because white vans, I think are creepy and people usually notice that I was literally gonna see. Like you always notice a white van. And she only noticed it because white vans, I think, are creepy and people usually notice that I was literally going to say. Like you always notice a white van when they're out and about a gazillion person. It could be like a painter and you're still like, whoa, white van too weird. Yeah, I just like, I'm sorry if you drive a white van, that's just like inherent. Weird choice, but okay. Weird choice, but all right. But she just kept going with her day and she went into the store. Okay.

When she came out of the store, she saw the van was gone, but when she looked down at the spot where the van was, she sees a polaroid on the ground in the parking lot. Mm-hmm. The photo was really scary. It was showing a young woman and a young boy lying side by side in what appears to be a white van. They are both seemingly bound with their hands behind

their backs and have duct tape over their mouths. It's terrifying. They both look into the camera with the most tired and defeated eyes. It's horrifying when you look at it. And in my notes, I wrote, have Ash look at it. I looked at it before you even started and I'm terrified and like you can describe what you see like so you so what you're seeing here. A girl that looks a lot like Tara is in the front and she looks almost like angry

and tired like she looks like fuck you. Yeah that's what you're pissed yeah and she has her arms behind her back and she's laying on a pillow and then I can't even look at this little boy for too long because I'm gonna lose my mind. He's very young. He's terrified. Absolutely terrified. He looks seven or eight years. It's clearly like crying and it just wants whatever's happening to be over. Yeah.

It's really, really fucked up and scary and I've seen this photo for years and years. Never knew the full story behind it because I think I just didn't want to as to scared to. But it's really, and you know, you look at it and there's several things you can look at here. And there's several theories that have been floated around. And obviously we're going to talk about the one that's linked to Tara. But there's also a theory that was this faked? Is this fake? because when you look at it, their arms are behind their backs, but you don't see any ligatures. Right.

You don't see anything like that. And their arms, and a lot of people have said this, I've seen in a ton of articles and stuff, they don't look like they're bound tightly behind their backs. Because if you look at how, like, I'm, you know, I'm just gonna act this out for Ash, I'm sorry, you're not gonna see it. If my arms are bound behind their backs. Because if you look at how, like I'm just gonna act this out for Ash, I'm sorry you're not using it.

If my arms are bound behind their backs. Yeah, you only see the tops of your arms. Like moved back. There's a very relaxed, but again, it could be that they are loosely bound or it could be that they're bound in a different way or they're laying in a different way. But there is this question of like,

because like spoiler alert, we have no fucking clue who these kids are. Right. If they were abducted kids, where's anybody coming forward to say that those are their kids? Are you gonna get into the book? That's nice, sir.

We are. So everybody, if you wanna go look at that photo, you can find it by typing into Google like Tara Calico Polarid. Yeah. So when this was found, obviously this woman called the police immediately because this is a very distressing photo defined in a fucking parking lot after a white van, which looks like a white van in this photo.

You can see a little bit of the, it would be the side door. And like the paneling inside. That would be terrifying. So she caused the police. They're just trying to figure out who these literal kidnapping victims are at this point. Because the girl in the photo looks like she's in her maybe mid to late teens.

Yeah. And then she doesn't look, she looks a lot like Tara, but also not like Tara. Well, it's hard because in the photo her eyes look exhausted. She looks very defeated and it's hard to look at Tara and pictures of her or she's vibrant and full of life and and kind of try to compare her eyes with the eyebrow is the eyebrows are litter everything is it looks pretty it's a lot. So the woman who found the photo said the man in the white van she saw before finding this photo in the parking lot

was maybe in his 30s and had a dark mustache, but that's really all she could say about him. Because again, she wasn't, she just noticed him because he was in a white van. She wasn't taking note of who he was. Right. Because at that point, nothing weird was happening. So she could also say that the van she saw was a white Toyota cargo van without windows. Now they have nothing else. They try to search for this man and this van. They set up roadblocks because this is, this might be two kidnapping victims. Right.

And at this point, they're thinking, likely these are two trafficking victims. If that's the case, they are the perfect, you know, subset of people. They are a young woman and a child. Yeah. Those are the two people who get traffic the most. So they're doing roadblocks. They're asking people for possible witnesses. Nothing.

Nothing. They don't find any of this. That's so crazy. And not one person recognized the people in these photos. Nothing. They don't find any of this. That's so crazy. And not one person recognized the people in these photos. Yes. In Port St. Joe was only consisting of about 10,000 residents at this point. Wow. So when you think that, like, you think they could maybe nav them at that point.

