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Can we ever solve the Tara Grinstead case?

Sometimes I don’t like writing about the older cold cases that have appeared on the full gamut of crime shows (i.e. Tara Grinstead), because if it’s been since 2005-2006 and there’s basically nothing, well … I doubt one little blog post is going to do anything. Still, I’ve watched multiple versions of this case on TV and online, and I wanted to take a few minutes and run together some ideas. It probably won’t go anywhere, but it theoretically might.

First off, if you’ve never heard of this case, read this as a baseline; read this for a bit more in-depth.

Here are the essential points that most websites / shows on Tara Grinstead will bring up:

1. glove found on yard about a footstep from her doorsteps, it contains dna but nobody matches, nobody.

2. A house mysteriously burns down, possibly arson, a month after she dissapears, in the same city.

3. her brother in law fails one question from a lie detector test, the question was if he had an affair with tara, it showed deception.

4. a married cop, (close friend of her) drives one hour and ten minutes to her house, the day after she dissapears and leaves a business card, he had left 22 voice mails the previous night.

5. Three months before she went missing, a former student, comes to her house and knocks violently in her door, trying to force his way in. The neighbors calls the police and it becomes a disturbance. The married cop was inside her house, visiting at the time.

6. Her ex boyfriend was in town the same night she went missing, he went to a local tavern, and then did a ride along with a former friend of his, sergeant sean fletcher. That ride along he did becomes his alibi.

7. In an interview he gave to the media, the ex boyfriend said , that she had been at her house, the week before she went missing and told him, that if he didnt return with her, she was going to commit suicide.

8. The police finds 100 dollars in her unlocked car dashboard, and her seat had been moving back, too back for her, she was only 5’3.

9. No sign of forced entry, the only items that were missing was her keys, her purse, and her earrings. Her cell phone was found plugged in charge.




 

10. two witness saw a black truck park in her house after she dissapear.

The big name in this case has always been Marcus Harper, her boyfriend of six years. You can read a little bit about their relationship here. While he was a contractor in the military and had additional military experience — perhaps, then, he was capable of some stealth stuff around someone’s disappearance — he’s also been such a focus for close to a decade that you’d figure if he was the guy, something would have happened by now. He does apparently have a good relationship with local cops — I believe his alibi for the night in question is, in fact, that he was helping a local cop on his beat — but still, I feel like Harper has passed the levels of scrutiny for too long to be “the guy.”

Others believe Harper is “the guy,” of course.

Harper has only ever spoken to Greta Van Susteren about this case; that transcript can be found here.

This case has long been tied with Jennifer Kesse — a few hours south in Orlando — but if you read a post I wrote on that case, it seems more likely her abductor was potentially someone (a) in her office or (b) working at her apartment complex. I’m not sure there’s a tie there, although 48 Hours seems to.

The other major themes in the Tara Grinstead case appear to be:

1. A student? Grinstead was a teacher. One student is typically mentioned as regards her case — Anthony Vickers. He came to her house a few months before the disappearance, was “banging on the door” and unruly. It’s all in this CNN transcript. I believe Vickers was fully cleared, but the rep of Grinstead was a very hands-on, involved, focused teacher. She apparently helped people pay for prom dresses and yearbooks. It’s not a reach to think that a student became too enamored with her, and that led to sometimes.

2. Her brother-in-law, Larry Gattis. There’s rumors of an affair there. They’ve been shot down by him over time, but it’s still a name that comes up. He did purportedly “show deception” on a lie detector test about having an affair with Tara.

3. Heath Dykes, a married cop from another area of Georgia, who was purportedly having an affair with Tara — and possibly left her over 20 voice mails on the weekend she disappeared.

4. Joe Portier, the next-door neighbor. The story with the Portiers is that they’re an old couple who “looked out” for Tara — they made sure the light was turned on, signaling that she was home for the evening, etc. — but there are reports online (you need to obviously take them all with a grain of salt) that Joe Portier, the husband of the neighbor pair, was “infatuated” with Tara and — and again, big time grain of salt — he apparently poured concrete the day after the disappearance.

5. John David Anderson and Michael Lankford are cops, somewhat linked to Tara Grinstead, who had odd things happen in their lives in the aftermath of her disappearance.

If you put this all together, what do you have? A whole hill of beans. The DNA on the glove is something, but there’s no context around those gloves — it is male trace, but she clearly had a bunch of suitors and guys who would do things for her, so the glove being on the lawn doesn’t have to be somewhat off (although it probably is).

