Resolved FL - Port St Joe -2 Children Bound & Gagged in Photo - 96UMFL & 66UFFL - Jun'89 - #2

[sony12]

I think the problem was grouping all those photos together. The van polaroid has been associated with the Tara case since it appeared on TV in the early 90s. The other photographs appeared much later. It seems someone decided they were all hoaxes and closed the case. IMO, the van polaroid should be left open unless it can be confirmed there is nothing sinister about it.

That was probably part of the problem. None of the photos looked like the same individual and (in the situation with the train photo) was easy to see that it was staged.

 

[LordMo]

I completely agree, and imo even if the van photograph was staged, it still warrants investigation for "cooperative" CSAM purposes.

 

[lonewanderer]

Quote from Thread #1 - Nov 30, 2022 at 12:40 AM


Quote from Thread #1 - Nov 30, 2022 at 3:10 PM


If this is true then the police could do with releasing a statement about this to clear things up. It's difficult for us to accept without knowing the circumstances around how the police originally obtained the Amtrak train photo and how they have now classified this photo as a hoax (a hoax to what by-the-way?). For the police to know for sure that this specific photo is some sick joke then they would need to get corroborating information in the form of maybe a statement from someone in the actual photo whom would have to prove it was them in the photo. Then maybe a statement from the person that took the original photo and if they had taken anymore photos then the police may have these as proof.

Sure it may not be Tara Calico in the train photo as long believed as you can't even really make out the womans face.

To me, this photo shows physical abuse being committed on this women and so hopefully it has been thoroughly investigated by the police. You can clearly see the guy's right hand grasping the back of the woman's neck and his fingers digging in deep (see red circle below), with enough pressure to make her neck tense up causing her head to tilt back. The guy's left arm grasping the women's top. Also, to me she looks petrified, but I know this photo can be very subjective. The only counter to that I would say is that gauze around her wrists looks very loose.
View attachment 384741
Also, the problem with the DN 66uffl page was that there is no real proof that the 3 photos on there are the same female. So really they should have 3 different unidentified female pages. One for each photo. Or just two now if it's true that the police have officially identified one of the females, declaring the photo as a hoax/sick joke.

I was confused at first, as the picture is clearly old but the purse on the tray table looked a heck of a lot like a phone.

The gauze is super loose on her wrist and doesn't like its on much at all on her legs.

The move this man is doing with her neck makes your neck tense up a bit, I used to pretend it was the "Vulcan death grip" when I did it to my brother, cousins, whoever I was horsing around with.

I also imagine the woman would be strategically put in the window seat, not the aisle seat, if she there against her will and was in distress.

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

New to this case so sorry if anything's been hit upon...

First looked at this case because the van photo is one of the most disturbing photos I've ever seen. Their eyes have a look of sheer terror, and also hopelessness, like they've been there a while and know that it won't get better as long as they're there. They're in a living nightmare.

At first glance, the train photo was equally disturbing. But it only took a minute to start seeing things wrong with it. I didn't know if staged is the right word, but it's possible; I actually have no idea what's going on in this photo. But it's off. For one thing, you can't see her face enough to conclude one way or the other if it's the same girl in the other photo. The mere fact that she's tied up is suspicious. She obviously couldn't have been tied up when getting on the train or leaving. If that's her Sprite, it doesn't make sense that she's gagged. Surely the guy punching tickets and other passengers would've noticed that this guy's holding her like a hand puppet. Also looks like they used a flash, which would've also gotten people's attention on a train. Amateurs, Dude!

Not that there aren't things odd about the van photo, but not enough to make me doubt its authenticity. The other occupants had to have been nearby, because at a convenience store it wouldn't have been hard to hop into the store and at least get the attention of the clerk. The other occupants would've noticed someone taking a Polaroid and would've been wrestled to the ground to get it. (Or so it would seem.)

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

I read through the entirety of the previous thread (wondering how the "there's no organized human trafficking rings by rich and powerful people in the United States" person felt after the Epstein case broke...) and I think I've organized my thoughts.

That post was from 2011, also. Epstein was known (even if he wasn't yet a household name, people had heard about Pedo Island), the public was just in denial and the MSM was ignoring it.

 

[Keiri]

This is about the van photo only: FWIW, I think sometimes they just close cases when they have no leads for a long time. That's why when a case goes cold and gets looked at again, they called it "re-opened." That's not right, IMO, but I think they gave up and just said "hoax" to get out of having no leads.
I don't know if it's Calico or not, my guess is not, but regardless, you have a photo like that in the van you don't give up until you have answers. And until they come forward with a real explanation, closing it isn't going to stop people rightfully worrying. Some of you almost seem angry that some of us are not convinced. You can't just speculate it's a hoax. With a photo like that, you need confirmation. And we the public haven't gotten any reason to believe this was anything more than law enforcement giving up.

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

New to this case so sorry if anything's been hit upon...

First looked at this case because the van photo is one of the most disturbing photos I've ever seen. Their eyes have a look of sheer terror, and also hopelessness, like they've been there a while and know that it won't get better as long as they're there. They're in a living nightmare.

At first glance, the train photo was equally disturbing. But it only took a minute to start seeing things wrong with it. I didn't know if staged is the right word, but it's possible; I actually have no idea what's going on in this photo. But it's off. For one thing, you can't see her face enough to conclude one way or the other if it's the same girl in the other photo. The mere fact that she's tied up is suspicious. She obviously couldn't have been tied up when getting on the train or leaving. If that's her Sprite, it doesn't make sense that she's gagged. Surely the guy punching tickets and other passengers would've noticed that this guy's holding her like a hand puppet. Also looks like they used a flash, which would've also gotten people's attention on a train. Amateurs, Dude!

