Hopes dashed that Calico photo had DNA

Police trying to solve the case of a woman who disappeared from Valencia County 21 years ago had their hopes pinned on finding DNA from a photo believed linked to the case, but forensic scientists on Monday found nothing usable on the photo.

Tara Calico, then 19, disappeared Sept. 20, 1988, while riding her bicycle on a road in rural Valencia County.

Earlier this year, investigators in Port St. Joe, Fla., received a photo of a boy with a gag drawn on his mouth. It was postmarked in Albuquerque on June 20, 20 years to the day after another photo was discovered in a Port St. Joe parking lot showing a woman believed to be Calico and a man identified as Michael Henley tied and gagged in a bed.

Henley, who went missing around the same time as Calico, was later found dead.

While FBI analysts determined the woman in the old photo is not Calico, her mother said she had no doubt it was her, saying Calico and the woman in the photo had the same birthmark.

The photos were extremely similar, so investigators sent both to a crime lab to see if they could get any DNA from them, but scientists were unable to find a usable sample, according to Detective Jake Richards with Port St. Joe police.

Richards said they also learned through their investigation that the same photos were sent to three other law enforcement agencies and several churches.

With nothing to go on, Port St. Joe police have closed the case on their end. Investigators in New Mexico are continuing to work on the case and say they will investigate any tip they receive.