Tara Leigh Calico: The Polaroid Mystery

Summary

Podcast Summary: Tara Leigh Calico: The Polaroid Mystery

The Final Hours with Sarah Turney and Kourtney Nichole
Crime House (PAVE Studios) | March 16, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this captivating and empathetic episode, Sarah Turney and Kourtney Nichole dissect the decades-old mystery of Tara Leigh Calico’s disappearance. With personal insights rooted in their own true crime experiences, the hosts walk listeners through Tara’s final known hours, the infamous Polaroid that shocked the nation, and the many theories and investigative missteps that have haunted this cold case. The show highlights not only the facts, but the emotional landscape faced by families of the missing, offering a nuanced look at justice and hope.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Tara’s Background and Disappearance

• Who Was Tara Calico?

  • Tara was a 19-year-old college student in Belen, New Mexico, known for her independence, kindness, and packed schedule.
  • “Her stepfather, John Dole, refers to her as a little machine…she’s always been that way.” – Sarah Turney [03:58]

• The Day Tara Disappeared — Sept 20, 1988

  • Tara left for her daily 34-mile bike ride, planning on tennis with her boyfriend and class later that day.
  • She made a plan with her mother: “Mom, if I’m not back by noon, come look for me.” – Sarah Turney [11:20]
  • Patty, Tara’s mother, was uneasy due to having felt previously followed on the road; Tara refused to give up her rides.

• Immediate Response

  • When Tara missed her noon check-in, Patty searched the route, finding no trace. The family contacted authorities, prompting a swift response from Valencia County Sheriff Lawrence Romero.
  • “This is what I want to see from every investigation…so props to the sheriff.” – Sarah Turney [15:35]

The Investigation: Early Evidence and Search

• Initial Search Efforts

  • Friends and family joined the search; Tara's stepsister, Michelle, recalls the moment realization struck that something was really wrong. [17:13]
  • Evidence found: bike and car tire tracks (suggesting a struggle), pieces of Tara’s Walkman, and cassette tape along the route.
  • Hosts reflect on how loved ones try to predict victim’s actions and the reality that, “things happen so fast, these crimes are super chaotic and disorienting.” – Courtney Nichole [19:47]

• Eyewitness Accounts

  • Multiple witnesses saw Tara on her return leg, followed closely by a white pickup truck; one reported seeing several people in the vehicle. [21:48]

The Polaroid: National Infamy

• Discovery of the Photo

  • June 15, 1989: A Polaroid is found in Port St. Joe, Florida, depicting a woman and a boy, both bound and gagged.
  • Tara's parents believed the woman was their daughter, citing a similar cowlick, scar, and the presence of Tara's favorite book in the photo. [25:00]

• The Public and Expert Response

  • National media coverage ensues; the FBI, Scotland Yard, and Los Alamos Lab all analyzed the photo, reaching contradictory conclusions.
  • “Let’s be real. This photo is still debated online by strangers...the cowlick, the hairline, the scar, the book, the resemblance—I don’t see this as a desperate shot in the dark…” – Sarah Turney [26:54]

• Connection to Michael Henley

  • A New Mexico couple believed the boy was their missing son, Michael Henley. However, his remains were later found in New Mexico, making it impossible for him to be the boy in the photo. Patty Doel, Tara’s mother, remained convinced until her death that the woman in the photo was Tara.

Theories and Suspects

• Sheriff Renee Rivera’s 2008 Revelation

  • Newly appointed sheriff Rivera announced he believed Tara was killed by local teenage boys, possibly acquaintances, who covered up the crime with family help.
  • He declined to name suspects due to lack of a body and concrete evidence.
  • “The stranger danger theory makes great headlines...but most victims do know their assailants.” – Courtney Nichole [29:33]

• Deathbed Confession and Romero Jr. Theory

  • In 2013, dying local Henry Brown claimed Lawrence Romero Jr. (sheriff’s son) confessed at a party to accidentally striking Tara with a truck, then assaulting and killing her, helped by others. Community connections may have impeded justice.
  • Confession and case files were rife with contradictions and unconfirmed statements, complicating the narrative.

• Family Access to Case Files

  • Both hosts stressed the importance and emotional impact for families in obtaining police records: “I will die on the hill that families deserve to go through all of their loved ones’ case files.” – Courtney Nichole [34:23]

Modern Investigative Efforts

• Recent Developments
  • 2016: Lt. Joseph Rowland reopened the case with modern technology.
  • Disheartening finding: The cassette and Walkman found years prior did not belong to Tara—they’d been lost on the roadside much earlier.
  • 2020: New evidence led to a sealed search of a Valencia County home; next steps and suspects remain undisclosed, but Rowland remains dedicated and hopeful, speaking about Tara in the present tense. [38:50]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Unsolved Cases and Living in Hope:
  “You want to believe the best, and once you really cross that line, there’s no going back...it is a really, really hard thing to do.”
  – Sarah Turney [17:41]

• On Modern Safety vs. the ‘80s:
  “This case is taking place in 1988 and honestly it’s 2026 and not much has changed.”
  – Courtney Nichole [09:23]

