Disappearance of Tara Calico

{{Short description|1988 unexplained disappearance in New Mexico, US}} {{Use American English|date=December 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Tara Calico | image = TaraCalico.jpg | caption = Portrait of Tara Calico at age 16 | birth_name = Tara Leigh Calico | birth_date = {{Birth date|1969|2|28}} | birth_place = Belen, New Mexico, U.S. | disappeared_date = {{Disappeared date and age|1988|9|20|1969|2|28}} | disappeared_place = NM 47, New Mexico, U.S. | disappeared_status = {{missing for|1988|9|20}} | education = Belen High School (Class of 1987) | known_for = Missing person | height = | mother = Patty Doel | father = David Calico }}

'''Tara Leigh Calico''' (born February 28, 1969)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/257dfnm.html|title=The Doe Network: Case File 257DFNM|website=www.doenetwork.org|access-date=September 20, 2018|archive-date=June 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608125735/http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/257dfnm.html|url-status=live}}</ref> is an American woman who disappeared near her home in Belen, New Mexico, on September 20, 1988. She is widely believed to have been kidnapped. In July 1989, a Polaroid photo of an unidentified young woman and boy, gagged and seemingly bound, was televised to the public after it was found in a convenience store parking lot in Port St. Joe, Florida. Family friends thought the woman resembled Calico and contacted her mother, who then met with investigators and examined the Polaroid. She believed it was her daughter after taking "time, growth and lack of makeup" into consideration, and noted that a scar on the woman's leg was identical to one that Calico had. Scotland Yard analyzed the photo and concluded that the woman was Calico, but a second analysis by the Los Alamos National Laboratory disagreed. An FBI analysis of the photo was inconclusive.

Calico's case received extensive coverage on television programs such as ''A Current Affair'', ''Unsolved Mysteries'', and ''America's Most Wanted''. It was also profiled on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' and ''48 Hours''.<ref name="Smith1996">{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Toby|title=Where's Tara Calico?|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21236946/albuquerque_journal/|accessdate=June 24, 2018|work=Albuquerque Journal|date=November 3, 1996|pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21236946/albuquerque_journal/ A1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/albuquerque-journal-wheres-tara-calico/183078852/ A10]–[https://www.newspapers.com/article/albuquerque-journal-parents-pray-for-clu/183078905/ A11]|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=June 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624150609/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21236946/albuquerque_journal/|url-status=live}} {{free access}}</ref>