You would think. So this is when they release the photo to all these different media outlets. They're just trying to get people to tell them who the hell these kids are in these photos. It was terrifying to this community. I mean, yeah. So, a current affair, the tablet TV show picked up the story and was circulating the photo, trying to get people to ID these kids. So why was John's friends telling him about this?

This is a girl. Well, he said he thought that woman in the photo looked a lot like Tara. And he was like, I was scared to tell you. I just feel like you need to look at this. It sucks. This is a really hard photo to look at if this is her. But maybe this is a lead. Now side note, the young boy in the photo, when this aired, another family thought he

resembled their missing child. Michael Henley, who was nine years old when he went missing in the Zoony Mountains of New Mexico, he was hunting with his dad. They were on a camping trip in April 1988. Okay. It turned out though, that Michael was later found dead in June 1990, only a few miles from his family's campsite.

The autopsy revealed he had died of exposure. Oh, God. So does. It looks a lot like him. It looks a lot like him. Oh, that's true. But he had just been lost in the woods and died of dehydration and exposure. Oh, that would be. So that was not him in the photo. But it goes to show you that his mother did think that looked like her child. Yeah. It's sometimes, I mean, obviously you do not wish to see your child. And that's a huge. But obviously you do not wish to see your child and that's a situation. But you get so desperate. But when you think they're dead, it can be some kind of mind to be like they're alive.

Maybe this is something. So John and Patty and Michael's parents, because they looked at John and Patty looked at it and Patty was like, that's her. Okay. So John and Patty and Michael's parents at this moment, because they didn't know at this moment it wasn't Michael.

They were Michael, senior and Marty Henley. All went to Florida to meet with detectives and find out more about this since they all agreed that their children may be the ones in the photo. The FBI took over the case and they were ready to do like a full analysis on this photo. Now Patty at this moment says this is 100% Tara in this photo. Okay. Michael's parents were not as sure. They were not like totally 100%.

Well, and she's a little bit in the background. There is like a slight shadow. Yeah. The ear and the eyes are the same on Tara. The nose, the hair has a very specific calic that she has in the front. And she said later, and this is very interesting. She's, Patty said, quote, for one thing, Tara was in a bad car accident.

In the photo, there's a scar on the woman's leg that is identical to the scar she received in the car accident. Oh, wow. That to me is pretty big. It's like a discoloration on the bottom, or the top of her calf, I believe, or the middle of her calf. Okay. Now, another thing that struck out as Tara with her mom was that book seen in that photo. Yeah. The book is right next to the girl in the photo. And it's a copy of my sweet Adrina by V.C. Andrews. We might know V.C. Andrews from Flowers in the Arctic. So V.C. Andrews was Tara's favorite author.

Oh, wow. Now there was a great author. And I mean, to play devil's advocate in this scenario, she was big at this. Yeah, she was huge. So it was probably a lot of teenage girl's favorite author, but still weird. And also why is that book there?

If these are abducted kids, why is that teenage girl book there? It is interesting. You know, like right next to her, when she can't touch it. that book there. If these are abducted kids, why is that teenage girl book there? You know, like right next to her, when she can't touch it, I don't know. I was like, I don't know. But what's weird too is that apparently there's a phone number on the spine of the book, but some of the most of the numbers are not legible. According to the Charlie project, it could be 300 possible phone numbers. She's a... The FBI did a full analysis on the photo

and it was inconclusive. It's so blurry and all the pictures that I'm looking at. They actually went as far as sending the photo to be analyzed by Scotland D.Y. Wow. They analyzed it and concluded that the woman was definitely Tara Calico. Oh my.

But then the Los Alamos National Laboratory analyzed it as well and said they didn't think it was Tara. Oh, fuck. I feel so bad for her parents. I can't imagine to hear Yup, definitely. For sure. No fucking one. It's here from Scotland yard that you're like,

that they're like yup. And then another one is like nope. You get to get nothing in between. It does look a lot like her. It does. And the scar is very interesting to me. So they also spoke with Polaroid, like directly. And they confirmed that the type of, because remember she had gone missing a year earlier. Right. So they're thinking, okay, when was this taken? Right. Was this taken a year ago? Or was it taken now? Well, they confirmed with Polaroid that the type of film used for this photograph was not made until May 1989. Okay. So that was only a few months ago. Right. Right. So it had to have

been taken after that date. That's interesting because it would mean Tara was taken in September and this photo wasn't taken until the following May. So she had been kept a lot. Of course, this makes it a little less believable that it's her because they, the two appear healthy. They appear distressed but healthy. They're not like skin and bones. They don't seem like, you know, exhausted but healthy. They appeared tan like they do look tan Not like they have been held captive like under ground or in a basement or somewhere for months, but Who can really say maybe their captors fed them well and kept them healthy like wild or shitting look at like JC Lee do guard and Other cases that are similar. So there's Elizabeth smart, you know exactly

