Question about the Tara Calico case - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

rubber4532 · 10-04-2011, 10:11 AM

Does anyone know the address of the convenience store in Port St Joe, FL where that infamous polaroid was found?

I'd like to visit that spot one day and see if a chill runs down my spine.

Thank u.

dynoguy88 · 10-04-2011, 11:22 AM

I tried to find it before to post in the UM Location picture thread but I couldn't find an article that gave the address.

I could find Tara's home:

And the spot she was last seen alive riding her bike with the truck right on her tail...

But the location of the convenience store in Florida remains a mystery.

DarkDante · 10-04-2011, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dynoguy88

I tried to find it before to post in the UM Location picture thread but I couldn't find an article that gave the address.

I could find Tara's home:

And the spot she was last seen alive riding her bike with the truck right on her tail...

But the location of the convenience store in Florida remains a mystery.

There are so many UM landmarks in Florida aren't there? Port St. Joe, Bird Road, Honeymoon Island/Spoil Bank.

Although I don't live in Florida I'm down there fairly regularly and I keep meaning to check some of these places out. Just never seem to have the time though.

rubber4532 · 10-05-2011, 06:27 AM

thanks for the locations. whats the name of the road where the truck was seen following her?

justins5256 · 10-05-2011, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkDante

There are so many UM landmarks in Florida aren't there? Port St. Joe, Bird Road, Honeymoon Island/Spoil Bank.

Although I don't live in Florida I'm down there fairly regularly and I keep meaning to check some of these places out. Just never seem to have the time though.

Nice. If you're ever near West Palm, drop me a line. Maybe we can get a cup of coffee.

CarlUK · 10-15-2011, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubber4532

Does anyone know the address of the convenience store in Port St Joe, FL where that infamous polaroid was found?

I'd like to visit that spot one day and see if a chill runs down my spine.

Thank u.

The address was 701 Monument Avenue, Port St Joe.
It is where the Express Lane Mart is, behind an Exxon Petrol Station.
Back in 1989, the petrol station never existed and the Express Lane
Mart was a Junior Foodstore – the very food store where the Polaroid was found.

CarlUK · 10-15-2011, 07:53 PM

Forgot to say, Photos of 701 Monument Ave and other photos/areas surrounding this case are in a PDF about the case (link below).
bound.pdf

dynoguy88 · 10-15-2011, 08:33 PM

Thanks, CarlUK.

Images of the store from google map...

This is where the photo was found in the reenactment.

leafygreens · 12-11-2011, 06:11 PM

I recently went to Port St. Joe for vacation. I can't believe I forgot this is where the photo was found. We passed by this gas station multiple times. If I had remembered that, I would have stopped and taken some good photos.

Port St. Joe is a very out-of-the-way community. There are no main highways for at least an hour going towards Panama City, and no main highways at all in any of the other directions. If the person who dropped that photo was not playing a prank and did kidnap children, I suspect that they knew how to get to Port St. Joe specifically. It's not the kind of place you accidentally end up at. Going north and east from Port St. Joe, you could literally drive for at least two hours and not see anything. If the photo dropper was from out of town, they likely came thru Panama City and not the other directions.

Most of the places to stay there are houses that people rent for vacation. There was only one small hotel that I saw. Everything else was a private house and that's also where we stayed for vacation. So the person who dropped the photo, almost guaranteed is to have stayed in one of these rental houses or be from the area. Also the population there is extremely low. Even during "high" season during summer, it's almost like a ghost town. That's in 2011, so imagine how much more undeveloped it was in 1989-90. Most of the people there do not live there full time so I'm guessing the photo-dropper was a vacationer. There is hardly anything in Port St. Joe at all even now - one drug store, one grocery store, a couple of gas stations and a couple of crappy bars/restaurants - most people go there with their own water/beach/boating equipment and make their own entertainment since there isn't anything else to do. Many of the people there are very ocean-savvy and have their own boats - if a child was kidnapped, they could have been taken into the ocean. I guess my point is that you have to "know" the area to go there, especially to drop a photo and not be found. It's not your typical "touristy" beach community.