==Disappearance== On Tuesday, September 20, 1988, Calico left her home at about 9:30 A.M. to go on her daily bike ride along New Mexico State Road 47.<ref name="Garcia2003Sep20">{{cite news |last1=Garcia |first1=Clara |title=Area Woman Sought 15 Years Later |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/albuquerque-journal-area-woman-sought-15/182795092/ |access-date=October 11, 2025 |work=Albuquerque Journal |date=September 20, 2003 |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/albuquerque-journal-area-woman-sought-15/182795092/ E1]-[https://www.newspapers.com/article/albuquerque-journal-tara-still-lives-in/182795324/ E2] |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Garcia|first1=Clara|title=Searching for answers|url=http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/searching-for-answers/article_f4bf09d0-93fe-520c-ba41-5d95a994e09e.html|accessdate=October 19, 2016|work=Valencia County News-Bulletin|date=April 10, 2010|archive-date=March 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306154444/http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/searching-for-answers/article_f4bf09d0-93fe-520c-ba41-5d95a994e09e.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> She rode that route almost every morning and was sometimes accompanied by her mother, Patty Doel. However, Doel stopped riding with Calico after she felt that she had been stalked by a motorist. She advised her daughter to think about carrying mace, but Calico rejected the idea.<ref name="Smith1996"/> On the morning of Calico's disappearance, she had told Doel to come and get her if she was not home by noon, as she had plans to play tennis with her boyfriend at 12:30.<ref name=TheirTara>{{cite news|last1=Gutierrez Krueger|first1=Joline|title=Their Tara didn't make it home|url=http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news03/091903_news_tara.shtml|accessdate=October 11, 2015|work=The Albuquerque Tribune|pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-albuquerque-tribune-their-tara-didn/182795463/ A1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-albuquerque-tribune-their-tara-didn/182795495/ A4] |date=September 19, 2003|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20031003111915/http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news03/091903_news_tara.shtml|archivedate=October 3, 2003}}</ref> When her daughter did not return, Doel went searching for her along Calico's usual bike route but could not find her; she then contacted the police. Pieces of Calico's Sony Walkman and a cassette tape were later discovered along the road.<ref name="Welsome1988Sep22">{{cite news |last1=Welsome |first1=Eileen |last2=Tyler |first2=Cary |title=Pals, kin join hunt for teen missing |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-albuquerque-tribune-pals-kin-join-h/182882075/ |access-date=October 13, 2025 |work=The Albuquerque Tribune |date=September 22, 1988 |page=A3 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}</ref> Doel believed that she might have dropped them in an attempt to mark her trail.<ref name="25Years">{{cite news|last1=Garcia|first1=Clara|title=Tara Calico has been missing for 25 years|url=http://www.abqjournal.com/265671/abqnewsseeker/tara-calico-has-been-missing-for-25-years.html|accessdate=October 9, 2015|work=Albuquerque Journal|date=September 19, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927163528/https://www.abqjournal.com/265671/abqnewsseeker/tara-calico-has-been-missing-for-25-years.html|archive-date=September 27, 2013|quote=Patty Doel never gave up hope, even until the day she died in May 2006. Patty succumbed to complications from a series of strokes in Port Charlotte, Fla., where she and John moved in 2003. John said Patty always dreamed of the day they would be reunited with her daughter.}}</ref><ref name="CrimeMagazine">{{cite web|url=http://www.crimemagazine.com/polaroid|title=The Polaroid|first=Paul|last=Buchanan|editor-first=J. Patrick|editor-last=O'Connor|publisher=Crime Magazine|date=July 22, 2013|accessdate=September 1, 2014|archive-date=January 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230122135745/http://www.crimemagazine.com/polaroid|url-status=live}}</ref> Several people saw Calico riding her bicycle, which has never been found.<ref name="Smith1996"/><ref name="Reopen">{{cite news|last1=Perez|first1=Nicole|title=Police reopen Tara Calico disappearance|url=http://www.abqjournal.com/273917/uncategorized/police-reopen-tara-calico-disappearance.html|accessdate=October 9, 2015|work=Albuquerque Journal|date=October 2, 2013|archive-date=April 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415124126/http://www.abqjournal.com/273917/uncategorized/police-reopen-tara-calico-disappearance.html|url-status=live}}</ref> No one witnessed her presumed abduction, although several witnesses observed a light-colored pickup truck (possibly a 1953 Ford)<ref name=CrimeMagazine/> with a camper shell following closely behind her.<ref name=25Years/><ref>{{cite web|title=Tara Leigh Calico Missing Person|url=http://www.bernalillocountysheriff.com/88-920.html|publisher=Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department|accessdate=October 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025606/http://www.bernalillocountysheriff.com/88-920.html|archive-date=March 4, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Pickup sought in mystery of abducted woman |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/el-paso-times-pickup-sought-in-mystery-o/183141577/ |access-date=October 17, 2025 |work=El Paso Times |agency=Associated Press |date=August 5, 1989 |page=1B |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}</ref>

==Photographs==

===Toyota van=== thumb|The two unidentified persons seen in the Polaroid found in June 1989. Some people believe the woman 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.<ref name=TheirTara/><ref name="25Years"/> 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.<ref name="CrimeMagazine"/><ref name="Fox News">{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/new-letters-stir-20-year-old-unsolved-mystery-of-apparent-child-abduction-photos/|publisher=Fox News|agency=Associated Press|title=New Letters Stir 20-Year-Old Unsolved Mystery of Apparent Child Abduction Photos|date=August 29, 2009|access-date=October 9, 2015|archive-date=March 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310220742/http://www.foxnews.com/story/2009/08/29/new-letters-stir-20-year-old-unsolved-mystery-apparent-child-abduction-photos/|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name=TheirTara/>