So it's like you can absolutely look at it and say, this might be fake because they look, they don't look like they're being held for that much. It's like you can 100% look at it the other way and say, maybe they were fed every day and maybe they were taken out like you said. Right. There's no like other way. It's so hard. But you know, her mother still believed 100% that it was her. And I feel like mothers know their kids. Like, and in this scenario specifically, they were so close. They were best friends. They went on 36 mile bike rides together.

Like, that mama knows that face. And the scar. And the scar is really compelling. And then, like, when you put the book with the scar. And the scar is really compelling. And then like when you put the book with the scar, with the everything else, it's a lot of coincidences. It is. That's the case. So nothing is happening though. They're just kind of, they know that they don't know what this photo is. They don't know who took it. They don't know where it was taken. They have all this all they have. And so in 1991, John and Patty actually became deputized. They trained to become

auxiliary Valencia County Sheriff's deputies. Wow. They did it so they could like get more involved in this. And John said, quote, we were both deputized after Tara's disappearance and were able to investigate the case. It allows us to do two things to carry weapons and also to be able to contact any other law enforcement agency on behalf of the Sheriff's Department regarding the case. We were both commissioned as auxiliary deputies. So, this was huge. They went through all of that and it is not an easy thing to do. It's not like you take a written exam and and that's it and then to go through that while you're experiencing the loss of your daughter potentially. That's the thing So they went through all of that just to be able to take like a more hands-on like boots on the ground approach

It's it's honestly that's like so impressive to me. It's seen like what bad asses. What fucking parents? Seriously, that's some parent shit. It is. It was really hard, though, because nothing came from any of the investigations that were happening. It was just like little breadcrumb. Right, it didn't involve. And her mother, Patty, especially was always convinced that she was alive and they were going to find her. And even when she was starting to, she always really was convinced she was alive, but she always said,

even if she's not, I just want to bring her home. Of course. I just have to give her a funeral. You deserve that. Of course. Of course. So since they were working so closely with the police, they were actually being sent photos of unidentified bodies. Oh, God. To see if that was Tara. And she would look at every single one. And these were horrible crime scene photos for Patty to look at. She had to know.

But what a toll that must have taken on her. I can't even. No one is prepared to look at that even when it's a victim you don't know. Right. Like somebody you have no idea who they are. But for her to have to mentally and emotionally prepare each time for the possibility that she's gonna open that photo

and see her mother child, it must have been so heavy and so horrific, I can't even bring my brain to comprehend. To anticipate that every time. Every time. Your body must open it like a catastrophic reaction every time you're about to open that thing and then it's just a mixture of relief that you're not seeing your murder child but also devastation that this is not the one and then probably like guilt for the guilt for wanting the most traumatic thing I've ever heard that.

The havoc that must have wreaked on her nervous system. Body and soul, I can't even, and for her to like put herself through that every time, like just for her daughter, like, what a fucking mom. See, like that's some shit. And Tara's brother, Chris said, quote, the police would send photos of every possibility, including photos of bodies, dismembered bodies,

and every time mom got an envelope with the newest pictures, she had to look at them. She couldn't not, but it tore her up every time. Of course it did. And he told that to people, like people magazine, not just people. But in 2003, John and Patty actually moved to Florida. Mm-hmm.

Because that's where the last thing was happening. That's where they were, you know, they wanted to get away from New Mexico. They wanted to get away from where it happened. But they kept a bedroom for Tara and put her Christmas gifts, her birthday gifts every year and they're just waiting for her return. They just had it completely set up for her like she's going to come back and know all this will be here. You have to hold out hope that because then what do you have? If you don't have hope, what do you have? Yeah. And a friend told people magazine about Patty, quote, she would see a young girl on a bicycle and would point and write down Tara because she went through several strokes.

And at one point she could only like communicate through writing. And she would write down Tara and her friend said, quote, and John would tell her, no, that's not Tara. And he would have to say it every time. Oh my God. And they were in Florida and he was like, that's, she's like, she's not here. Like, right. And even in her retirement home in Florida,

when she got through these like series of strokes, and again, far away from where it initially happened, she would stare out the window waiting for Tara to come up on her bike. I can't. And they said quote, and John said quote, I'd have to explain to her that it was in Tara. This person was too old or too young.