Because this case has been unsolved for so long, you have to figure it’s someone not on the radar yet — although honestly, if I had to put money right now, I might say Heath Dykes. Seems like the affair was a big thing for him and the voice mails could be because he was getting jealous; he’s a cop, so leaving his card in the door would give him an instant “Man, I’d never be that stupid!” moment with other cops. That said, he could have just driven over there to check on her. It could be that simple.

Final thing: if you read some tarot sights on this (again, grain of salt), they talk about “a female who was jealous” as the lead actor in the Tara Grinstead disappearance. If that’s even remotely true, then you need to look at her sister (Larry’s wife) and the wives of any of these guys she had connections to.

If you know anything, leave it in the comments.

Ted Bauer

66 Comments

  1. This case interests me also. I have always been stumped by it. I’ve always looked at it as, what was different about her life on that day? She had the girls over to do their hair and makeup. (I wonder if any of the girl’s boyfriends happened to come in to pick up their girlfriends? If so, then there were some different people in Tara’s house that day. 2. Tara attended the beauty pageant that evening. She normally didn’t do that. It was something different. Did someone see her at the beauty pageant and follow her home? There were a lot of out-of-townees because of the ongoing festival, many strangers. 3. She went to an evening BBQ down the road from her house and didn’t leave until 11:00 pm. If someone was following her and knew she wasn’t home yet, they could have gone to her home, hid inside and waited for her to get home.

    One thing that always bugged me was something that I read about a spare key. I read that she kept a spare key outside the house under a rock or something, and that on that day, one of the girls got there before Tara got home so Tara called her and told her where the key was and said to let herself in. If that story is true, then someone knows about a key being on the outside of the house. What if the girl told her boyfriend?

    One thing that was never mentioned was the video tape of the beauty pageant. She told everyone at the BBQ that she was tired and was going home to watch to tape. Where was the tape? Was it in the house, or was it missing? I’ve always wondered.

    I would like to talk out scenarios with you, Feel free to send me emails with your ideas and I will respond. My big question is: Do you think it could have been a stranger abduction? Remember, the necklace she wore that night was found shattered over her bedroom floor, which tells me, she walked in, Put her cell phone on the charger, took her clothes off and lay them on the night stand and began to take her necklace off and BOOM, something happened to make it break and go all over the bedroom floor. I feel that that something happened at that very moment to cause the necklace to break. Possibly, someone hiding in a closet, etc, stepped out and grabbed her. What do you think? Let me know!

    Finally, I just don’t believe that the boyfriend did it. I don’t see that he had a motive. So what, she still loved him. I still haven’t seen any reason that he would kill her. As for her purse and keys being gone, I believe that whoever was in that house with her that night, took her body, her purse and her keys and left. Since there was no blood or anything like that at the scene, he must have killed her elsewhere. Just my thoughts. Give me some more of yours, please. Let’s solve this together.

    • I always take my jewelry off before I take my clothes off! I think the necklace was broken and her clothes were forced off…… were any of her other clothes missing? Did she leave nude or in a sheet?

  2. Has anyone looked to see if there was any connections to Kenneth Lumpkin who murdered Lori Arrowood in Ludowici Ga. He was a deputy sheriff, and has been associated with the still missing Gail Moody. Maybe his DNA should be checked. He could of been a serial killer.

  3. Bob and Vickie make some very good points. The case certainly is baffling, and I still follow it.

  4. “a female who was jealous” as the lead actor in the Tara Grinstead disappearance.

    Why couldn’t this be Heath Dykes’ wife? If Ms Dykes found out about the affair and was on her way to confront Tara, this could explain why he was frantically trying to get in touch with her, leaving all those calls and his card in the door. I think Tara would have gone with her as well.

  5. Perhaps Dykes had confided in Tara about some cases he was trying to solve, and maybe she was a witness in one of them. Perhaps someone Dykes was investigating wanted to silence Tara. There was a story about a dark-haired young man seen parking Tara’s car in her carport or driveway the Sunday afternoon after she vanished. The young man was no one the Portiers knew, and there was a young man fitting the same description seen on surveillance camera walking away from Jennifer Kesse’s car in Orlando. Perhaps all this is related in some way.

  6. Just to be thorough, did anyone look under the concrete that Mr. Portier poured soon after Tara vanished? It seems that would be an obvious place to start, even if just to determine if Mr. Portier was involved in Tara’s disappearance.

    • That’s interesting! I had never heard that about the concrete!

  7. Wo was the ohysically fit muscular young man tha she had some involvment with? He was waiting for her and was jealous that she was out so late. Find this guy, who has a tatoo on arm with like a cross in it…and question his whereabouts that night.

    • The young man you speak of was killed in a car accident.