Not that there aren't things odd about the van photo, but not enough to make me doubt its authenticity. The other occupants had to have been nearby, because at a convenience store it wouldn't have been hard to hop into the store and at least get the attention of the clerk. The other occupants would've noticed someone taking a Polaroid and would've been wrestled to the ground to get it. (Or so it would seem.)

Thought about it more, and on second thought, it actually looks to me like that haven't been in the van very long.

Regarding the closed cases, the explanation that makes the most sense to me is this:

They're alive, and came forward themselves so that LE could disregard it as evidence. Had it closed another case, we would've heard about it. But they probably didn't want press attention or threats from people who thought that they were playing a cruel joke on Tara Calico's family. They might not have been aware of the photo for decades until seeing it on TV or the Internet.

It was probably a photograph from a kidnapping that was over and done with in a day or two and the victims made it back home.

 

[sony12]

Thought about it more, and on second thought, it actually looks to me like that haven't been in the van very long.

Regarding the closed cases, the explanation that makes the most sense to me is this:

They're alive, and came forward themselves so that LE could disregard it as evidence. Had it closed another case, we would've heard about it. But they probably didn't want press attention or threats from people who thought that they were playing a cruel joke on Tara Calico's family. They might not have been aware of the photo for decades until seeing it on TV or the Internet.

It was probably a photograph from a kidnapping that was over and done with in a day or two and the victims made it back home.

That's possible. It's also highly likely that it was just a group of people having fun with a camera. We have to remember that was back in the day when people didn't have a camera attached to their hip.

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

That's possible. It's also highly likely that it was just a group of people having fun with a camera. We have to remember that was back in the day when people didn't have a camera attached to their hip.

Of course. Either are highly probable. In either scenario, the end result (which was my main point) would be the same, that they saw that the photo went viral and asked not to have their identities go public. It would be a pretty sick joke, though, to stage a kidnapping photo-op, especially with a kid that looks like he's 5 years old. (This is assuming that the correct van and driver were spotted at the gas station - they were adults - it would be more excusable if it was another minor.) Neither of the ones in the photo look like they're joking. That doesn't mean it's wasn't a joke, though.

 

[Chuz Life]

Hi all, long time no see. With this case "closed" are we free to speculate and share our observations and findings further?

 

[sony12]

Hi all, long time no see. With this case "closed" are we free to speculate and share our observations and findings further?

Given that there has been nothing but speculation about these pictures ever since the photos were found I'd say go ahead.

There isn't even any evidence that these were missing children at all.

 

[Chuz Life]

Given that there has been nothing but speculation about these pictures ever since the photos were found I'd say go ahead.

There isn't even any evidence that these were missing children at all.

Thank you. I took some time to search before commenting further. I see that "Lori Ruff" (now identified) has already been suggested. My avatar is a close up of the "egghead" shirt that the girl in the polaroid was wearing. I wasn't convinced it was an egghead tee shirt then, but I am convinced that it is - now.

Since my earlier post, I've read that "Lori Ruff" wouldn't likely to have been as good a candidate as I thought because at the time the polaroid was found, she was known to be living in Texas. Great stuff to read here on WebSleuths! Regardless, I'm still looking at the timelines because - some of LKR's earlier known locations were in areas (western U.S.) closer to where "egghead" headquarters was located.

I'm solid in the camp that does not agree that she was Tara Calico.

Here are some of my observations and attempts at some amateur forensics. Firstly, I noticed that the girl was thin and tall. In the best quality images, you can see her hands (very long fingers) are resting beneath and beyond her bottom with not sign of effort or strain to reach that far down. Long ago, I searched for the dimensions of the paperback book and (using a photo editor) measured how many lengths it took to cover the girl's femur - to try to establish her height. Because of personal family matters, my efforts had to be put on hold and I'm only now able to share again.

There are formulas that are used to estimate height based on the length of the upper thigh and I believe by my calculation; she was between 5'9" and 5'11.

When LKR was finally identified as Kimberly McClean (another case I was very interested in,) I lost the energy to try to connect her to the polaroid, again. I've sense lost my image, but it would not be difficult to try again.

Anyway, I hope some appreciate my input and (hoax or not) how observations like mine can be used. Thanks!

Edited to add: The girl in the polaroid (PG?) was small chested. Lori Ruff also was small chested enough to decide to get breast implants - which, according to early investigator "Joe Velling," LK did not get her implants until sometime after her name was changed. The exact date for that surgery would be interesting to know.

 

[iusedtofloat]

This photo will never NOT give me the absolute creeps.

 

[Kudzuu]

The so called "purse" in the photo looks like a cigarette "purse" like my mother used in the 70-80's. It held the cigarette package and a lighter. Men didn't carry those things. Only women in my mother's generation.

In the early 80's I was in my early 20's and my mother died in 1984 at age 52.

Were the hard pack Marlboro cigarettes the man's? Makes sense because a lot of men preferred them to protect their product.

Any ideas? Or I could be completely wrong.
Moo

 

[sony12]

The so called "purse" in the photo looks like a cigarette "purse" like my mother used in the 70-80's. It held the cigarette package and a lighter. Men didn't carry those things. Only women in my mother's generation.

In the early 80's I was in my early 20's and my mother died in 1984 at age 52.

Were the hard pack Marlboro cigarettes the man's? Makes sense because a lot of men preferred them to protect their product.

Any ideas? Or I could be completely wrong.
Moo

I think you might be in the wrong thread. This is about the photo of the two kids found in Port St. Joe Florida. I think you might be talking about that photo that is apparently taken on a train.

Definitely not the same gal and the train photo definitely looks staged.