• On Family Insight vs. Expert Opinion (Photo Identification):
  “You can think that a family has a certain level of bias, but they’ve seen these people in all these different scenarios. So when we're looking at a photo, I trust when they say that it looks like her.”
  – Sarah Turney [27:38]

• On Obtaining Case Files:
  “If you request it and they don’t reply, see if they have a physical office you can go to...It’s a lot harder to deny somebody in person than over the Internet.”
  – Sarah Turney [36:17]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–03:00 – Setting the Scene & Discovery of the Polaroid
• 03:58 – Tara’s Personality and Background
• 07:15 – The Morning of Her Disappearance
• 09:58 – Safety Concerns, Patty’s Worry, and Tara’s Resolve
• 13:55 – Realization & Search Begins
• 17:13 – Stepsister Michelle’s Memory
• 19:31 – Walkman and Cassette Found
• 21:48 – Eyewitnesses Spot the Pickup Truck
• 24:09–25:56 – The Polaroid’s Discovery and Impact
• 27:38 – Family vs. Expert Identification of the Photo
• 29:33–31:48 – Stranger Danger vs. Known Assailant Theories
• 32:41–33:41 – 2013 Deathbed Confession and Romero Jr. Theory
• 36:17 – How Families Access Case Files (Advice and Experience)
• 37:14 – Lt. Rowland’s Cold Case Approach and Recent Developments
• 38:50–40:03 – Recap of Known Facts & Appeal for Information
• 40:03 – Tara’s Current Description and Call to Action

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Conclusion

Turney and Nichole thread empathy through this detailed analysis, blending investigative scrutiny with hard-earned wisdom from their own encounters with loss. While the case remains unsolved, The Final Hours serves as a testament to the power of hope, community, and persistent advocacy. Tara Calico’s story, and the photo that became a nationwide enigma, is retold with reverence for the human impact behind every true crime headline.

If you know anything about Tara Calico’s disappearance, contact your local FBI office. She would be 57 years old today, with distinct scars and a birthmark as described in the episode ([40:03]).

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“We know that on Tuesday, September 20, 1988, Tara wakes up feeling energized, eager and ready to take on another full day…She kisses her mom Patty on the cheek…She speeds along State Road 47, the southwestern sun beating down on her freckled arms, enjoying those moments of freedom on the wide open road.”
– Sarah Turney [38:50]

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Transcript

[Sarah Turney]

Foreign. This is Crime House. It's June 15, 1989, in Port St. Joe, Florida. You're walking across an empty parking lot, the summer sun beating down on your shoulders, shielding your eyes from the rays. You glance down at the concrete. Something catches your eye. A Polaroid.

[Courtney Nicole]

You pick it up. You see it's a picture of a young woman and a boy. Both have their arms bound behind their back and thick black tape across their mouths. They appear to be in the back of a car, maybe even a van. The woman's eyes pierce the lens, her expression showing a combination of exhaustion, hatred and pain. You realized you've stumbled on something significant, so you decide to take the Polaroid to the police. What you don't know is that this Polaroid will soon garner national attention.

[Sarah Turney]

The woman in the photo is believed to be Tara Lee Colico, a 19 year old from New Mexico who's been missing for almost eight months. She left for a routine bike ride in September of 1988 and hasn't been seen since. Until this photo.

[Courtney Nicole]

Every year over half a million people go missing, and that's just in the United States alone. Most of these stories barely get a headline. Some don't even get a flyer or a tip line. And when cases do get media attention, we usually only get the broad strokes.

[Sarah Turney]

But for those of us who have lived these true crime cases, we know the devil's in the details. This is the Final Hours A Crime House Original Powered by Pave Studios. I'm Sarah Turney.

[Courtney Nicole]

And I'm Courtney Nicole. Every Monday, Sarah and I will be looking at the final hours of someone disappearance. The small, seemingly mundane moments to see if there was anything hiding in plain sight.

[Sarah Turney]

Looking back at all those last conversations, connections and choices is critical and it could be the key to unlocking it all. Each episode I'll offer insight onto what those close to the victim might have been going through and Courtney will use her expertise to give more context into the crime scene, the red flags and the investigation itself. And we want to thank you for being a part of the Crime House community. Please rate, review and follow the show and for ad free access to every episode. Subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts.

[Courtney Nicole]

This episode we're diving into the disappearance of Tara lee Colico. In September 1988, 19 year old Tara was living at home in Belen, New Mexico as a college student with a packed schedule and a busy social life. She started the morning of the 20th like every other, heading out for her 34 mile bike ride, but she never made it home Almost four decades later, the question still remains what happened to Tara Colico?

