Missing Woman: Tara Suzette Breckenridge--TX--08/04/1992
Gender: Female
DOB: 9/30/68
Height: 55
Weight: 115-120 lbs.
Eyes:Brown
Hair: Brown
The Doe Network: Case File 603DFTX
Defining Characteristics: Has a small scar under the left side of her lower lip, a scar under her left arm, and a scar on her left side. She was known to keep her fingernails long and painted red. She wears contacts or glasses.
Clothing: She was wearing blue shorts, a light-colored top and sandals.
Jewelry: A Del Rio High School ring engraved with Class of 1981
Dentals: Her two upper front teeth are discolored in the middle.
The Men's Club in Houston, is an upscale adult night spot. Tara Breckenridge waited tables there from 1989 to 1992. Tara grew up in Del Rio, TX, and was the third of five children in a devoutly religious family. After high school, she arrived in Houston to pursue a career in photography. It wasn't long before the cost of big city living forced her to find another job. As a waitress at The Men's Club, Tara found the cash she needed.
In 1992, she vanished without a trace. The police and her parents believed Tara was murdered. And high on the list of possible suspects was Tara's boyfriend at the time, a young man named Wayne Hecker. Wayne and Tara had met two years after Tara arrived in Houston. Even though Tara never danced at The Men's Club, Wayne was less than thrilled with her job. Despite Wayne's concerns, he and Tara moved in together. At first, they seemed happy. But according to Tara's mother, Betty, the romance did not last.
Tara's job at The Men's Club distracted her from the problems with Wayne. But on the night of August 3, 1992, Tara did something that remains unexplained. It was a slow night and the management decided to send two waitresses home early. When the manager asked for volunteers to end their shift early, Tara volunteered to leave. According to Hal Naumann, the former manager of The Men's Club, it was strangely out of character, since she would usually stay until 2am, to make as much tip money as possible.
The security guard at the club told police that he walked Tara to her car and that she drove off without incident. Wayne Hecker later told the police that, at the moment Tara was leaving The Men's Club, he was in a pool hall fifteen minutes away. Wayne said he called Tara earlier that evening, but never spoke to her:
"I didn't really think anything at that time and they told me that she was on the floor. I probably got home around five and I expected to see Tara either lying on the sofa or in bed and she wasn't there. So at that point... I went to find her."
At 7:00 the next morning, Wayne found Tara's car abandoned on a busy freeway. According to Wayne, the car was locked and a can of mace was inside and the car's flashers weren't on.
Police feared that Tara was a victim of foul play. It wasn't long before suspicion began to center on Wayne Hecker. Sergeant Brad Rudolph of the Houston Police Department, interrogated Wayne and was especially curious about his activities the night Tara disappeared:
"We have employees of the club that indicated that he left the club at approximately midnight and was next seen at approximately 1:45 in the morning."
The pool hall is located fifteen minutes from The Men's Club. Tara's car was found about three miles from the club. According to witnesses, Wayne was gone from the pool hall for a full hour and forty-five minutes. But with no concrete evidence of foul play, Tara was officially listed as missing.
When police obtained a series of love notes indicating there was another man in Tara's life, they thought there might be a break in the case. According to co-workers at the club, Tara's admirer was a frequent visitor who lavished her with hundred dollar tips. He apparently had intimate knowledge of her difficulties with Wayne. But according to Sergeant Rudolph, the notes seemed to indicate that Tara rejected the man's advances:
"There was nothing threatening in those notes. We interviewed the individual. Our opinion at this point is he was just an individual that had an attraction toward Tara and nothing more."
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/breckenridge_tara.html
https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/show/914
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/603dftx.html
http://peace4missing.ning.com/group/coldcasemissingpersons/forum/topics/missing-cold-cases-photos-and?commentId=2153128%3AComment%3A64915&groupId=2153128%3AGroup%3A28161
http://projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=11293.0
http://www.unsolved.com/ajaxfiles/mis_tara_breckenridge.htm
Her car was found unlocked by her boyfriend
She was last seen leaving work at 3000 Sage, Houston, TX from The Men's Club
Her boyfriend was at a pool hall while she was at work, at The Men's Club