And he said this to the Albert Kirkkey Journal in 2006. Patty passed away in 2006 from a series of strokes. And he said quote, Patty was looking for Tara right to the end. Of course she was. And like I said, she died in 2006 of complications from multiple strokes. She was broken-hearted.

Absolutely. I mean, to say the least, there's not even words to describe. Yeah, I can't let you know. And like we said, the damage that she was having to inflict on herself every time that she was opening these photos, all of the disappointment and the grief, I can't imagine. No. Like physically that toll it's going to take on you.

But her sister, Tara's sister Michelle, like really took the lead after Patty passed away. And was like, I'm going to keep this case going for my mom and for Tara, and she's about us. So the Valencia County Sheriff at the time was Renee Rivera. And this is where things get really interesting. Because again, this case just just went cool. Nothing was happening. Nothing's happening. Didn't. Patty passed away, not knowing what happened to her daughter. That's so terrible. Nobody deserves that.

So Sheriff Renee Rivera, he's starting to work on the case, or he said that he had been working on the case since he's been in the department in 89. He said he's always been interested in this case. And he does not believe the photo is of Tara. Okay. He said, quote, I don't think it's her. It does resemble her quite a bit, but I don't think it's her. And if the picture is of her, it could have been taken here and then transported somewhere else. So he followed up on every lead.

He was digging up multiple locations where they thought Tara's body might be buried. But then in 2008, he comes on record and says, he knows what happened. He says he knows what happened to Tara that day, and he knows who did it. Okay. He goes on record. But he says there's not enough solid evidence to put anyone away yet.

And that's it. I'm not going to say anything else. Who allowed him to do that? This family, he came forward and said, I know who did it and I know what happened, but like I can't say anything. Why would you even go as far as saying not then? Exactly. So he then said, so when pushed, he said,

he knows it was at the time two teenage boys at the time, who he has names for, but he won't give them. And he said, witnesses saw them driving that older model truck and that they were following her on her route and grabbing at her through the window. but he won't give them." And he said witnesses saw them driving that older model truck and that they were following her on her route and grabbing at her through the window. Holy fuck, that's the most terrifying thing to even picture. He said, quote, the information I have is that the truck accidentally ended up hitting her.

I believe the truck bumped her bike at which time she fell to the side of the road. From there, the individuals took her and he says they panicked at one point and killed her. And he also says Tara knew him, he believes. Okay. So, what, first of all, I was thinking about enough evidence.

This makes sense. Yeah, of course. The story, 100% make it like that, all that scuffle awful on the side of the road with like the tire marks and all that It makes sense that she was bumped off the road Yeah, then they pulled on and took her because immediately when you said that there was that like bike tires car tires and all that I was like, oh, I wonder if somebody bumped her off of the road exactly and

Going back to me saying okay, but if she dropped that walkman Where's the rest of the walkman? Well, like I said, the only thing found was a little viewing window. They can see the tape through. Maybe they didn't see that. Maybe they dropped. They picked up all the pieces. And they would see that clear little thing

that was on the ground in their panic. And so they left that by accident, right? So it's like that makes sense. So then he says, quote, we do have a case put together, but we want to make sure that the case is a concrete case to where we'll be able to effectively do our jobs. We're just waiting to get a little more evidence, her bicycle, her clothing, or Tara herself.

So where are you gonna get that? So he also said two other people besides these two teenagers that were in the car were involved, and they likely know where she was buried. Okay, so we're probably involved in this. And he said, quote, if Tara was killed, I would say her body is still within the county. I think that she's still in the same general area

that she was taken. So let's dig up everything. Now, he's saying he knows this all. He knows the men responsible, but after announcing this, he says even though it's the case, he has a case for these assholes, he's just not gonna move forward because he wants more information.

So John, Tara's father was not psyched about this. Obviously. He was like, how the fuck do you come forward saying that and not give a said? Like how dare you, really? Literally, how dare you? Like who do you think you are? That's insane.

And he said, quote, I thought it was silly when I heard it. There's such a thing as circumstantial evidence. And I know in other places they've gotten a conviction on strong circumstantial evidence. It should have never been said unless they, the Sheriff's Department, are willing to make an arrest and go forward with it. That's f**k. Because why would you give them that hope and then be like, yeah, but there's nothing we can do about it. Why would you ever say that? These people be like, yeah, but there's nothing we can do about it. Why would you ever say that? These people have been looking to like seek justice for this entire time.

