Disappearance of Tara Calico

The two unidentified persons seen in the Polaroid found in June 1989. It is suspected the female is Calico. The boy in the background remains unidentified.

On June 15, 1989, a Polaroid photo of an unidentified young woman and a boy, both gagged with black duct tape and seemingly bound, was discovered in the parking lot of a convenience store in Port St. Joe, Florida.[4][5] The woman who found the photo said that it was in a parking space where a white windowless Toyota cargo van had been parked when she arrived at the store. She said that the van was being driven by a man with a mustache who appeared to be in his 30s. Police set up roadblocks to intercept the vehicle, but the man has never been identified.[7][9] According to Polaroid officials, the picture had to have been taken after May 1989 because the particular film used in the photograph was not available until then.[4]

The photo was broadcast on A Current Affair in July, and Doel was contacted by friends who had seen the show and thought the woman resembled Calico. Relatives of Michael Henley, also of New Mexico, who had disappeared in April 1988, saw the episode and said that they believed he was the boy in the photo. Doel and Henley's parents both met with investigators and examined the Polaroid. Doel said that she was "convinced" it was Calico.[10] She also noted that a scar on the woman's leg was identical to one that Calico had received in a car accident.[5][11] In addition, a paperback copy of V.C. Andrews' My Sweet Audrina, said to be one of Calico's favorite books, can be seen lying next to the woman.[7] Scotland Yard analyzed the photo and concluded that the woman was Calico, but a second analysis by the Los Alamos National Laboratory disagreed.[12] An FBI analysis of the photo was inconclusive.[4][13]

Henley's mother said that she was "almost certain" it was Michael in the Polaroid.[10][14] The identification of the boy in the photograph as Henley is considered highly unlikely: his remains were discovered in June 1990 in the Zuni Mountains,[15] about 7 miles (11 km) from his family's campsite from which he had disappeared and 75 miles (121 km) from where Calico disappeared. Police believe that Henley wandered off and subsequently died of exposure.[7]

In 2009, twenty years after the Polaroid photo was found and shared by the media, pictures of a boy were sent to the Port St. Joe police chief, David Barnes. He received two letters, postmarked June 10 and August 10, 2009, from Albuquerque, New Mexico. One letter contained a photo, printed on copy paper, of a young boy with sandy brown hair. Someone had drawn a black band in ink on the photo, over the boy's mouth, as if it were covered in tape as in the 1989 picture. The second letter contained an original image of the boy. On August 12, The Star newspaper in Port St. Joe received a third letter, also postmarked in Albuquerque on August 10 and depicting the same image, of a boy with black marker drawn over his mouth. The boy has not been confirmed to be the same one as in the previous photo. None of the letters contained a return address or a note indicating the child's identity, making the officials there believe it may have something to do with the disappearance of Tara Calico. The letters were sent at the same time that a self-proclaimed psychic had called about Calico, saying that she had met a runaway in California with whom she worked in a strip club; this girl was eventually murdered. The caller said she had dreams suggesting the runaway may have been Calico and that she may be buried in California. Searches did not lead to any discoveries. The photos were given to the F.B.I. for further investigation in hope of finding fingerprints or possible D.N.A. evidence.[9]

Two other Polaroid photographs, possibly of Calico, have surfaced over the years. The first was found near a construction site in Montecito, California, and is a blurry photo of a girl's face with tape covering her mouth and light blue striped fabric behind her, "similar to that on the pillow in the Toyota van photo". It was taken on film that was not available until June 1989. The second shows "a woman loosely bound in gauze, her eyes covered with more gauze and large black-framed glasses", with a male passenger beside her on an Amtrak train. The film used was not available until February 1990. Calico's mother believed the first one was Tara, but thought that the second may have been a gag.[4] Her sister stated, "They had a striking, uncalming resemblance. As for me, I will not rule them out. But keep in mind our family has had to identify many other photographs and all but those three were ruled out."[7]