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[Sarah Turney]

Get $50 off your first two orders, plus free shipping with code STIR50 Terms and conditions apply. Visit blue apron.com terms for more. It's September 20, 1988. 19 year old Tara Colico has just drafted yet another lengthy to do list. Where others might feel overwhelmed, Tara just smiles. She's energized by the idea of a full day ahead. Tara is known throughout her small hometown of Belen, New Mexico for being adventurous and efficient. Her stepfather, John Dole, refers to her as a little machine, saying she's always been that way. When John looks at Tara, he doesn't see a young woman on the verge of adulthood. He sees the feisty six year old who used to drag a stool over to the kitchen counter every morning to make her own breakfast. As Tara got older, her sense of independence and fearlessness grew deeper. She had two older brothers and two younger stepsisters. They spent a lot of time riding bikes, climbing trees, and exploring the great outdoors all on their own, a kind of freedom that most kids today mostly dream about. In high school, Tara's teachers noticed how determined, smart and athletic she was, her classmates agreed, but above all, they knew her to be incredibly kind. She was the type of girl who went out of her way to welcome a new student sitting alone at a lunch table just to make them feel included. This Interest in helping others led Tara to major in psychology at the University of New Mexico's Valencia campus. The college was only about 15 minutes away from her parents house, which was great because it allowed Tara to save money by still living at home. By the start of her sophomore year in 1988, Tara was maintaining a 3.9 GPA, a packed schedule, and a wide social network. She also had a boyfriend, a former high school classmate named Jack Cole. Jack was a good match for Tara. He had no problem keeping up with her busy lifestyle and often joined her for intense tennis matches and long bike rides. By all accounts, Tara had a bright future. She didn't have any known enemies. She'd never been in trouble with her parents, let alone the law. So no one could have predicted what was about to come. I mean, I'm sure Tara's life wasn't completely perfect, but it did seem like it was going pretty well.

[Courtney Nicole]

Yeah, and I think that's what make cases like these, you know, so incredibly hard to wrap your head around. She had no known enemies, so the randomness of it all, it just kind of keeps you up at night.

[Sarah Turney]

For me, when bad things like this happen to someone like Tara, someone who's so young, someone who hasn't even really had a chance to live yet, there's no way to reason what happened to them. It just seems fundamentally unfair.

[Courtney Nicole]

I do feel like the not knowing why this happened, it could make it more confusing to family members, especially in the, in the first few days and weeks of their loved one's disappearance.

[Sarah Turney]

I mean, I'm sure, you know, racking your brain for every little thing. You know, what could have happened? Who could she have met? Did she make somebody upset? But again, this is a girl who seems like she has a good head on her shoulders, who isn't really upsetting anybody.

[Courtney Nicole]

I feel like police, they often start by looking for flaws in a victim's life that can kind of point to what could have possibly happened. But in this specific case, there were no flaws. She had her whole life ahead of her, and she never would just simply walk away.

[Sarah Turney]

On Tuesday, September 20, 1988, Tara's sophomore year at the University of New Mexico is in full swing. And she isn't going easy on herself. Every morning around 9am she goes for a bike ride. But not just any bike ride. She travels 34 miles along State Road 47. That's 17 miles up and 17 miles back. It takes her a few hours, minimum. For Tara, it's meditation, a time to clear her mind before the busy day. Ahead, the ride isn't just a commute to school, nor is it even considered a workout. In fact, Tara has plans to play tennis right after she's supposed to meet her boyfriend Jack at the courts at 12:30. After that, she has class at 4:00pm

[Courtney Nicole]

but lately, Tara's routine looks slightly different. She used to take her morning rides with her mom, Patty, but Patty had recently stopped because she said she felt like they were always being followed by someone in a car. She couldn't fathom why anyone would tail them, but she also couldn't shake the eerie feeling of being stopped. Tara refused to give up cycling, so Patty encouraged her to at least carry a can of mace while she rode. But Tara insisted she would be fine, that she didn't need anything to protect herself. Tara was super fit and sharp. She figured that if worse came to worst, she'd be able to get out of the situation unharmed.

[Sarah Turney]

I think that there's something to be said for her not wanting to live in fear in her own community. Everybody has the right to make the best decision for themselves. To take the bike ride, to refrain from the route. But it seems like Tara wasn't going to give up something that she loved and just live in fear.

[Courtney Nicole]

And she shouldn't have to. On the flip side of that, I remember being 16, 17, 18 and doing things back then that I probably wouldn't do now. As like a 27 year old woman,

[Sarah Turney]

I think you can be aware and cautious without backing down. And to me that's what I see in Tara.

[Courtney Nicole]

It's definitely something to admire about her. There's always like that slight undertone of fear and worry when you're by yourself. As women and young girls, we always have to feel worry about being out on our own.

[Sarah Turney]

I mean, we're forced to be cautious. Most of us are made aware from a very early age that we need to be cautious.

[Courtney Nicole]

It's a tale as old as time. This case is taking place in 1988 and honestly it's 2026 and not much has changed.

[Sarah Turney]

I mean, I grew up in a big city, so I can't even imagine because my first instinct is to tell people to report, report everything to the police so that there's a record. So if something happens, they can go back and reference that record. But if reporting that is also going to put you at risk because you're in a small town, what do you do? On this breezy Tuesday morning, Tara treats this ride like any other. She pops on her yellow Sony Walkman, pressing play on a cassette from the band Boston Patty is concerned that this

[Courtney Nicole]

will distract her daughter on the ride. Tara was in a car accident when she was young, resulting in a scar on her right leg. So she knows how important it is to be vigilant on these roads. And even if Tara is paying attention, Patty is a bit worried about Tara using her old bike. Tara's was damaged during a recent ride and presumably Patty's isn't as durable on those 34 mile stretches. She can't help but imagine a scenario where Tara gets a flat tire or a rock gets stuck in the chain and suddenly she's stuck on the side of the road. Patty knows Tara's too, too smart to accept a ride from a stranger. But in small towns, people are used to assuming good intentions.