Well, I have a little, I have a little snippet for why I think maybe he's not saying the names and what were you get to it? Because when I first read it, I was like, what the fuck, like no, this doesn't make any sense. And then you go further into it and you're like, oh, because you have a connection to maybe. There might be some things going on that are covered up and things might be, there might

be people involved that are a retired sheriff's sons, I don't know, maybe something like that. So the very next year in 2009, a couple of other photographs. I was going to ask about those because I saw them on Google. So they appear in the, there's a couple that I'm like, that I didn't even want to mention because they don't think they have any real connection, but they're brought up a lot with this case. So there are two that came that were found

that one of them is a very blurry photo of a woman who has her mouth duct taped. Yeah. It looks like the fabric that she's lying on is blue striped fabric, which is what the other Polaroid, the two kids are lying on blue striped fabric. It kind of looks like it could be the same woman. I don't think it does.

It's really blurry. And they've all, I think everybody's looked at it, it's kind of like, oh, I guess they really close up. It's just, it's just distorted to tell. And then there's another one that you might come across if you Google this case That is a woman and a man on a train. That doesn't look and he's like holding her and she's like tied up with gauze And like it looks weird and fake. It's they believe that's just a joke photo

Yeah, let's say don't think that's anything But there were other photographs that appeared and it was in the male in St. Joe Florida And they caused quite a stir. So David Barnes, the chief of police there, received one of these photos. And it was just a photo of a boy. And this boy had black, it was black marker scribbled over the photo over his mouth to look like duct tape. So then they were like, it was a photo of the boy like a school photo. So it's like, are they trying to say this is the boy in the photo? Right.

But like scribbling, like scribbled the duct tape over him to be like, look familiar. Right, right. So that was weird. And the same day, another photo was received the same time by a local newspaper and it was the same photo. Okay, that's weird. So they turned it into police and that same day, a psychic called in and said that she had a vision

and it was that Tara was buried in California and she mentioned something to do with a blue oldsmobile, which they never really went further with this but it's just a strange thing that she called on that day when those students. Random. Yeah.

So they looked at this as like, again, they're not getting a photo of the woman or the young woman of the girl in that photo But they're getting a picture that might be connected to the boy. Yeah, they still haven't figured out who this person is Oh to this day 2021 still don't know damn that's scary. So October 2013 Taurus case is officially reopened good. They formed a task force to start really getting into the shit and getting closer to an arrest or a discovery. It consisted of six people. They were from Homeland Security, State Police, two sheriff's departments and local police.

So this task force spoke to Deputy Frank Mathola. He came forward and said he took a statement from a man named Henry Brown, who was a teacher. He took this statement while Brown was dying, like a legit deathbed. He had said that back when Tara was missing, he hung out with some bad kids. He was like, I was in a bad crowd. He said one of these kids was Lawrence Romero Jr. Okay. Who happened to be the son of the sheriff at the time? Oh, wow.

The sheriff was Lawrence Romero Sr. Now Lawrence Romero Jr. was a bad kid. He got into a lot of trouble, but he used daddy's connections. Always get out of it. He was dealing drugs. He was in just with a bad crowd, just bad stuff. And he knew Tara and was said by some to have a crush on Tara, who was dating someone else. And he said, at one point, so Henry Brown, the guy on the deathbed, he said, once he was at a party with this kid,

Lawrence Romero, it was in his trailer, which was on his father's property. And he said, we're in the basement. It was like this weird makeshift basement in this trailer. And he said, like, we used to party down there, like he always had people over there. And he said, there was a few other guys there too. And they were, and he said, I think there was like three other guys. And he said, all of a sudden, they start, he said, he noticed something in the corner that was under a tarp during one of these visits. And he said at one point, they were joking about how they had accidentally hit Tara with their truck. And then they abducted, raped, and murdered her.

Oh, no. It was Lauren, some guy named Leroy, and another guy named David. They said they initially hit her body in some bushes, and they thought that would be fine. But then when everyone went crazy looking for her and searchers were coming out, they snuck her out of the bushes and held her body in Lawrence's trailer's basement. Ah! They then, apparently later, moved her from there and dumped her in a pond. Oh my god. He said it took so long to come forward like this because, of course, they're like,

ah, excuse me. Why are you waiting till now to say this? And he says they threatened to kill me if I ever went to police and I was scared. And he said, like, it's so I'm telling you now because they can't hurt me anymore. Right. Which is like, whoa, how do you live without your whole life? And actually, I like, even though I just told you the story, I did find the actual like police report, the interview with Henry Brown that like they took down and the official record.