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.<ref name="AssociatedPress1989Jul31">{{cite newspaper |title=Missing Youths Identified in Photo |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-nassau-edition-missing-youths/182882185/ |access-date=October 13, 2025 |work=Newsday |agency=Associated Press |date=July 31, 1989 |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-nassau-edition-missing-youths/182882185/ 6], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-nassau-edition-two-missing-you/182882286/ 28] |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}</ref>

Doel and Henley's parents both met with investigators and examined the Polaroid. Doel said that she was "convinced" it was Calico.<ref name="Hope2"/> She also noted that a scar on the woman's leg was identical to one that Calico had received in a car accident.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://owwlogy.com/tara-calico-shocking-disappearance-and-polaroid/ | title=The Shocking Disappearance of Tara Calico and Chilling Polaroids - Owwlogy | date=May 29, 2022 | access-date=July 2, 2022 | archive-date=April 29, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429175851/https://owwlogy.com/tara-calico-shocking-disappearance-and-polaroid/ | url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name="CrimeMagazine"/> Scotland Yard analyzed the photo and concluded that the woman was Calico, but a second analysis by the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) disagreed;<ref name="Leslie">{{cite news|first=Leslie|last=Linthicum|url=http://www.abqjournal.com/upfront/1411274upfront09-14-08.htm|title=Mystery of Tara Calico|date=September 14, 2008|newspaper=Albuquerque Journal|accessdate=October 9, 2015|archive-date=August 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150808034913/http://www.abqjournal.com/upfront/1411274upfront09-14-08.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> a forensic scientist at LANL said that the woman is "definitely not Tara".<ref name="Smith1996"/> An FBI analysis of the photo was inconclusive.<ref name=TheirTara/><ref name=clara>{{cite news|url=http://www.news-bulletin.com/twenty-years-ago-today-tara-calico-disappeared-into-thin-air/article_09d8dc4e-6f60-52a6-8679-9cef2d7639ce.html|title=Twenty years ago today, Tara Calico disappeared into thin air|newspaper=Valencia County News-Bulletin|first=Clara|last=Garcia|date=September 20, 2008|accessdate=October 19, 2016|archive-date=October 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031220907/http://www.news-bulletin.com/twenty-years-ago-today-tara-calico-disappeared-into-thin-air/article_09d8dc4e-6f60-52a6-8679-9cef2d7639ce.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Parents still seek 2 missing children |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/el-paso-times-parents-still-seek-2-missi/183339491/ |access-date=October 20, 2025 |work=El Paso Times |agency=Associated Press |date=August 31, 1989 |page=1B |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}</ref>

Henley's mother said that she was "almost certain" it was Michael in the Polaroid.<ref name="Hope2">{{cite news|title=Photo Gives Hope to Families of 2|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/03/us/photo-gives-hope-to-families-of-2.html|accessdate=November 26, 2015|work=The New York Times|agency=Associated Press|date=August 3, 1989|archive-date=March 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320152727/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/03/us/photo-gives-hope-to-families-of-2.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Families identify 2 in photograph|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19890731&id=AOlVAAAAIBAJ&pg=5473,8049371|accessdate=February 8, 2016|work=Eugene Register-Guard|agency=Associated Press|date=July 31, 1989|archive-date=March 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319111422/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19890731&id=AOlVAAAAIBAJ&pg=5473,8049371|url-status=live}}</ref> The identification of the boy in the photograph as Henley is considered unlikely: his remains were discovered in June 1990 in the Zuñi Mountains,<ref>{{cite news|title=Boy's identity confirmed|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/anonymous-other-articles-clipping-jun-29-1990-378015/|accessdate=August 31, 2017|work=Clovis News Journal|agency=Associated Press|via=NewspaperArchive.com|date=June 29, 1990|page=3A|archive-date=September 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922101617/https://newspaperarchive.com/anonymous-other-articles-clipping-jun-29-1990-378015/|url-status=live}} {{free access}}</ref><ref name="Arley1993Oct11">{{cite news |last1=Sanchez |first1=Arley |title=Parents Follow Tip to Fields South of Belen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/albuquerque-journal-parents-follow-tip-t/182794148/ |access-date=October 11, 2025 |work=Albuquerque Journal |date=September 1, 1993 |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/albuquerque-journal-parents-follow-tip-t/182794148/ 1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/albuquerque-journal-authorities-dig-for/182794237/ 4] |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}</ref> about {{convert|7|mi|km}} from his family's campsite from which he had disappeared and {{convert|75|mi|km}} from where Calico disappeared. Police believe that Henley wandered off and subsequently died of exposure.<ref name="CrimeMagazine"/>