[Sarah Turney]

I think all good moms worry about their kids no matter what, no matter what situation, no matter how safe they're being. So I can totally see why she'd be afraid. Even though it seems like Tara has a great head on her shoulders.

[Courtney Nicole]

Exactly. And being a mom myself to three little girls, I still get scared when I watch my oldest, who is 6. I literally walk her to the front of the school and I watch her walk in every single day. And I still get worried about what's going to happen in the hallway until she sits, sits down in her chair in her classroom. So I totally can understand where she's coming from. You can never be too safe.

[Sarah Turney]

It's almost like you have to pick your form of danger. If she does break down on the side of the road, it's, you know, face walking and possibly getting hit by another vehicle or going with somebody else, getting into another vehicle and being taken to a secondary location. Either way, it's not safe.

[Courtney Nicole]

We have a few things in place that could help prevent this type of situation. Obviously, nothing's guaranteed, but like we have cell phones, we have aaa, we have location sharing. These things are all fantastic to implement if you ever get stranded on the side of. Regardless if you're a woman or a

[Sarah Turney]

man, my thing about it being a small town and accepting a ride from somebody you know is that even in that situation, bad things can happen. Sometimes it's the people you're closest to, the people that you know. It's usually the people that you know that hurt you. So I could see a scenario where she's picked up by somebody she knows. Maybe that person doesn't have the best intentions and then something bad happens. Tara may still be a teenager, but Patty knows she has to trust her daughter's instincts. That in a few hours, Tara will will bust through the front door, ready to move on to the next scheduled activity. Tennis with Jack at 12:30. But Tara can sense her mom's unease, so she makes a plan with Patty. A just in case arrangement for the very unlikely scenario something goes wrong. She tells Patty, mom, if I'm not back by noon, come look for me. And at 12:05, when Tara still hasn't returned, that's exactly what Patty does. Why have I asked my H Vac guy I found on Angie.com to change my grandpa's trachea tube? Because I was so amazed by how quickly he replaced our air ducts, I knew I could trust him to change Pop Pop's tube while I was on vacation.

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[Sarah Turney]

It's September 20, 1988. Before leaving for her morning bike ride, Tara Colico told her mom, Patty, to come looking for her if she wasn't home by noon. So when the clock hits 12:05 and Tara isn't back, Patty grabs her keys. Every day, Tara rides 17 miles down State Road 47 and 17 miles back. Patty drives along that route, expecting to find Tara stranded on the shoulder next to a broken bike. But there's no sign of her or the bicycle. Just to be sure, Patty repeats the drive. This time, she scans the fields alongside the highway, searching for any sign of her daughter. The hot pink bike, the bright yellow Walkman, Tara's green and white shorts. Patti's certain something would catch her eye Only nothing does.

[Courtney Nicole]

When she gets home, Patty wakes up her husband, John. He worked the late shift at the railroad the night before, so it wasn't unusual for him to be sleeping during the day. John tells Patty to stay calm. They don't have enough information to be panicked yet. First, they call the local hospital to see if Tara's been in an accident, but there's no patience with her name or description. Then Patty and John call Jack Cole, Tara's boyfriend. They had plans to play tennis at 12:30. Maybe he surprised her on her ride and scooped her up. But when they get a hold of him, Jack says he doesn't know where Tara is either. After calling a few other friends and hearing their alarmed reactions, both parents agree that it's time to call the police. Valencia County Sheriff Lawrence Romero listens carefully to the situation. He believes them when they explain this is out of character for Tara. He gets a search going right away.

[Sarah Turney]

This is what I want to see. From every investigation. I get it. Most people, most parents, I should say, are hearing your kids partying. They're probably just out with friends, seeing their boyfriend, whatever it is, they'll be back. And while we know that is the case, statistically, when it's your loved one, you're not going to feel that way. So props to the sheriff. This is exactly what I want to see.

[Courtney Nicole]

Yeah, I agree. And I've covered so many cases personally where the families are told exactly that, not to worry, they're kind of gaslit, a little bit like their loved one is just out partying, whatever. So when I come across cases like this, it makes me so happy to hear that the police immediately jump into action and try and help the families. And I feel like we definitely need to see more of that if you're

[Sarah Turney]

in that situation, which let's hope nobody is. I hope none of the people listening right now are ever in this situation. But if it does happen to you and you're met with, you know, law enforcement agency who does not want to take a report, my best advice is to ask for that decline in writing. Ask for them declining to take this report in writing because nine times out of 10, they're just going to take the report.

[Courtney Nicole]

Yeah, that, and if they still don't really want to cooperate with you, I guess my next best piece of advice would be go to social media, because as we all know, especially like TikTok, it's just such a great way to get this information out to millions of people all over the world. It helps the investigation tremendously, because as we all know crucial things can take place within the first couple of minutes, hours, even days.

