Tara Calico mystery: Polaroid photo of two bound children has stumped detectives for decades
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The two people in this photo have never been identified.
A sinister Polaroid photo has been baffling detectives for decades.
The disturbing image appears to feature two hostages who are bound and gagged in a bed.
The snap was discovered in a Florida car park in August 1989 sparking an investigation into the identity of the young woman and boy pictured.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cops had a difficult task ahead of them, as the only lead they had to follow was that a windowless white van had been seen at the crime scene.
After the harrowing picture was circulated, families came forward to claim they recognised the distressed-looking pair.
Tara Calico’s mother was one of the people who responded to the worrying discovery.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Her daughter had gone missing a year before police stumbled across the disturbing image.
Tara vanished in September 1988 after she rode her bike through a familiar route in New Mexico.
The 19-year-old was never seen again although fragments from her Sony Walkman and cassette tape were found along the trail.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}(Tara Calico around the time of her disappearance in 1988.)
Police investigations revealed that the film used to snap the Polaroid was purchased the following year, igniting fresh hope for the Calico family.
They were certain the girl in the image was Tara, meaning she would have to be alive months after her disappearance.
After they were contacted for their take on the mystery, Scotland Yard concluded the woman in the photo was Tara, but not all investigators agreed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The FBI ruled that the evidence was inconclusive.
Tragically, Calico’s case has never been solved.
Heartbreakingly, it’s a similar story for the young boy pictured in the image.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The child has never been formally identified, although the family of Michael Henley initially believed it to be him.
This theory was debunked when cops found the remains of the boy in the forest in New Mexico, where they believe he perished after getting lost.
To this day, neither of the victims pictured in the photo have been formally identified.
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