===Other photos=== Two other Polaroid photographs, possibly of Calico, have surfaced over the years.<ref name="Dingmann1991Jul6">{{cite news |last1=Dingmann |first1=Tracy |title=Parents Retain Hope Daughter Remains Alive |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/albuquerque-journal-parents-retain-hope/182881877/ |access-date=October 13, 2025 |work=Albuquerque Journal |date=July 6, 1991 |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/albuquerque-journal-parents-retain-hope/182881877/ 1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/albuquerque-journal-parents-maintain-hop/182881906/ 3] |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}</ref> The first was found near a construction site in Montecito, California, on July 19, 1989,<ref name="Moore1991May26">{{cite news |last1=Moore |first1=Evan |title=Blizzard of photos puzzles authorities in bizarre case |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-houston-chronicle-blizzard-of-photos/182820389/ |access-date=October 12, 2025 |work=Houston Chronicle |date=May 26, 1991 |page=4A |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}</ref> 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".<ref name=TheirTara/> It was taken on film that was not available until June 1989.<ref name=TheirTara/> 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.<ref name=TheirTara/> 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 hoax.<ref name=TheirTara/> 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."<ref name="CrimeMagazine"/> The Doe Network maintained a case file on all three polaroid photographs, which was closed for unknown reasons.<ref>{{Cite web |title=66UFFL |url=https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/66uffl.html |access-date=2025-07-19 |website=The Doe Network}}</ref>

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 FBI for further investigation in hope of finding fingerprints or possible DNA evidence.<ref name="Fox News"/>

==Later developments== In late August 1993, Calico's family received a tip from a "sincere and concerned" woman who had heard the sound of digging the day after Calico's disappearance, at a site about {{convert|7|mi|km}} south of Belen. Authorities subsequently conducted excavations at the site using backhoes.<ref name="Arley1993Oct11"/>

In 1998, Calico was declared officially dead. A judge ruled her death a homicide.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Laflin |first1=Nancy |title=Investigators say they have new leads in Tara Calico disappearance |url=https://www.koat.com/article/tara-calico-cold-case-investigation-new-mexico/37641318 |access-date=September 9, 2023 |work=KOAT-TV |date=September 20, 2021 |archive-date=January 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114201520/https://www.koat.com/article/tara-calico-cold-case-investigation-new-mexico/37641318 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2008, Rene Rivera, the sheriff of Valencia County, reported that he received information that two teenagers had accidentally hit Calico with a truck, panicked, and subsequently killed her.<ref name="clara2">{{cite news|url=http://www.news-bulletin.com/twenty-years-ago-today-tara-calico-disappeared-into-thin-air/article_09d8dc4e-6f60-52a6-8679-9cef2d7639ce.html|title=Twenty years ago today, Tara Calico disappeared into thin air|last=Garcia|first=Clara|date=September 20, 2008|newspaper=Valencia County News-Bulletin|accessdate=October 19, 2016|archive-date=October 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031220907/http://www.news-bulletin.com/twenty-years-ago-today-tara-calico-disappeared-into-thin-air/article_09d8dc4e-6f60-52a6-8679-9cef2d7639ce.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to Rivera, the boys, who knew Calico, drove up behind her in a truck and some form of an accident followed. Calico later died and those responsible covered up the crime. Rivera stated that he knew the names of those involved, but that, without a body, he could not make a case. He did not release the evidence that led him to this conclusion. Calico's stepfather, John Doel, said that the sheriff should not have made these comments if he was not willing to arrest anyone and that strong circumstantial evidence should be enough for a conviction.<ref name=clara />