[Sarah Turney]

For such an unfortunate situation, it does seem kind of like the best set of circumstances. And in terms of response all around the support of this case, I'm like, getting goosebumps right now. The support is just incredible.

[Courtney Nicole]

Within a couple of hours of Tara's disappearance, the Valencia County Sheriff's Department gets her name into the National Crime Information center or the ncic. Meanwhile, Tara's friends and family start their own search. Michelle Dole, Tara's stepsister, remembers thinking that Tara was going to be in big trouble for causing such a ruckus. But when she found herself walking along Highway 47, holding hands with Tara's friends, calling her name, it hit her. Something might really be wrong.

[Sarah Turney]

This part shattered my heart into a million pieces because I've been that sister, I've been that sister thinking that their sister's just going to come back, that something must have happened. And I think it's not just denial. Right. And I can't speak for her sister, but in my case, it's almost self preservation. You don't want to let yourself think that way. And there is guilt in giving up that hope that there's nothing wrong. I know when I realized that my sister probably wasn't coming back, the guilt of giving up that hope consumed me. You want to believe the best, and once you really cross that line, there's no going back for me. It was like this switch just flipped in my head. And it's a really, really hard thing to do.

[Courtney Nicole]

I can only imagine. I'm sure it even goes deeper than that as well. Like your brain physically just can't wrap around the idea that something could actually be wrong. Especially in a small community where nothing like this ever really happens. You don't see this very much. So, of course, your first thought isn't to go there. But I can't imagine that. Like you said, that moment where your. Your brain switches, that has to be just such a heavy and haunting feeling that'll follow these families forever. The searchers didn't have any luck on day one. But on day two, Wednesday, September 21, 1988, someone spotted something promising. Along the highway, just two and a half miles from Tara's home were tire tracks from both a car and a bike skidding off the west side of the road. The chaotic nature of the tracks and the fact that it looked like the bike had been dragged suggested a struggle took place. As search teams scoured the area around the tracks, Patti saw a Flash of bright yellow in the dirt. It was a piece of Tara's broken Walkman, the one she'd had with her on her ride. Nearby, they also found a broken cassette tape.

[Sarah Turney]

Both Patty and Michelle felt that Tara had done this deliberately, that she'd tossed pieces of the walkman and the cassette to leave a trail. A few days later, authorities discovered the rest of the Walkman about 20 miles away at the entrance to a remote campground at the foot of the Manzano Mountains.

[Courtney Nicole]

I feel like it's really easy to look back on a situation like this and think that your loved one is super capable, super smart, and especially in Tara's case, case, like, very strong. If they were to encounter something bad, that they would be able to quickly defend themselves and that they would be okay. But in reality, I feel like people don't realize in cases like this, things happen so fast, and these crimes are super chaotic and disorienting. Especially, like, we don't know this yet, but especially if. If Tara was injured. No one expects to have something like this happen to them. So when it does, you usually are not thinking rationally.

[Sarah Turney]

To your point, There are hundreds of different variables that could have been happening that would influence somebody's action. So without knowing exactly what happened to her in that moment, I think trying to predict how she would react is really hard. But on the flip side, you have all these people who know her who wanna think that they know how she might react. And I feel like that input is also valid. It's just. It's hard.

[Courtney Nicole]

Yeah, I just. I. I wouldn't know what I would do. Like, nobody does at the end of the day. I haven't really seen a lot of cases where victims will specifically leave a trail of breadcrumbs, so to speak, to help their case. I have seen it one time. It was the case of Denise Amber Lee. And she spec. Specifically did leave these little tracks, these little clues behind. She knew she was being abducted, so she would pull out strands of her hair and would leave strands of her hair and, like, part of her wedding ring in her, like, abductor's car. And she did that because she was, I believe she was the daughter of, like, a police officer. So she kind of, I think, probably had a little bit of knowledge on to do something like that in. In that scenario. But to everybody else who doesn't have that knowledge, I think it would be hard in a moment that scary to, like, think rationally, to leave, like, these clues behind. Regardless, the sheriff's department pounced on this new piece of evidence. Roughly one week after Tara went missing, they officially launched aerial and ground searches of the campground and mountain base, Looking for anything that might lead to her. They had men on horseback, men leading bloodhounds, and they even enlisted the help of ROTC students from 40 miles away in Albuquerque. Ultimately, they found nothing else of note. The police hadn't come up entirely short, though. Within a couple of days of her disappearance, Witnesses came forward saying they'd seen Tara on her bike that morning. At around 11:30am that day, two ranch hands working along the north side of Highway 47 saw her riding back in the direction of her house. This confirmed that Tara had made the first leg of her journey with no problem. Fifteen minutes later, at 11:45, three men driving southbound in the opposite direction Recalled seeing a young woman on a pink bike lake. They said she was being followed closely by a white pickup truck. The woman seemed unaware that she was being tailed. She was happily listening to her walkman. Shortly after that, another driver passed Tara and reported seeing the same thing. He said he believed that there were multiple people in the truck.

[Sarah Turney]

Even with all the clues and witness statements, Tara's case started to cool down after a couple of weeks. And it would only grow colder for the next nine months as no new evidence turned on up. But then, in June 1989, a new piece of evidence appeared 1500 miles away from where Tara vanished. And it changed everything.