Yeah. So you can hear exactly how he says it. It says Mr. Brown said on one occasion, they were all there drinking margaritas and making fajitas. He was in the basement with them and he had a weird feeling. So he looked down and noticed in, in quote a grave wrapped up in a blue tarp of what he believed was a small body. He said they started talking about Tarra Calico. They were searching and that they were searching for her and then

they began talking about how they raped and killed her. Mr. Brown said he knew the kids because he had worked at the school and because he was like older than them. And he knew these kids smoked weed and skipped school. Mr. Brown said one of them used to be her girlfriend and one of them was jealous. They started talking about another friend that had been with them named Leroy, something. They started talking to him about what they had done

and also warned him not to talk about it or they would come get him. They then said they were driving one of the older, the guys older truck that day. They all knew that Jeff and Tara, Jeff was her boyfriend. And Tara had broken up and they all knew she rode her bike down that highway.

But they had it. They were wrong. She was planning to play tennis with him later. But it's also scary that he's saying they all knew that she rode her bike down that highway because she did every day So that's like another thing. They said we know that she does this every day. Like that's really scary They explained they hit her with the truck and then put her in the back of the truck with Lee Roy

And then took her out of the gravel pits. And this is a trigger warning. Just give you a second. This is the, they just mentioned rape. They then took her out to the gravel pits where they satanized and raped her. Lawrence Romero Jr. said, quote, she got ballsy. She stood up and said she was going to make sure they were all going to jail. Lawrence Romero Jr. went and got a knife from the truck and David Leroy and the tall red-haired guy held her down

while Lawrence Romero Jr. stabbed and killed her. He said they drug her body and put her in a busch nearby until they got nervous when the search started for her. So that's what he put on the record. That is a very detailed account. And it all makes sense. It does. Now, another acquaintance of these guys came forward and he corroborated this and said his name was Donald Dutcher and he said they also confessed this to him. Okay. Now, unfortunately, at this point, Lawrence was dead fuck that for 20 plus years He had died by self-inflicted gunshot wound at 21 years old guilt

There were rumors that there was a suicide note in which he confessed to the murder But that it was covered up and not entered into evidence by his father the sheriff and his father went to great lengths In meant in a few articles I read to try to get his death changed from a suicide. He did not want it labeled as a suicide. He basically said he died while playing Russian roulette with his friends. Okay. Sometimes that can be like for religious purposes. Yeah. So for sure. But still in this case when you're with everything else, it's like, but just to play doubles on. Yeah, of course, because you have to look at both sides. Yeah.

This is a weird case and there's a lot going on. Right. So, Sheriff Renee Rivera, the one who's coming forward and being like, I don't know what happened. Right. He was likely keeping the real details covered and wouldn't name these names because they were connected to the former Sheriff Romero.

And people think that he has some kind of connection, connection to covering it up. Okay. And that he's like, of connection, connection to covering it up. Okay, and that's, you know, I'm just like, this is like everybody back each other. And so he's saying, I hate that shit. I hate, we are talking about life, human lives, human beings. Do you have a sister?

Do you have a mother? Do you have a daughter? Like anything, do you know a human being that you actually like in some capacity? Seriously, because this is insane? Because what if that happened to them? Would you go to Great Lancet to cover their murder? And I think it's literally him coming out and saying I know what happened. I know and it's so he looks like a Like you're a police from work because he knows what happened

I know the guys who are responsible But I don't know if it behind the scenes. He's trying to come up with some way to get this out But like not get it out and he's just trying to give reassure. I have no idea But it's what like what's your endgame bro now basically the thought by everyone involved in this is that there was definitely a violent Abduction yeah and a murder and that it was covered up by Romero senior and junior and that Renee Rivera may have potentially been involved in the cover up as well at like at a later date. Sure.

So, there's also a very weird thing that came out later too. All these different reports started leaking out when this task force got involved. So during the time when that photo, that Polaroid was found in Port Saint-Joy, Florida, on June 15, 1989, witnesses saw an unidentified teenage girl on a beach there. And she was accompanied by several older Caucasian males who appeared to be ordering the girl verbally along the beach. Now, nobody can tell like what is happening with this situation

if this was like staged, if people are misinterpreting it, the people thought it was weird and they thought the girl looked just like the girl in the photo. And they said they're like, what she was wearing appeared close to what this girl was wearing in the photo. They were never, they're still trying to figure out

that girl's identity. That's very strange. They haven't found anything. Now in 2019, the FBI put up a $20,000 reward for any information about Tara's disappearance. They also released an age-progressed photo of Tara. Even now, Michelle, her sister, says, quote, when people ask me, is that her in the photo? If I had to say yes or no definitively, yes, that is her. Wow, okay. And she said, I still look at it and it still looks exactly like her exactly like her

but can imagine how much I look at that, but it doesn't make sense. And it does as if it was those three guys. It not a lot of it doesn't. None of it doesn't connect. But like I said earlier, Michelle really took the lead after her parents deaths and she's working tirelessly to find Tara and bring her to justice. Bring her some justice, excuse me. So she started working closely with this woman named Melinda Escobel. She's the host of the podcast vanished the Tara Calico investigation. She grew up with Tara. Oh wow.

