The Girl in the Red Scarf

A Normal Morning in New Mexico

On a bright September morning in 1988, 19-year-old Tara Calico set out for her usual bike ride near her home in Belen, New Mexico. She wore a white T-shirt, green shorts, and a distinctive red scarf tied around her neck.

Tara was no stranger to this route. She took it almost daily-thirty-four miles along Highway 47 before heading home by noon. She told her mother, Patty Doel, to come find her if she wasn’t back by lunchtime.

Patty never expected that she’d spend the rest of her life searching.

The Vanishing

When Tara didn’t return by midday, her mother drove the route herself, scanning the roadside for her daughter. She found pieces of Tara’s Walkman and a cassette tape scattered along the highway-like breadcrumbs left behind.

But Tara was gone.

The police initially suspected a hit-and-run, but no body, no blood, and no sign of her bicycle were found. Witnesses, however, reported something chilling: a pink pickup truck and a white van following a girl on a bike along the same road that morning.

The leads went nowhere. The case went cold.

A Photo That Shocked America

In June 1989-nine months after Tara vanished-a Polaroid photograph was discovered in a convenience store parking lot in Port St. Joe, Florida, more than 1,200 miles away.

The image showed a young woman and a boy bound with duct tape, lying in the back of a van. Both appeared terrified. Next to the girl was a copy of a book-“My Sweet Audrina” by V.C. Andrews-one of Tara’s favorite authors.

Patty Doel was struck speechless when she saw the photo. The girl’s scar on her leg and the shape of her jawline looked identical to Tara’s.

The photo was sent to the FBI for analysis, but the results were inconclusive. Some experts believed it was Tara; others couldn’t confirm. The identity of the boy was never determined.

Other Sightings, More Questions

Over the following years, similar Polaroids surfaced, showing restrained or frightened women. None were ever proven to depict Tara, yet they reignited public interest every time.

Witnesses also reported seeing a young woman resembling Tara in California, still alive, but nothing substantial ever came of it.

Patty Doel kept pushing. She appeared on TV shows like Unsolved Mysteries and America’s Most Wanted, hoping someone would recognize her daughter.

Her faith never wavered, but no trace of Tara was ever found.

A Disturbing Confession

In 2008, Sheriff Rene Rivera of Valencia County made headlines by announcing he knew who killed Tara Calico. He claimed that two local teenage boys accidentally struck her with their truck during her bike ride. Afraid of getting in trouble, they allegedly panicked and disposed of her body with help from their powerful families.

However, Rivera refused to name the suspects, citing lack of evidence. No arrests were made. The case remains officially unsolved.

To this day, many locals believe a cover-up occurred—perhaps to protect influential residents of the small New Mexico community.

The Red Scarf Legacy

Tara’s story became one of the internet’s earliest viral mysteries, spreading across forums and true crime communities long before social media existed. The image of the “girl in the Polaroid” still circulates today, sparking debates, comparisons, and theories.

For many, Tara Calico represents something deeper-a symbol of all the missing who never come home, of mothers who refuse to stop searching, and of the haunting idea that sometimes, the answers are out there, but someone doesn’t want them found.

Her red scarf, once a simple accessory, has come to embody her case’s enduring mystery.

A Modern Pursuit for Justice

In recent years, renewed efforts by both the FBI and independent investigators have breathed life into the case.

Digital enhancements of the Polaroid, DNA advances, and crowdsourced tips continue to pour in. In 2021, a task force was relaunched to reexamine all evidence.

While Tara’s mother passed away in 2006, her words live on:

“There’s someone out there who knows. Someone has the power to end this.”

More than 35 years later, the search for Tara Calico continues - a chilling reminder that even the most ordinary morning can become a legend of loss and unanswered questions.