    • Deb: Where did you hear about this guy? I haven’t hear about this before? Can you tell us!”Thanks Vickie

  8. Two things come to my mind after watching Gretas program on Fox News and reading this! The so called ex boyfriend why did he go to a bar then do a so called ride along with police friend!
    Two she would not comitt suicide as he stated she told him she would if he didn’t come back because had she committed suicide you would find a body! It’s hard to take your own life then be able to hide your dead body! The ex boyfriend and the married cop who supposedly had an affair with her knows more than they are telling! Plus I’ve lived in small Ga cities cops cover for cops and anyone else there buddies with! Someone needs to put pressure on those two the married cop and the ex boyfriend and you’ll find an answer! It’s sad that even the GBI will sometimes not always help brothers in uniform!
    However I will never believe first she told her ex boyfriend she would committ suicide and you can’t find a body! Then the married cop don’t add up not does her ex boyfriend going to a bar and then a ride along with a cop buddy for alibi! Please get someone to look deeper! This lady I didn’t know but she’s to gorgeous and loved by her family to let them get away with it! Especially an army ranger that gives him even more of a way to due things and hide a body! I don’t believe him or the married cop!
    Please find Tara!

    • I have a strong hunch you’re absolutely right. I watched Greta Van Susteren’s program and I believe the statement about Tara committing suicide is just a major distraction from his own knowledge of what probably happened – I believe a suicidal person wouldn’t threaten this (to only one person of interest) but would likely write a note or letter. I don’t believe Tara Grinstead committed suicide because if so she wouldn’t do so in a way that she would disappear from her family and friends without a trace. I believe most victims know the perpetrators in missing persons and/or murder cases. A former police officer would know what to say, how to say it, what evidence to hide, and how to hide the evidence. Who is the person with the motive?

      • You’re right on the suicide. They would have found the body by now if it was that.

      • I agree. I have always maintained that her ex’s alibi doesn’t really count for much seeing as sometimes (not always) cops will cover for one another. So why wouldn’t his buddy cover for him? Also, there’s always the possibility that they went to Tara’s together. And, it can be reasonably assumed that Marcus knew about her hidden key because they were in a relationship for so long.
        But then I thought about the girl who called Tara that day. Tara told her where the key was hidden and to let herself in and wait for her. Perhaps that girl purposely or unintentionally revealed to someone that Tara had a key to her house hidden.
        “The “grapevine” says that although it was Tara who formally ended their intimate relationship, she just couldn’t seem to “let go, get over it, and move on” emotionally. Harper seemed to fare much better in that regard, while finding comfort in the arms and charms of an unidentified local 18 year-old sweetheart.”
        https://coldcaseclub.wordpress.com/2014/01/01/the-ultimate-tara-faye-grinstead-whos-who-compilation/

        So what if the girl who called Tara was secretly the unidentified local 18 year old sweetheart of Marcus’.

    • VAN SUSTEREN: When was the last time you actually saw her?

      HARPER: The 14th of October. It was on a Friday morning.

      VAN SUSTEREN: About what time?

      HARPER: Around 9 o’clock.

      Then he changes his story,
      VAN SUSTEREN: So on Friday, after you saw her in the morning, did you see her again?

      HARPER: Yes.

      VAN SUSTEREN: What time did you see her again?

      HARPER: She came back that afternoon.

      VAN SUSTEREN: Did you actually see her that afternoon?

      HARPER: Yes.

      VAN SUSTEREN: And anything unusual about that afternoon?

      ME: (reading this transcript and finding out that if the last time Harper saw her was Friday morning and not Friday afternoon. So how did he see her in the afternoon?
      Unless of course he isn’t telling the truth??????

      • I know many people believe that her x-boy friend killed her, but why? I can’t even see a motive for him to do it. He was in town, had a new girlfriend and seemed to be going his own way. I just don’t see any reason to kill her. What do you think?

        Do you think that she could have had a stalker?

      • Didn’t Tara have a doctor’s appointment that same day (October 14th)? She could have went to Harper’s before the appointment and was given some news (pregnancy) at the appointment, then she was emotionally shocked and that’s why she returned to his home later in the day. Pregnancy will make a woman very emotionally unstable if the potential of raising a child alone is there. If not that, then what put her in the fragile state that she was in (according to Harper’s testimony)? There was something more than a breakup there to make her act that irrational and desperate. Especially if they had already called things off at an earlier time. I just can’t think of what other than pregnancy or something similarly life-altering that would throw her into the fit of emotions towards Harper.

    • Why would an officer let someone do a ride along, if they had been in a bar. I’m sure he didn’t have a cup of coffee and piece of pie! Wouldn’t a ride along be a liability if they had been drinking?