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[Sarah Turney]

It's June 15, 1989. A Polaroid of a woman and a boy Appears in a parking lot in Port St. Joe, Florida.

[Courtney Nicole]

It's a pretty disturbing picture. Both people appear to have their hands Bound behind their back and their mouths gagged with thick black tape. The young woman is Caucasian with brown curly hair and light eyes. She looks at least five years older than the boy lying next to her. He's not as well lit as she is, but we can tell the boy is also Caucasian with brown eyes and short, somewhat dark hair. Due to the large piece of black tape on his mouth, his expression is hard to make out out. But the young woman is staring directly into the camera with a sad, pained expression on her face. The person who found the Polaroid turned it into authorities who made sure it was publicized via newspaper and tv. They were hoping for any information that might help them identify the people in the picture.

[Sarah Turney]

It took about a month before the news of the photo made it to Belen, New Mexico. But when Patty and John Doel saw it, they were certain they were looking at their daughter. John called the Valencia Sheriff's Department to report it, and detectives met with Tara's parents to discuss their suspicions. Patty pointed out that the young woman's hair color and hairline matched Tara's. There was a clearly visible cowlick on her right temple. She also had a scar on her leg that looked just like Tara's from that car accident. And the book lying next to the young woman in the image was one of Tara's favorites, a 1982 novel by V.C. andrews called My Sweet Audrina. Shortly after Patty and John saw the picture, another couple from New Mexico came forward. They swore that the boy in the photo was their missing nine year old son, Michael Henley. In April of 1988, five months before Tara went missing, Michael disappeared while on a hunting trip with his father in New Mexico's Zuni Mountain range.

[Courtney Nicole]

Two missing people from New Mexico in a photo together found all the way across the country. For the first time in many months, the Doles and the Henleys had hope that their children were still alive and were going to be found. With that, the FBI took over Tara's case. Polaroid officials told them that the picture was taken with film that hadn't been available until May 1989, eight months after Tara's disappearance. So that was the earliest it could have been taken. Extensive analysis was performed on the Polaroid by plenty of different experts, but unfortunately, no one could settle on a verdict. The FBI didn't believe the photo was of Tara. England's Scotland Yard was even called in to lend an opinion. And they came to the opposite conclusion. They said it was probably her, but the Los Alamos National Laboratory agreed with the FBI. No one was in agreement about the boy either. Michael Henley's mother really thought it was him, but no one was certain.

[Sarah Turney]

Let's be real. This photo is still debated online by strangers. And I feel like it's not like her family is taking one abstract aspect of this photo. Without applying any logic here, the cowlick, the hairline, the scar, the book, the resemblance, I don't see this as a desperate shot in the dark from this family. I think there's some solid logic behind their beliefs.

[Courtney Nicole]

I totally see what you're saying. Like, I've seen so many cases where I think families try to, I guess, cling on to, like, any sort of hope, even if it might seem a little bit far fetched. But I agree. Photo. The resemblance is very, very strong. And I will agree even if you don't know anything about her case at all. I feel like the one thing that most people do know about is this polaroid photo.

[Sarah Turney]

Well, and I think that this is again, where, you know, the family expertise, if you will, comes in. I always like to stress that these are the people who have seen these victims, you know, the missing, the murdered, whoever it might be. They've seen them sick, they've seen them tired, They've seen them first thing in the morning with makeup, without makeup, with different haircuts. You can think that a family has a certain level of bias, but they've seen these people in all these different scenarios. So when we're looking at a photo, I trust when they say that it looks like her.

[Courtney Nicole]

I do want to point out that I do feel like in these moments, for family members, emotions are so heightened. But these experts, they can examine some pretty niche things, I would say. Like, they can examine physical features, lighting, different angles, photo resolutions. They can tell if a photo has been edited or not. But they can also take a look at, like, the environmental context clues. I mean, they use facial recognition software, and they can also use age progression tools. So I definitely want to point out that it is necessary. And I do feel like it's super important that these experts do examine these photos. But on the flip side, I also always want to trust the families just because they know their loved ones better than anyone else.

[Sarah Turney]

The Polaroid may have yielded a lot of publicity, but it didn't produce any clues to Tara's whereabouts. Both the Doles and the Henleys continued to operate under the assumption that the picture was of their kids, despite evidence to the contrary. But what came next did provide answers for one family. A year after the photo was found in June 1990, 9 year old Michael Henley's remains were discovered in the mountains where he and his dad had been hiking. Michael had gotten lost and died from exposure. It was official Michael was not the boy in the Polaroid after all. Patty wasn't deterred by this news though. In fact, she continued to believe her daughter was in the Polaroid until her death from complications from a stroke in 2006.

