Patty had recently stopped riding with Tara because she felt she may have been stalked by a motorist. She had borrowed her mother's 12-speed neon pink Huffy mountain bike with yellow control cables and sidewalls because her own bicycle had a flat tire. This was her standard route she would ride 17 miles south down Route 47 to the train tracks, where she would turn around for the return trip. On that Tuesday morning, however, Tara set out alone at about 9:30 AM for her daily ride from their home on Brugg Drive in Rio Communities, a suburb of Belen, New Mexico, heading down NM Route 47. She was very athletic, and typically rode her bike every day for exercise, frequently taking long rides with her mom. Tara juggled work, school, art projects, exercise, sports, family, and friends with seeming ease, working off her daily checklists and cramming as much activity into her day as she was able. The product of a blended family - her mom and stepdad got married when Tara was 6 and had five children between them from previous marriages - Tara was Patty's youngest, but she made a big impact. She was simply a natural leader and organizer the type of kid who literally alphabetized the spice rack for fun. At the tender age of 6, "Teeny Tara" as she was known affectionately by family, was making her own breakfast and taking care of her own needs, as well as the needs of others, without the slightest fuss. Tara was a pretty, freckle-faced young woman who even as a child, was remarkably self-sufficient. But Tara was both of these girls, and so much more, to her mother Patty Doel, her stepdad John Doel, her biological dad David Calico and her siblings. This freewheeling image stands in stark contrast to the other side of Tara - the maker of daily to-do lists of everything she wanted to accomplish that day, who each morning laid out the clothes and belongings she'd need for the day and was generally organized to a fault. John searched for the white van, it was never found.What could be more exhilarating than pedaling your bike down a familiar route the wind in your hair and classic rock by the band Boston blasting in your ears as you race down the highway? 19 year old University of New Mexico sophomore Tara Leigh Calico must have felt energized on her last bike ride on the morning of Septemthe last day anyone ever saw her. She insisted that the girl in the photo had a scar on her leg just like one Tara had. Tara's mother Patty believed it was Tara. The book in the picture next to the girl is by V.C. The chilling photograph shows a girl who bears an eerie resemblance to Tara Calico, along with a young boy, both bound and gagged and staring into the camera. John, Florida, in the parking lot of a convenience store, a woman found a Polaroid that fell out of a white van.
Nine months after the fateful bike ride, nearly 1,500 miles away from Tara's home, a terrifying potential clue was found. Tara was happy she had a boyfriend, and she was doing well in school. Police had found various witnesses from September 20th who had seen Tara on her bike ride and several more who had reported a white pickup truck with a camper on the back that might or might not have been involved with her disappearance.īut the police felt it was possible that Tara was merely a runaway, a theory her family vehemently denied as impossible. This was over an hour's drive from Tara's home on Brugg Drive back in Belen.įrom the time of her disappearance in September of 1988 until June of 1989, there were no major breaks in the case of Tara Calico. Police immediately suspected foul play.įour days after Tara's disappearance, more pieces of Tara's broken Walkman and Boston tape were found near the remote John F. The spot was about three miles from Tara's home. The next day, Patty went out again, searching for her daughter and she found something terrifying: broken pieces of Tara's Walkman and Boston tape on the side of the road. Patty then called the Valencia County Sheriff’s Department. When she didn't come back, Tara's concerned mother went looking for her but found nothing. Her daily ride typically took no more than two hours. Tara's bike had a flat tire, which is why she borrowed her mother's Huffy. Her mother had encouraged her to carry Mace, but she laughed it off. Patty was too disturbed by the incident to keep riding, but Tara loved her daily rides. Tara and her mother, Patty Doel, normally rode together but on previous rides, Tara and Patty had been nearly run off the road and followed by a suspicious vehicle.
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