Went to school with her in New Mexico, and they were in marching band together. She said one time when they went on a trip with marching band to Arizona, Melinda was very shy and kind of reserved. And she said Tara took her under her wing and made sure she was never alone. That's just who she was. And she said so, this just really struck her. And she said together, Melinda, or excuse me, together,

Melinda and Michelle have really done their own investigation into this and they're continuing to. It's, you should listen to the podcast. It gives a lot more like interviews with different people involved with this. But Melinda said that she started it because she went home during a holiday break in 2008. She lives in LA now.

And she had some dinner with some old friends. And of course, the case came up like as it would. And they said, and she was like, yeah, it's just crazy. Like, are we ever gonna figure out what happened here? And everyone at the table looked at her because they all lived in the community still and they were all like, oh, Melinda, everyone knows who did it.

Oh, and it was the same story. We know who did it. Everybody knows who did it. Like just nothing's being done about it. So then if they did it, then that photograph is not there. Exactly. So it just throws such a whirlwind into all this. But Melinda was shook by that reaction. Like just hearing them all go like, oh, like casual, like,

I know, I know who did it. Like that's the real thing. And this is what made her want to start working on this. She started a documentary about it, a podcast. They knew had they had to like get the shit cracked because if everyone knows who did it, but they just can't, like we just need to make it happen. What pond? Can we not like, like, dredge up the pond? That's the thing.

It's like nobody's telling any details here. So they also made, there's a website called www.taracalico.com and it's C-A-L-I-C-O. It has tons of information on there. It has the podcast stuff. It also has like case files and stuff. And if anybody has any information about the disappearance of Tara Calaco, anything, it said you should call the local Albuquerque FBI office at 505-889-1300. Wow, so that's, and right now, nothing. We still just have this hanging in the winds. But the whole community really agrees.

It seems like everybody knows what happened. And the sheriff for Vera, I mean, he came right out and said, we all know what happened. I know what happened. I know who was involved. I'm just not saying. Is the father who previously was the sheriff, is he still alive?

Lawrence Ramirez senior, I don't know if he's still alive actually. Because I wonder if he is still alive than when he dies. Well, I doubt people come alive. I'm going to look it up right now while we're doing this. He poop, poop, poop, poop. He is not alive.

He died May 1st, 2017, and we did not get any kind of, for me. Right, because I'm like, if he, my thought was that if he kicked it, then people would come forward and say something. But then actually now that I'm like sitting here pondering, maybe, I mean, to cover something like this up there with multiple parties involved. So maybe some of the parties involved are still alive. And that's why the town doesn't come together. Because I think some of the teenage boys involved are probably still alive,

the ones that were involved in the whole thing. Imagine living with that. Like I hope you rot from the inside. Yeah, like that is so- If you did that, I hope you fucking rot from the inside out. It's to think, I mean, it becomes, this case unravels very quickly while you're looking into it because at first it's a missing person's case.

Sure. It's one of those things you think is gonna be like, almost like a, not like a briseless piece of, like one where you're like, what happened? But what did she go? What did she go? The same feeling as the Mollie Bish case. Exactly, you're just like, what happened?

Where did you go? She just feeling as the Molly Bish case. Exactly, you're just like, what happened? Where did she go? She just vanished. And then when you start, then when it just opens up, when you involve that Polaroid, when all of a sudden the sheriff comes out and says, I know exactly what happened. Right.

When a deathbed confession comes out, it's like, whoa, now this just turned into an abduction, rape, and murder, and cover up, like in two months. What the two months? Like, where did that come from? So, I mean, I swear, whenever I do these cases, I'm like, well, now I have a life's mission.

Now we have to figure out who this, like, I wanna help her family so bad. That's one here's the thing. If you somehow did this and you're listening to this for some fucking reason, Yeah. Who are you to live your life? Yeah, exactly. When you took someone else's. Who are you to live your life when you took someone else's?

Who are you to live like a fulfilled life and go about this and have a secret and a skeleton in your closet like that? Just tell someone who do you think you are? Just tell someone. You'll feel better. Turn yourself in. You'll feel better. You're this human and you somewhere.

