Resolved FL - Port St Joe, 2 Children 96UMFL & 66UFFL, bound & gagged in photo, Jun'89

[Migmuu]

To me, the fact that LE won't release the other two pictures makes this particular picture seem a lot more legit. It sounds to me like there is something pretty awful in those other two: one or both of the children being abused, pictures of them severely injured or even dead, etc. And that LE feels there's still enough of a chance of these kids being identified that they don't yet feel the need to release two pictures of what could be bloodied, dying children who were tortured for god-knows-how-long.

 

[Murkywaters]

I've always thought this picture was a hoax. The girl doesn't even look bound to me--just like she is pretending to be. Also, the Sheriff's story about what likely happened to Tara sounds a lot more probable than that she was kidnapped and kept as part of some sex ring, and is depicted in this photo. People have said, "Well, if the Sheriff says he has enough to arrest these people, why doesn't he?" Simple. Enough to arrest is not enough to convict. Not by a longshot. And heck, with everyone out there who thinks this picture is Tara, including her mother, that's enough reasonable doubt right there, no? Especially with no body. I'm sure he's hoping time and conscience, maybe alcohol and loose lips, something, anything, will eventually lead them to her body, and then, they can finally move forward.

I too believe the sheriffs story sounds more probable and is probably what actually happened. But then again you never know, The girl looks an awful lot like Tara, and you would think that her mother would've been able to recognize her own daughter. The scar the girl had on her leg was very similar to Tara's according to her mother. And in the second photo she had a cowlick on her right temple like Tara, and also a lazy eye like Tara too... Whether it is Tara or not i think it's evident it was a real situation and not a hoax. The boy looks terrified and scared out of his mind. Where the girl seemed as if she may have been drugged or had just woken up. As others have speculated it could've been a family member or relative who took the photo and they were never kidnapped. But what leads me to believe it was a kidnapping is that the unidentified girl was allegedly seen on the beach in Port St. Joe, Florida on June 15, 1989. With a bunch of men who appeared to be ordering the girl along the beach front. That leads me to think it may have been some sex trafficking situation. Funny thing is Amy Bradley was also seen walking along the beach accompanied by two men. Is this a common thing for human traffickers to do?

 

[mjak]

I have never been 100% convinced that the boy is actually a boy. It could be a girl with her hair pulled tightly back. If you look closely this child appears to be wearing a delicate necklace.

mjak

 

[BUZ]

I have never been 100% convinced that the boy is actually a boy. It could be a girl with her hair pulled tightly back. If you look closely this child appears to be wearing a delicate necklace.

mjak

By crikey, you're right. It does appear that there is something around the child's neck like a fine necklace. Beyond the usual lumpiness and artifacting of a low quality jpeg. It would certainly be a useful exercise to be able to do some image enhancement to a high quality scan of the original photo. Does anyone know if there is a hq version available for download somewhere? There's lot's of talk about a number on the spine of the book, but it's just not visible on the versions I have found using a google search. It's certainly possible that the child could be either male or female. Most people assume that it's a boy in the photo, but once again, maybe some photo enhancement from a good scan could reveal the child's hair a bit better...

 

[BUZ]

I have never been 100% convinced that the boy is actually a boy. It could be a girl with her hair pulled tightly back. If you look closely this child appears to be wearing a delicate necklace.

mjak

I have tried to enhance detail of the necklace area with some fairly basic image adjustments. It appears to me now that there may be evidence of binding or bruising around the neck rather than a necklace. I hope that's wrong. I can tell nothing about the hair, but the child could be male or female looking at the image on this angle and cropped.

