A sophomore at the University of New Mexico, Tara Calico is in school full-time while working at a bank.
At 9:30 a.m. on September 20, Tara takes her mom’s pink Huffy bike for her daily bike ride, telling her mom she is playing tennis with her boyfriend later, so if she isn’t home by noon, come looking for her. An offhand comment her mother takes to heart.
When Tara isn’t back at 12:05 p.m., her mother, Patty, gets in her car to retrace Tara’s bike route, expecting to see Tara walking on the side of the road with her bike. Driving out to the train tracks where Tara normally turns around to head back home, Patty doesn’t see Tara and assumes she missed her and heads back home.
Patty calls Tara’s boyfriend, who says he hasn’t seen Tara, then calls the police in a panic. Police begin an immediate search for the 19-year-old, as her disappearance is out of the ordinary.
Her sister, Michele, joins in the search with Tara’s friends and boyfriend. A storm is coming, the temperature is dropping, friends walking two feet apart, hand in hand across both sides of the roadway, looking for any sign of Tara.
About two and a half miles down the search route, some tire tracks that look spun out are discovered on the side of the road. It seems like there was a scuffle, and the bike marks are visible amongst the tire marks from the vehicle.
Tara is known to use a distinctive, bright yellow Walkman on her bike ride, and when a broken piece of a bright yellow Walkman is found in the area of the tire marks, her sister, Michele, believes it is Tara leaving a trail to follow.
A cassette tape of the band “Boston” is discovered about three miles from her home on the side of Highway 47. Tara’s mother, Patty, identifies the tape as belonging to Tara, saying that it is what Tara was listening to on her bike ride.
Tara Calico was last seen riding her mother’s neon pink Huffy mountain bicycle on Highway 47 about two miles from her home in Belen.
A dirty white or light gray 1953 Ford pickup truck with a white, handmade shell was following directly behind her. Still, investigators don’t know if the truck has anything to do with the disappearance of Tara Calico.
Joining Nancy Grace:
Additional Guest
- John Day – Criminal Defense Attorney of John Day Law
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[Feature Photo: Family Handout]