[Courtney Nicole]

In 2008, two years after Patty Dole passed away and 20 years after Tara vanished, a new theory about her disappearance emerged, and it came directly from law enforcement. The current sheriff of Valencia County, Renee Rivera, publicly announced that that he knew what happened to Tara Colico and he was ready to speak up about it. Renee had been investigating Tara's case since he was hired as a deputy in 1989, and he firmly believed that Tara had been taken by someone she knew. Renee's theory was that two teenage boys, whose names he would not reveal were riding in a pickup truck and had crossed paths with tara on Highway 47 that morning. Sources differ on whether or not Renee believes these boys were following Tara with an intent to attack her, or whether their truck accidentally struck her and killed her. Whatever their motives, Renee believes that the boys families helped them cover up their crime and that Tara is likely buried somewhere in Valencia County. The stranger danger theory, it makes really, really great headlines. It makes for these eye catching stories that people are always drawn to. We see it all the time in the movies that a lot of the times, you know, we think people are attacked by strangers off the street. But in reality, statistically speaking, those crimes are pret rare and most victims, they do know their assailants. So a little bit about me, if you don't already know, when I was 12 years old, I found out that my grandma, who at that point in my life I was super, super close with, she had brutally murdered her own mom. So my great grandma, this happened before I was born. This crime took place before I was born. So I didn't know my great grandma, but up until 12 years old, I was so close with my grandma and I never would have known that she was capable of doing something so violent. I guess I would say my point here is that a lot of the times most victims do know their assailants and the people that hurt them are often somebody closest with them.

[Sarah Turney]

Well, and I was in the same boat, right? I mean, I never believed that my dad could have done anything, even court when they found the bombs in my house with a manifesto for my dad to use them and kill dozens of people. I still didn't believe he could do that. When it's your loved one, when it's somebody you're so close with, it is hard to automatically believe that they're a bad person. It takes some time to sink in.

[Courtney Nicole]

When my grandma committed that crime, she hid it for two years in my small hometown. And it was like a really big thing that, like, shocked everyone. It shocked the community. We're on the flip side. You're presented with this evidence, and it doesn't even match up with, like, their personality. But you have to come to terms with it that at the end of the day, you genuinely don't know what people are capable of or what drives somebody to commit a crime.

[Sarah Turney]

If the families of these boys could pull off a cover up that lasted 20 years, it meant one of them had strong connections. And that suspicion eventually fell on Lawrence Ram Romero Jr. The son of the former sheriff Lawrence Romero, though it's unclear who first pointed the finger. Lawrence Romero Sr. Had been sheriff at the time of Tara's disappearance and seemed to have acted swiftly and thoroughly as soon as Patty reported her missing. Decades later, however, suspicion still fell on his son.

[Courtney Nicole]

The first confirmed statement about Lawrence Romero Jr. S involvement can be found in case files from 2013. They stemmed from an interview with a Belen citizen named Henry Brown. Henry was 83 years old, and he knew he was dying. He told sheriff's deputies that he wanted to get something off his chest before it was too late. Henry said that back in 1988, shortly after Tara's disappearance, he and some other people were partying at Lawrence Jr. S place, which happened to be in a trailer in his father's backyard. Amidst margaritas and marijuana, Henry heard Lawrence Jr. And his friends talk about how they hit Tara with their truck. Then they supposedly took her to a nearby gravel pit where they sexually assaulted her. When Tara tried to fight back and threatened to report them, they stabbed her to death. After dragging her body behind a nearby bush, they decided to dispose of it in a pond out by the mountains. According to Henry, Lawrence Jr. Made him promise never to tell anyone. Then he insisted that law enforcement had his back and that no one would ever believe him even if he tried.

[Sarah Turney]

Now, I've read a lot of case records in my day, but this one from 2013 is pretty difficult to parse. It's packed with contradictions, falsities, and typos. At one point, Henry says that Lawrence Jr. Told him Tara had been dumped in a pond. But earlier in his interview, Henry said he thought Tara was buried under Lawrence Jr. S trailer. However, Henry's isn't the only interview in the file, nor is it the only one that makes some bold claims about Tara. Some witnesses told police she was dating a boy other than Jack. Other people interviewed asserted that Renee Rivera had been in on it the whole time, protecting Tara's assailants. They didn't seem to take into account that Renee had tried to discuss the truth five years prior.

[Courtney Nicole]

So I will die on the hill that families deserve to go through all of their loved ones case files. Like I mentioned earlier, my grandma committed that crime. Found out when I was 12. But literally up until I turned 21, 22, nobody in my family wanted to talk about that time. And so I was left with a lot of questions, especially in my case where there wasn't a lot of news articles and literally nobody was willing to talk to me about it. So I sought out the case files myself. And you have to, like, mentally prepare to go through all of the case files because you will find out some disturbing information. And it's a lot to process. It can be super heavy. I guess I like, visually painted a picture in my mind of the crime that was committed, which, if, you know, it's. It was very brutal. And I couldn't get that image out of my head. And ever since I read those case files, this was years ago, I still have, like, recurring nightmares. So I do think it's beneficial and I will be an advocate for families to always have that information to go through. But I just feel like you need to mentally prepare to do it because it can really affect you.

[Sarah Turney]

I'm on that hill right there with you. It's going to hurt the case. Don't release it, but release what you can and work with these families to talk with them. I know when I got my sister's case file, I read some of these interviews and I was like, that's not what they told me. You know, that's interesting. And does it point to, you know, definitive guilt? No. But does it open up a door? Does it provide a puzzle piece? I think so.