In October 2013, a six-person task force was established to reinvestigate Calico's disappearance.<ref name="Reopen"/> As of 2017, no arrests have been made and the case remains open.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Vallez|first1=Kim|title=Renewed hope for answers 29 years after disappearance of Tara Calico|url=http://krqe.com/2017/09/20/renewed-hope-for-answers-29-years-after-disappearance-of-tara-calico/|accessdate=December 14, 2017|publisher=KRQE|date=September 20, 2017|archive-date=February 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222193910/http://krqe.com/2017/09/20/renewed-hope-for-answers-29-years-after-disappearance-of-tara-calico/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On October 1, 2019, the FBI announced that they are "offering a reward of up to $20,000 for precise details leading to the identification or location of Tara Leigh Calico and information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for her disappearance."<ref>{{cite news |title=FBI Media Alert: FBI Offers $20,000 Reward in Tara Calico Case |url=https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/albuquerque/news/press-releases/fbi-media-alert-fbi-offers-20000-reward-in-tara-calico-case |access-date=October 8, 2019 |publisher=FBI |date=October 1, 2019 |archive-date=May 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230519040544/https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/albuquerque/news/press-releases/fbi-media-alert-fbi-offers-20000-reward-in-tara-calico-case |url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2021, the Valencia County Sheriff's Office and the New Mexico State Police issued a statement that they have a new lead in the case, and that the focus of a sealed warrant for an unknown private residence located within Valencia County has been issued; however, no further details were provided.<ref>{{cite news|title=Investigators say they have new leads in Tara Calico disappearance|url=https://www.koat.com/article/tara-calico-cold-case-investigation-new-mexico/37641318|access-date=September 20, 2021|publisher=KOAT7|date=September 20, 2021|archive-date=May 14, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514180114/https://www.koat.com/amp/article/tara-calico-cold-case-investigation-new-mexico/37641318|url-status=live}}</ref>

On June 13, 2023, the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office announced a breakthrough in the 1988 disappearance. Sheriff Denise Vigil and other law enforcement officers spoke at a press conference regarding the Calico case. "At this time, law enforcement believes there is sufficient evidence to submit this investigation to the district attorney's office for review of potential charges," Vigil said. "Currently, the identities and specifics of the persons of interest are sealed by the court and will remain so until a court order otherwise".<ref>{{cite news|title=Sheriff: Sufficient evidence in Tara Calico disappearance to submit to DA for possible charges|url=https://www.koat.com/article/tara-calico-case-update/44185576|access-date=June 13, 2023|publisher=KOAT7|date=June 13, 2023|archive-date=June 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230615040439/https://www.koat.com/amp/article/tara-calico-case-update/44185576|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Family == Calico's father, David J. Calico, was beaten and mugged by two men in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He died as a result on November 2, 2002, at the age of 64.<ref>{{cite news |title=Albuquerque man dies after mugging |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-santa-fe-new-mexican-albuquerque-man/183142604/ |access-date=October 17, 2025 |work=The Santa Fe New Mexican |agency=Associated Press |date=November 9, 2002 |page=B-3 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}</ref> Her mother, Patty Doel, died on May 11, 2006, in Port Charlotte, Florida, from health complications after a series of strokes.<ref name="25Years"/>

== See also == *List of people who disappeared mysteriously (1980s)

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/257dfnm.html Case File 257DFNM], The Doe Network * [http://charleyproject.org/case/tara-leigh-calico Tara Leigh Calico], The Charley Project * [http://www.TaraCalico.com Vanished: The Tara Calico Story], documentary by a friend of Calico ({{IMDb title|1935252|Vanished: The Tara Calico Story}}) * {{cite news |last=Gutierrez Krueger |first=Joline |date=June 8, 2006 |title=Patty Doel waited for Tara until the day she died |url=http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/Jun/08/joline-gutierrez-krueger-patty-doel-waited-for/ |url-status=dead |newspaper=Albuquerque Tribune |location=Albuquerque, New Mexico |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307031722/http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/Jun/08/joline-gutierrez-krueger-patty-doel-waited-for/ |archivedate=March 7, 2008 |accessdate=September 12, 2014}} * [https://www.scribd.com/doc/270970248/New-Mexico-State-Police-Tara-Calico Official police report]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Calico, Tara}} Category:1969 births Category:1980s missing person cases Category:1988 in New Mexico Category:History of women in New Mexico Category:Missing person cases in New Mexico Category:September 1988 in the United States Category:Valencia County, New Mexico Category:FBI Most Wanted Kidnappings and Missing Persons Category:Belen High School alumni