A reader sent me some information about this disturbing cold case from New Mexico.
On the morning of September 20, 1988, 19 year old Tara Calico vanished during a routine bike ride near the town of Belen. Calico and the bike she was riding have never been found, although her mother located part of her walkman about nineteen miles away. Witnesses reported a strange truck with a handmade shell in the area.
However, this case may not actually be unsolved.
In, 2008, Valencia County Sheriff Rene Rivera, who apparently has a set of brass balls, sent out a press release calling the local prosecutor a coward for not pursuing charges against the boys (now men) who killed Calico. Rivera believes younger classmates of Calico accidentally bumped their vehicle into her while she was riding the bike, an accident that quickly escalated into a murder/coverup to avoid getting into trouble. The parents, he says, were involved in the coverup.
Sometimes prosecutors lose sight of real justice and concentrate more on win/loss records. The prosecutor refuses to move forward without a body, because it’s harder to get a conviction without one. Meanwhile, Calico’s killers remain free.
Well…its not exactly as simple as stated in the articles on line. Once an arrest is made the clock starts ticking. The Sheriff’s office at that time didn’t have enough to make a conviction stick and had a fear of recantation from the people that came forward due to threats once they were found out. There have been many mistakes in this case and my hope is that the right person will come forward to help the new Sheriff lock this case down. However, it doesn’t seem like anyone in the justice system in New Mexico is really doing anything to help solve this case unfortunately. Lack of funds and time. They don’t really have someone to dedicate to this case. So if there is anyone out there with information please contact the Valencia County Sheriff’s department and ask for Sheriff Louis Burkhard at 505.866.2400.