[Courtney Nicole]

I contacted my county's prosecutor's office. I just emailed them. I told them my relation to the case and that I just wanted some answers and if they even had anything. Since this happened a long time ago and they got back to me, they gave me like seven bin folds of information, you know, digitally. And I guess if you have any more questions, you can always reach out to me personally and I can walk you through it. But ultimately it can be so helpful and I feel like, like we said, if it's not going to hurt the investigation, I'm always an advocate for that.

[Sarah Turney]

I mean, I've helped a large number of families get case files, and every department, every county is different. So you just, you know, you have to look it up and see exactly how to do it. But it's also about being persistent. You know, I requested my sister's case file, and I didn't hear back. So I went down. We have a physical office here, a records office you can go to. So I went down to that, and I waited about five before they came out with a giant stack of papers for me. So if you request it and they don't reply, see if they have a physical office you can go to. Because in my experience, it's a lot harder to deny somebody in person than over the Internet. Despite the convoluted nature of these deathbed confessions and late in life interviews, authorities followed any leads they could. They eliminated former Sheriff Romero and his son as potential suspects. They trekked through nearby ponds, searched rock quarries, and dug beneath concrete slabs at various private residences. Ultimately, they found nothing.

[Courtney Nicole]

In 2016, Sheriff's Lt. Joseph Rowland took over Tara's case, and he decided to start from scratch. He didn't suspect a cover up, but he did want to check for mistakes. After all, Tara had disappeared in 1988. The technology was far better now. So he started by trying to confirm the only pieces of physical evidence, the cassette tape and the broken Walkman thought to belong to Tara. The results, though, broke Lt. Rowland's part. Closer, more technical inspection proved that they were too old to have belonged to her. They had been discarded along Highway 47 long before Tara disappeared. It was nothing more than an unfortunate coincidence. Almost 30 years after Tara vanished, investigators were back at square one. No evidence, no crime scene, and no suspects. But Roland wasn't going to give up. Four years later, in 2020, he received something he'd been waiting on for quite a while. The results of an independent analysis of Tara's case. Six months after they received the analysis, Roland and his team had enough evidence to search a Valencia county home. The results of that search and whose property it was remain sealed by a statement. Judge, as of this recording, we still don't know who exactly Lt. Roland suspects in Tara's disappearance, but we can rely on his dedication to bringing Tara home. Those are his words, by the way. He doesn't talk about Tara in the past tense, nor does he say he's working to give her friends and family closure. He knows that the kindest thing he can do for her friends and family is to have hope, to continue to believe that Tara is still out there somewhere, waiting to be reunited with them.

[Sarah Turney]

And so we join Lieutenant Rowland in starting over, revisiting the day Tara Colico disappeared. We focus on what we know to better explore what we don't. We know that on Tuesday, September 20, 1988, Tara wakes up feeling energized, eager and ready to take on another full day. She drops her to do list on her bed, along with some workout clothes and her schoolbook. She thinks about how little time she'll have later on. After her morning bike ride. She plans to meet with her boyfriend Jack for tennis at 12:30. Then she has class at the University of New Mexico at 4pm Tara clips her yellow Walkman to her shorts, then slides in a Boston cassette tape. She kisses her mom Patty on the cheek as she slings her leg over Patty's bike, getting comfortable on the seat. Just before she kicks off, she says, mom, if I'm not back by noon, come look for me. It was casual, half joking. If Tara was being honest with herself, Patty worried Tara wanted her to relax. And then Tara's off, blasting music in her ears, wind in her hair. She speeds along State Road 47, the southwestern sun beating down on her freckled arms, enjoying those moments of freedom on the wide open road.

[Courtney Nicole]

Tara Kolika will be about 57 years old as well of this recording. She has brown hair and stands somewhere between 5 foot 5 and 5 foot 7. At the time of her disappearance she weighed about 120 pounds. Tara has a large scar on the back of her right shoulder as well as both a faint scar and a dime sized birthmark on the back of her leg. If you have any information about Tara Colico, you can contact your local FBI office.

[Sarah Turney]

Thank you for listening to the Final Hours. If you have any more information on Tara Colico, please share it with us on social media. We want to hear from you. Your thoughts, condolences and feedback are what make this community so special At Crime House.

[Courtney Nicole]

We value your support. Share your thoughts on social media and remember to rate, review and follow the Final Hours to help others discover the

[Sarah Turney]

show and to enhance your life listening experience. Subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode of the Final Hours ad free along with early access and exciting bonus content.

[Courtney Nicole]

The Final Hours is hosted by Sarah Turney and me, Courtney Nicole and is a Crime House original. Powered by Pave Studios, this episode was brought to life by the Final hours. Team Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benedon, Lori Marinelli, Natalie Pertzofsky, Sarah Camp, Ellie Reed, Sheila Patterson, and Russell Nash. Thank you for listening.

[Sarah Turney]

Close your eyes.

[Courtney Nicole]

Exhale.

[Sarah Turney]

Feel your body relax, and let go of whatever you're carrying today.

[Courtney Nicole]

Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-contact. Oh, my gosh, they're so fast.

[Sarah Turney]

And breathe.

[Courtney Nicole]

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