But it's yeah, I just I don't understand how you can do something like that and then just walk around and think that you fucking deserve to exist. And I hate that our mother had to, had to die, not knowing what happened. And just sitting there. Her father had to deal with the shit of hearing the sheriff be like, oh, we know exactly what happened to your daughter.

We know exactly who did it. We're not gonna tell you. You should be fired. Like that is so wrong. Like dare I say. Well, there's a lot of other things that I started looking into his scenario Honey baby sweetie pie there's a lot going on there. Yeah, he should you don't do that to a family You don't do like who's where's the HR can I contact them? I'll stay over here in my lane

But like I won't but there's a lot going on there We about to turn this on go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead and Google him. Yeah. Okay. I'm not going to. I'm going to go to the slam there. Go on on, but it would be great if like he would just tell the truth. And they do. Maybe I'm do your job, Sheriff. Do your job. Fucking asshole. I'm pistering. I'm like genuinely pister. I got very angry doing this because I just want that family to get.

I want that family to get Tara because the other thing, one of the boys, I guess, said that they threw the bike in a junkyard. Oh. So it's like now we're not having anything on that. But that's the straight at this point. So, but it's like, what's the pond? Like, that is the truth. Some part of her still exists.

Yeah. And the Henry Brown was saying that he, when he was in that basement, he saw a tarp that looked like it was, it had a person in it. That's the most terrifying thing ever. And then imagine you have to get out of there. And deathbed confessions,

especially when they're about other people, are straight, I don't feel like they're normally faked. It's usually because what's the point? You're going out of this world. You might as well tell all the shit you can tell why are you gonna do that? And usually people are like scared to die. So deathbed convention is usually

because you're scared and you're conquering your life. You're not gonna lie at the last moment. Reggie, of course, some people will, but like, I think in this scenario, that's a lot of, one, it's a lot of detail, two, it's a lot of names. And somebody else came forward and confirmed it. Somebody confirmed it and said, I heard the same exact thing. They said the same exact thing to me.

And it also goes right along with the crime scene. It goes right along with what does witnesses said they saw the pickup truck. They said it was following her. The skid marks, the shit on the ground, it all makes sense. It's weird that nobody, I mean, because you know somebody must have seen them dragging a girl into a pickup truck. Yes, that's the thing. It's just weird that nobody came for them and was like, yeah, I saw that. Unless they pulled up in front of her and just blocked the road and nobody could see it.

But even like it was a long highway so like another lane of traffic. Yeah. Like going the opposite way could have seen something. Just strange that nobody saw that whole thing go down. Yeah, exactly. It's just wild. It's a wild case and I want it to be figured out. I also want to erase that puller road from my mind because if that's not Tara, which

now I'm like hearing everything else and like that's's not Tara, which now I'm hearing everything else, I'm like, that's not her then. And now I'm like, okay, so who the fuck is that? And that's another thing that's really gonna sit on my, I'm like, who are these two kids? Yeah, these children. This thing went out to everybody. How is no one coming forward

and saying my child is missing? And I think that's them. And that's what's weird to me. Unless it was like a joke or like a joke. Or if that's just like another fucked up situation, where like that's like, unless it was like a joke or like a joke or a Fetch just like another fucked up situation where like that somebody's Olden kids. Yeah, I guess it's very strange. Yeah, I don't I don't know. I need to go elsewhere and I need to wash my brain out Yeah, I think I'm gonna go watch like my anothidocs life or something. I'll watch old episodes of America's next top model

I also go wow Did you hear that? What did you say? I said unorthodox life. I know what the docks life can. Why did I just sound so Boston? I never do that. It happens. It also if you're not watching that on Netflix do so. I will not. It's a great no bitch. She would love it. But yeah, that's a palette cleanser that we all need. Yeah, there you go. All right, so we do hope you keep listening. We do. And we do also hope that you keep it. Woo-hoo! But that's a weird thing you run around

in your own fucking town acting like you can do whatever you want and killing and raping people because that's so fucked up. And not so weird that if your kid does that, you cover it up because that's also fucked up and that makes you just as bad as an actual murderer. And not so bad that if you're the sheriff, you're like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that I'm the sheriff,

but like I can't really tell you things because your whole entire job is to bring people to justice. And I think you should probably do your fucking job. That was one of your best yet. Do you think so? It was. Bye everybody. Bye. to morbid, early, and ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today,

or you can listen ad-free with Wondery Plus and Apple podcasts. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey.