Missing Tara Leigh Calico BELEN, N.M. Death – Tara Leigh Calico, a beloved daughter, student, and member of the Belen community, was declared deceased in 1998, ten years after she disappeared under mysterious circumstances on September 20, 1988. She was 19 years old. Her case remains one of New Mexico’s most well-known and deeply troubling unsolved disappearances.
Born on February 28, 1969, Tara Calico grew up in Belen, where she was known for her intelligence, warmth, and active lifestyle. She graduated from Belen High School in 1987 and later attended the University of New Mexico–Valencia Campus, studying psychology. Friends and family remember her as driven, compassionate, and full of promise, with a love for sports and the outdoors.
On the morning of her disappearance, Tara left her home for a routine bicycle ride along State Highway 47, a path she traveled often. She told her mother she would return by noon to prepare for a tennis game later that day. She never came home. Her disappearance prompted an extensive search involving local authorities, volunteers, and later federal investigators, but no physical trace of Tara or her bicycle was ever recovered.
The case gained national attention months later when a disturbing Polaroid photograph surfaced in Florida depicting a bound young woman and a child. The image was widely circulated, with some investigators and family members believing the young woman bore a resemblance to Tara. Despite years of analysis and public speculation, the photograph was never conclusively linked to her case.
Tara’s mother, Patty Doel, spent the remainder of her life advocating for her daughter and pressing authorities for answers, holding onto hope that the truth would one day come to light. Though Patty passed away in 2006, other family members have continued to seek justice and closure.
In recent years, law enforcement officials have stated that the case remains active, with renewed investigative efforts and evidence reviews aimed at finally determining what happened on that September morning.
Though her life was cut tragically short, Tara Leigh Calico is remembered not for the mystery surrounding her disappearance, but for who she was — a bright young woman whose absence left a lasting void in her family and community. Her story continues to be remembered in Belen and beyond, as a reminder of a life unfinished and a truth still sought.
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