That being said I do not believe the photo is Tara. The facial structure looks nothing like her. There are many other missing women besides Tara and it could be any one of them. It could also be a sick joke among kids who accidentally dropped the photo. Considering Port St Joe is so hard to get to, I really don't think someone just drove across country from New Mexico and accidentally ended up at that gas station. You would have to be either very, very lost, or purposely went there.

I also looked at that pdf that the person wrote about the community and how there was a girl seen walking on the beach across from the gas station. There is miles and miles of coast line in that area, but that coast closest to the gas station is like an extremely rocky, swampy area and cannot be accessed. There are other beaches miles away from the gas station where a girl could be seen, but I don't see how it could be 300 feet from the gas station where a girl was seen on the beach. The satellite photos are misleading because they make it look like it's just sand that you can walk on, but it isn't, at least where the gas station is. Much of that land is inaccessible nature preserve for the birds to habitate. Much of the other coast area near the gas station is marina property that you need a boat to access.

TheCars1986 · 12-12-2011, 11:59 AM

Thanks for the insight on the area where the photo was found. I too have always thought the photo was a sick joke, and don't think the girl looks like Tara.

TracyLynnS · 12-12-2011, 01:22 PM

Very interesting and nothing like I had imagined. Thanks for sharing that info.

meddy · 12-13-2011, 06:26 AM

I find that photo incredibly disturbing. I was about that boy's age at the time, living in FL. Thankfully this is one UM I missed out on when it was aired, it probably would have freaked the crap out of me in a major way.

Tao · 12-14-2011, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

Thanks for the insight on the area where the photo was found. I too have always thought the photo was a sick joke, and don't think the girl looks like Tara.

I agree. They were also 'sure' the boy was one missing around the same time as Tara but then he was found not far off from where he disappeared. I also kind of think people were a bit more naive back then when it came to things like this and just assumed - missing girl + photo of bound girl = same girl. But it's being found so far away and now the fact that the place is hard to just 'end up' at just points more and more to it having nothing to do with her.

Also, to me the girl looks younger than 19.

TheCars1986 · 12-14-2011, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tao

I agree. They were also 'sure' the boy was one missing around the same time as Tara but then he was found not far off from where he disappeared. I also kind of think people were a bit more naive back then when it came to things like this and just assumed - missing girl + photo of bound girl = same girl. But it's being found so far away and now the fact that the place is hard to just 'end up' at just points more and more to it having nothing to do with her.

Also, to me the girl looks younger than 19.

The boy (in the photo) looked nothing like Michael Henley, IMO. I agree that people were more naive and quick to assume the boy and girl were Michael and Tara right away.

sharonite · 12-15-2011, 11:22 AM

I'm not convinced that the girl in the infamous picture is Calico either, but I do believe that the two children in it are in some kind of trouble. The look of terror in their eyes (particularly in the boy's eyes) just seems all too real to me.

This is one of those segments that I'm VERY glad I didn't see as a youngster, as the subject matter and the photo would have kept me awake for months.

10-04-2011, 10:11 AM	#1
rubber4532 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jul 26, 2009 Location: perth, australia Posts: 42	Question about the Tara Calico case Does anyone know the address of the convenience store in Port St Joe, FL where that infamous polaroid was found? I'd like to visit that spot one day and see if a chill runs down my spine. Thank u.

