FBI Offers $20,000 Reward in Tara Calico Case

Tara Calico disappeared 31 years ago on a morning bike ride near her home in New Mexico. The mystery of her disappearance has baffled law enforcement investigators who have never given up the search for Calico.

NTD Newsroom

Published: 10/7/2019, 7:03:13 PM EDT

FBI Offers $20,000 Reward in Tara Calico Case — he FBI is offering a reward for information that leads to Tara Calico’s whereabouts. On the right, is what the now 49-year-old could look like. (FBI)

In early October, the FBI announced it is offering up to $20,000 for information that could lead to her whereabouts or an arrest and conviction of those who are responsible.

"Tara had her entire future ahead of her when she vanished," said James Langenberg of the Albuquerque FBI Division in a statement. "Law enforcement has never given up the search for this young lady, checking out numerous tips and conducting countless interviews over the course of more than 30 years. But it's time for someone to come forward and help us finally bring Tara home."

The woman was last seen riding on Highway 47 in Valencia County at around 11:45 a.m. when she disappeared, the agency said. (Google Maps) — The woman was last seen riding on Highway 47 in Valencia County at around 11:45 a.m. when she disappeared, the agency said. Google Maps

The FBI has said Calico was 19 years old when she disappeared on Sept. 20, 1988, after going on a bike ride. She was riding a neon pink Huffy mountain bike and was wearing a white T-shirt with '1st National Bank of Belen" on it, white shorts with green stripes, white ankle socks, and white and turquoise Avia tennis shoes.

Calico biked this route daily during her routine 36-mile ride. She was last seen riding on Highway 47 in Valencia County at around 11:45 a.m. when she disappeared, the agency said.

According to News Ltd, the mysterious Polaroid photo of a young girl and boy was found at a convenience store car park in Florida nearly a year after Tara's disappearance. The picture was found by a woman shopping at a grocery store in Port St. Joe, Florida, said Investigation Discovery's CrimeFeed.

A windowless white van was spotted in the parking lot near where the photo was discovered, reports have said.

The photo was shown to Calico's mother, Patty Doel. The mother had said that the book in the picture, "My Sweet Audrina" by VC Andrews, was Calico's favorite book.

Polaroid photo with two unknown people. [Port St. Joe Police Department]

Scotland Yard in London analyzed the photo and concluded that the woman pictured on it is Calico. However, the Los Alamos National Laboratory performed the second analysis and disagreed with this conclusion. An analysis conducted by the FBI did not provide any conclusion.

Doel, who died in 2006, also stated that a scar on the leg of the girl in the photo was identical to the scar her daughter had.

Michele Doel, Calico's stepsister, said that the photo does not make sense. Michele conducts her own investigation on Calico's disappearance, according to the report.

"When people ask me, 'Is that her?' If I had to say yes or no definitively: Yes, that is her," she told People magazine in 2018. "I still look at it, and it looks exactly like her—exactly like her. But it doesn't make sense."

Tara's older brother, Chris, told the magazine that her mother always hoped that her daughter was still alive.

"And if photographic evidence of a young woman alive—even though she's in extremis—is something to latch on to," he told the publication.

Anyone with any information about the disappearance of Tara Calico should contact the Valencia County Sheriff's Office by calling 505-866-2400 or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or send information online at tips.fbi.gov.