Tara Calico

What happened

Tara Leigh Calico left her home on Brugg Street in Belen, New Mexico, at 9:30 a.m. on September 20, 1988, for her routine 36-mile bike ride. Because her own bicycle was damaged, she rode her mother’s — a neon pink Huffy mountain bike with yellow control cables and sidewalls. She was last seen riding along Highway 47 in Valencia County at approximately 11:45 a.m. She was never seen again.

Nine months later, a Polaroid photograph found in a parking lot in Port St. Joe, Florida — showing a young woman and a boy with tape across their mouths in the back of a van — became the case’s most famous evidence. The girl in the photograph was never confirmed to be Tara: Scotland Yard said it was her, Los Alamos National Laboratory said it was not, and the FBI could not confirm it either way. It remains disputed, and it is not shown on this page as a photograph of Tara.

In June 2023, the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office said evidence gathered was sufficient to submit to the district attorney for review of potential charges; the persons of interest are sealed by court, and no charges have been filed. The FBI offers a reward of up to $20,000.