Warning: This article contains discussion of missing children that some readers may find distressing.
Photographs are typically used to capture happy memories, but one haunting polaroid found in 1989 has only caused confusion and frustration for police officers.
Tara Calico
On the morning of September 20, 1988, 19-year-old Tara Calico left her house to go on her daily bike ride in Valencia County, New Mexico.
The route was very familiar to Tara, so her family got concerned when, hours later, she still hadn't returned home.
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After struggling to find any trace of her along the route, Tara's family called the police to report her missing.
Unfortunately, it would be months before her family caught a glimpse of anyone who could even potentially be Tara again.
The polaroid
After months of searching, waiting, and hoping that Tara would return home, in July 1989 her stepfather, John Doel was surprised to receive a phone call from a friend who had something strange to tell him.
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In the parking lot of a convenience store in Florida, a woman had discovered a photograph which showed a young woman and a boy who appeared to be bound and gagged with duct tape in a windowless van.
The polaroid was featured on an episode of A Current Affair, and the friend saw it and noticed the woman bore a resemblance to Tara.
The reaction
The polaroid made national news, and Tara's mom, Patty Doel, expressed belief that it was definitely her daughter who featured in the photo.
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It's unclear who the young boy beside her could be, but it's been believed he could be another victim of a kidnapping.
After being discovered, the photo was sent for analysis at least three different times, including by the FBI. However, in spite of Patty's insistence that it was Tara in the photo, the FBI could not say for certain whether it was her.
The polaroid only caused more confusion when Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police in the UK, declared that it was Tara in the photo.
According to People, Tara's stepsister Michele agreed.
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"When people ask me, 'Is that her?' If I had to say yes or no definitively: Yes, that is her," she said.
A cold case
Regardless of whether or not it was Tara, police were unable to find the two young people featured in the photo.
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To this day, neither the boy or the girl have been officially identified, and Tara remains missing.
Last year, the Valencia County Sheriff's Office stated in a press release it had made 'substantial progress' in the investigation into Tara's disappearance.
However, the FBI's website continues to offer a reward in exchange for information about Tara's whereabouts.
It states: "The FBI is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for precise details leading to the identification or location of Tara Leigh Calico, and information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for her disappearance."
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For help, support and advice about missing children, visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on their website, www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/support.
Emily Brown