 

[Ausgirl]

Just a few thoughts in response to your post:
1. If the picture is real, why would they leave it behind and draw the attention to law enforcement?
2. I can think of one good reason why a hoaxer would not come forward- fear of getting into trouble.
3. The kids look remarkably clean. There are no signs of bruises, the clothing is free of stains and the boy looks like he recently has his hair trimmed. They do not look like they've suffered years of abuse.
4. I think that many people saw the picture and thought they looked like some kids that they knew but never reported it because the kids were still in the area riding bikes, hanging out, etc. I think people were looking for 2 missing kids instead of looking for 2 kids who may/may not be missing.
5. Kids do weird things all the time. The boys in the Johnny Gosch hoax pictures were trying to enter a contest.

respectfully snipped by me

DrDMike, just some responses:

1. The 1989 picture wasn't sent to police, or a newspaper, or left anywhere that would guarantee it would be found. Usually, hoaxers will do their best to make sure the hoax gets attention - note the other hoaxes you mentioned, and where they were sent.

2. Agreed, that's one good reason. But if they're not a hoax, shame or fear is also a good reason.

3. Not all abused kids LOOK abused! Especially if they are living in the same home as their abuser, and the abuser is legally responsible for them. Lots of kids featuring in child live at home and go to school just like other kids...

4. If the kids were at home when the picture was taken, no-one would be looking for them, I agree. But what if (see point above..)

5. Yup, kids do weird things. But so do adults. Some of those things look a lot like this picture, sadly.

No disrespect meant, but even though I think there's -room- for a hoax, I can't shake the feeling that this wasn't one. And maybe it wasn't even kidnap, but a picture staged to look like one -- only wasn't any kind of joke.

Just adding, from the original post:

This unidentified teenage girl was also seen on the beach in Port St. Joe, Florida on June 15, 1989. She was accompanied by several older caucasian males, who appeared to be ordering the girl along the beachfront. It is not known if this girl was being held against her will by these individuals or if the incident was staged. Investigators are still trying to ascertain the girl's identity, which would allow them to close the case or investigate further.

Polaroid officials say the picture was taken with film not available until May 1989. Two other photos have surfaced over the years. The first was found near a residential construction site in Montecito, California. The haunting Polaroid, taken on film not available until June 1989, shows the blurry image of a girl's face, her mouth again covered with tape, her hairline exhibiting that same cowlick at the right temple. Behind her is light-blue striped fabric similar to that on the pillow in the Toyota van photo. Another Polaroid, this one taken on film not available until February 1990, shows a woman loosely bound in gauze, her eyes covered with more gauze and large black-framed glasses. A man is sitting next to her on a passenger seat of an Amtrak train.

Okay -- so when I learned there were other sightings and pictures, I started getting a bit suspicious of a hoax again. BUT -- it seems like a very complex, long-term hoax, if it is one. These details also made me think of certain parts of the BDSM community, in which public displays of this type are used to amplify a sense of humiliation.

I am not sure how the 'woman' with the gauze fits in, however. That sounds a LOT like a BDSM scene thing, though. And if it wasn't connected somehow, why would they include it in the info about the kids?

 

[kdsmith21]

I have an enhanced image of her shirt that will really challenge your sleuthing abilities. To me it looks like one of the "Disney" type shirts where the word "Disney" is spelled out using various Disney characters.

When I study it for a while, I can see clowns, sheep, dogs and even people's faces.

Please tell me what you see.

I agree.. I am pretty sure that one of these letters (2ND LETTER) is either Huey Dewey or Louie -one of Donald Ducks nephews.. or Donald as a kid duck? I would think the rest are also Disney characters..
First letter looks like a rabbit... like Peter Rabbit or one of the Beatrix Potter rabbits.. which doesn't go with Disney, lol... confusing

 

[CarlK90245]

I'm seeing possibly the name Allison printed on her shirt. The letters L-I=S-O-N look pretty plausible. I'm not sure about the A-L though.

 

[kdsmith21]

I'm seeing possibly the name Allison printed on her shirt. The letters L-I=S-O-N look pretty plausible. I'm not sure about the A-L though.

