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TARA LEIGH CALICO

TARA CALICO.webp

Missing From: Belen, New Mexico

Date of Last Contact: September 20, 1988

Missing Age: 19

Current Age: 55


Caucasian Female

5'7"  115-120 lbs.

CIRCUMSTANCES OF DISAPPEARANCE

On the morning of September 20, 1988, 19-year-old Tara Calico left her home on Brugg Street in Belen, New Mexico, for her regular 36-mile bike ride. Her own bicycle was damaged, so she took her mother’s neon pink Huffy mountain bike with yellow control cables and sidewalls. She was last seen around 11:45 a.m. riding along Highway 47 in Valencia County, just two miles from home, reportedly followed closely by a light-colored pickup truck. When Tara failed to return by noon as expected, her mother began searching and reported her missing by 3:00 p.m. Fragments of Tara’s Walkman and a cassette tape were found along the roadside, possibly dropped intentionally as a signal. Her bicycle has never been found. Tara’s case remains open, and a $20,000 FBI reward is still active for information leading to her recovery or to a conviction.

LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTACTS

​If you know anything about the Tara Calico case, please contact:

Valencia County Sheriff's Office
(505) 866-2400
Agency Case Number 20161005875

FBI Albuquerque Field Office
Phone: (505) 889-1300
Agency Case Number 7-AQ40914

MEDIA AND LINKS

The Doe Network: Case File 257DFNM (June 2013, The Doe Network)

Where's Tara Calico? (Nov 1996, Albuquerque Journal)

Searching for answers (Apr 2010, Valencia County News-Bulletin)

Their Tara didn't make it home (Sept 2003, The Albuquerque Tribune)

Tara Calico has been missing for 25 years (Sept 2013, Albuquerque Journal)

The Polaroid (July 2013, Crime Magazine)

Police reopen Tara Calico disappearance (Oct 2013, Albuquerque Journal)

Tara Leigh Calico Missing Person (Mar 2016, Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department)

New Letters Stir 20-Year-Old Unsolved Mystery of Apparent Child Abduction Photos (Aug 2009, Fox News)

Photo Gives Hope to Families of 2 (Aug 1989, The New York Times)

35 Years Later: Tara Calico Disappearance (June 2023, Valencia County News-Bulletin)

Investigators say they have new leads in Tara Calico disappearance (Sept 2021, KOAT-TV)

Renewed hope for answers 29 years after disappearance of Tara Calico (Sept 2017, KRQE)

FBI Offers $20,000 Reward in Tara Calico Case (Oct 2019, FBI)

Sheriff: Sufficient evidence in Tara Calico disappearance to submit to DA for possible charges (June 2023, KOAT7)

FL Fire Lt. Brandy Hall - New clue in her disappearance

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FL Fire Lt. Brandy Hall - New clue in her disappearance
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