12-11-2011, 06:11 PM	#9
leafygreens Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 12, 2007 Posts: 183	I recently went to Port St. Joe for vacation. I can't believe I forgot this is where the photo was found. We passed by this gas station multiple times. If I had remembered that, I would have stopped and taken some good photos. Port St. Joe is a very out-of-the-way community. There are no main highways for at least an hour going towards Panama City, and no main highways at all in any of the other directions. If the person who dropped that photo was not playing a prank and did kidnap children, I suspect that they knew how to get to Port St. Joe specifically. It's not the kind of place you accidentally end up at. Going north and east from Port St. Joe, you could literally drive for at least two hours and not see anything. If the photo dropper was from out of town, they likely came thru Panama City and not the other directions. Most of the places to stay there are houses that people rent for vacation. There was only one small hotel that I saw. Everything else was a private house and that's also where we stayed for vacation. So the person who dropped the photo, almost guaranteed is to have stayed in one of these rental houses or be from the area. Also the population there is extremely low. Even during "high" season during summer, it's almost like a ghost town. That's in 2011, so imagine how much more undeveloped it was in 1989-90. Most of the people there do not live there full time so I'm guessing the photo-dropper was a vacationer. There is hardly anything in Port St. Joe at all even now - one drug store, one grocery store, a couple of gas stations and a couple of crappy bars/restaurants - most people go there with their own water/beach/boating equipment and make their own entertainment since there isn't anything else to do. Many of the people there are very ocean-savvy and have their own boats - if a child was kidnapped, they could have been taken into the ocean. I guess my point is that you have to "know" the area to go there, especially to drop a photo and not be found. It's not your typical "touristy" beach community. That being said I do not believe the photo is Tara. The facial structure looks nothing like her. There are many other missing women besides Tara and it could be any one of them. It could also be a sick joke among kids who accidentally dropped the photo. Considering Port St Joe is so hard to get to, I really don't think someone just drove across country from New Mexico and accidentally ended up at that gas station. You would have to be either very, very lost, or purposely went there. I also looked at that pdf that the person wrote about the community and how there was a girl seen walking on the beach across from the gas station. There is miles and miles of coast line in that area, but that coast closest to the gas station is like an extremely rocky, swampy area and cannot be accessed. There are other beaches miles away from the gas station where a girl could be seen, but I don't see how it could be 300 feet from the gas station where a girl was seen on the beach. The satellite photos are misleading because they make it look like it's just sand that you can walk on, but it isn't, at least where the gas station is. Much of that land is inaccessible nature preserve for the birds to habitate. Much of the other coast area near the gas station is marina property that you need a boat to access.
	Last edited by leafygreens; 12-11-2011 at 06:39 PM.

10-04-2011, 11:22 AM	#2
dynoguy88 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 01, 2000 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 3,672	I tried to find it before to post in the UM Location picture thread but I couldn't find an article that gave the address. I could find Tara's home: And the spot she was last seen alive riding her bike with the truck right on her tail... But the location of the convenience store in Florida remains a mystery.

10-05-2011, 06:27 AM	#4
rubber4532 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jul 26, 2009 Location: perth, australia Posts: 42	thanks for the locations. whats the name of the road where the truck was seen following her?

10-15-2011, 07:53 PM	#7
CarlUK Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 06, 2006 Location: England Posts: 6	Forgot to say, Photos of 701 Monument Ave and other photos/areas surrounding this case are in a PDF about the case (link below). bound.pdf

10-15-2011, 08:33 PM	#8
dynoguy88 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 01, 2000 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 3,672	Thanks, CarlUK. Images of the store from google map... This is where the photo was found in the reenactment.

12-12-2011, 11:59 AM	#10
TheCars1986 #VLSKMS Forum Fanatic Join Date: Nov 22, 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 8,606	Thanks for the insight on the area where the photo was found. I too have always thought the photo was a sick joke, and don't think the girl looks like Tara.

12-12-2011, 01:22 PM	#11
TracyLynnS Don't Look Up Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 07, 2009 Posts: 3,107	Very interesting and nothing like I had imagined. Thanks for sharing that info.

12-13-2011, 06:26 AM	#12
meddy Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 06, 2010 Location: GA Posts: 17	I find that photo incredibly disturbing. I was about that boy's age at the time, living in FL. Thankfully this is one UM I missed out on when it was aired, it probably would have freaked the crap out of me in a major way.

12-15-2011, 11:22 AM	#15
sharonite Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 27, 2009 Posts: 157	I'm not convinced that the girl in the infamous picture is Calico either, but I do believe that the two children in it are in some kind of trouble. The look of terror in their eyes (particularly in the boy's eyes) just seems all too real to me. This is one of those segments that I'm VERY glad I didn't see as a youngster, as the subject matter and the photo would have kept me awake for months.