Could be.. I thought the 2nd letter , looks like one of Donalds nephews with a baseball cap on? Or Donald Duck, looks like a Y though.. he is holding his hands up over his head to make a Y? But Alison or Allison would also be a good possibility as well... I could see that... really wish we could get a bigger better picture of the shirt

And the first letter looks like a rabbit, like from Beatrix Potter???

 

[buffetoflies]

On a website that rhymes with 'read it' (it's starred out here) someone posted this: http://i.imgur.com/Md9qNol.jpg

it is a comparison of the girl in the picture with Lori Ruff

I must admit that the eyebrow does look similar, and LR's history only goes back to about 1988...

 

[JaimeSommers]

On a website that rhymes with 'read it' (it's starred out here) someone posted this: http://i.imgur.com/Md9qNol.jpg

it is a comparison of the girl in the picture with Lori Ruff

I must admit that the eyebrow does look similar, and LR's history only goes back to about 1988...

WOW. I'm a longtime follower of the Lori Ruff thread and would have never seen that coming. Strong likeness for sure, especially the two pics on the right, imo.

 

[CarlK90245]

Their eyes are shaped much differently, IMO

 

[JaimeSommers]

Their eyes are shaped much differently, IMO

I trust your judgment on these things, Carl. Back to lurkdom.

 

[Brice]

I still think they are in a van. The animal eyes are actually key holes for the compartments in the wood paneling. There is a black speaker in the top right with the window above.

Her shirt has a lot of things going on. The first character has over sized tennis shoes (sort of like Marvin the Martian. The middle part looks like it could be three characters, but it also looks like there is a bird on its side wearing sunglasses. At one point I trout the middle character was carrying a surf board.

Wish they would release a high resolution scan soon. So frustrating.

 

[Aleph]

The shirt looks to me like a college t-shirt. Hofstra? Except I think I see a G at the end.

 

[Hejlena]

It was strange, I was seeing a face too above what looked like a second letter! Now that you mention it, with your pic it does look like donald duck.

Hi there-just chiming I and the I'm going to go finish reading this heartbreaking thread--my first thought when I saw this Tshirt up close was Betty Boop. But then my second thought was Betty Rubble from the flintstones. Back to reading.

 

[Hejlena]

Hi there-just chiming in and the I'm going to go finish reading this heartbreaking thread--my first thought when I saw this Tshirt up close was Betty Boop. But then my second thought was Betty Rubble from the flintstones. Back to reading.

Eta-It seems like the "open space" under the characters does indeed spell something. Someone mentioned seeing an M within the first two or three characters. For what it's worth, I see an M. The second letter I see, made by the open space of the fourth and fifth characters, looks like an O to me.

 

[Chuz Life]

On a website that rhymes with 'read it' (it's starred out here) someone posted this: http://i.imgur.com/Md9qNol.jpg

it is a comparison of the girl in the picture with Lori Ruff

I must admit that the eyebrow does look similar, and LR's history only goes back to about 1988...

Wow. Someone beat me to it. That's been the very comparison I had been working on. Lori Ruff!

I'm sorry, I drifted away from working on WS - as I lost my father last November and I've since been busy with many other things.

For me, Lori Ruff is still a plausible match. Though I was having trouble with the estimated ages being a match if I recall. Seeing as someone else now thinks it's plausible. Maybe I can resume with my own efforts on WS.

Good luck in all your efforts!

 

[noZme]

Occasionally, I check in here to read the latest posts. There is also a WS "Tara Calico" missing thread. The store where the photo believed to be Tara was found, is about 6 miles down the road from my beach house. I think of her every time I pass that way. Port St Joe is a lovely little fishing/shrimping town of about 4000 people. I know a few people in PSJ & none of the locals I have asked seem aware of the case.

 

[BUZ]

Having made the image grayscale and played with the contrast, I'm increasingly of the opinion that the girls shirt has letters made from cartoon characters on it. Maybe and LYL to start. And the boys shirt seems to have an emblem of a patch eyed dog, maybe with a walking stick and waving/hitching with other paw.