  9. Dig up that concrete also, I don’t care how old the man is! If he had an infatuation with her check why he poured concrete the next day! I still think it’s the ex boyfriend or the cop with the affair and his wife! Ocilla is a small town , come on if the cops aren’t covering for someone this should be able to be solved!
    As I stated in other comment you don’t tell your boyfriend your committing suicide and be able to hide your own body if that’s true she had help! One other question who said she never attended the beauty pageants ! Most models that take part in pageants in their life always enjoy attending other pageants to help the girls! Please find Tara, I pray alive but if not at least to find closure and make someone pay! She was to beautiful to hurt much less kill!

    • Random thought kind of going along with the concrete thing…but did the older couple have any children? Nephews?

  10. In watching coverage on Nancy Grace I have always wondered if the toilet seat cover was tested for DNA. In one of the photos shown on Nancy Grace in Tara’s home it appears the toilet seat was left up, presumably by a male. Who could have been in her home using the bathroom before she was attacked??

  11. GBI investigator hinted at this years ago when he said that tara’s social life made the case difficult to investigate. the translation of that is that she was having sex with many men at the time she disappeared. i talked to someone very involved in this case, but not with law enforcement. he grew up in the town. he told me a lot of the dirt that no one will say on camera. all it took was one of these men obsessed…like when a male student is banging on her door because he knows she is in the house with another man. yes, the student, among quite a few other men, knew her intimately. she certainly didnt deserve to die for any of this though.

    • Not at all. No one deserves to die for it, but you’re basically saying she got around? I guess I speculated as to that too.

      • neighbors also saw a black pickup truck at her house at 2am the evening she disappeared. no one linked to it. not the same as what ex-bf drove.

  12. What about the VCR tape of the pageant she attended that night? She told friends at the BBQ she was leaving to watch the tape, but it was never found. Was she possibly meeting someone associated with the pageant at her home to obtain the tape? Or did she possibly lie about the tape as an excuse to leave the party and meet someone else?

  13. These stories have always fascinated me. It seems like suicide has been pretty much ruled out by everyone. IMO, Tara was killed by someone she knew but I’m still undecided if there was a second person involved. Here’s my scenarios for what happened:

    (1) Tara was a beautiful woman with many suitors. The person who killed her was jealous, possessive and wanted to control her. He (I firmly believe she was killed by a man) may have been someone Tara rejected or had a brief relationship with that maybe was much more important to him then Tara. Or it may have been someone she was currently seeing.

    I do want to lean towards someone she had a relationship because I think Tara was lured from her home. Now here’s where it’s murky; what was said that got Tara to leave the house? What was so urgent that after she’d gone home to relax for the evening, knowing she had a classes to teach the next day that she upped and walked out the door? Presumably to get into this persons car and depart to places unknown. Reconciliation? A late night tryst? Maybe.

    (2) My other scenario is sort of a flip. Is it possible (and I mean no disrespect towards the dearly departed or her family) that Tara was a desperate and needy person who constantly went after unavailable men? That this behavior is what led to her demise? Maybe Tara was blackmailing one of the men she was seeing. That might explain the cops 22 phone calls and driving an hour to her house! Or the brother in laws deception about the alleged affair. It could even be as simple as Tara getting in the way of a promising military career.

    These were people who had a lot to lose if their relationships with her came to light. It doesn’t seem that far fetched when Tara threatens to kill herself if her ex boyfriend doesn’t meet her demands. Maybe that night she got in the car it wasn’t supposed to lead to murder. Maybe it was one of her suitors trying to get her to be rational. Or just trying to scare Tara a little to make her back down. Or her ex letting her know they are never getting back together. Then the exchange gets a little heated and he hits her, or pushes her? Maybe she falls and hits her head just right or he’s so enraged once he starts hitting he can’t stop… If it was indeed an accident and not premeditated this is the only scenario where I could envision a second person helping with clean up. The guys scared and he didn’t do it on purpose and calls a buddy…or his wife.

    These are my top two for what happened to Tara. Mysteries are meant to be solved and the truth won’t stay buried forever.

  14. These stories have always fascinated me. It seems like suicide has been pretty much ruled out by everyone. IMO, Tara was killed by someone she knew but I’m still undecided if there was a second person involved. Here’s my scenarios for what happened:

    (1) Tara was a beautiful woman with many suitors. The person who killed her was jealous, possessive and wanted to control her. He (I firmly believe she was killed by a man) may have been someone Tara rejected or had a brief relationship with that maybe was much more important to him then Tara. Or it may have been someone she was currently seeing.

    I do want to lean towards someone she had a relationship because I think Tara was lured from her home. Now here’s where it’s murky; what was said that got Tara to leave the house? What was so urgent that after she’d gone home to relax for the evening, knowing she had a classes to teach the next day that she upped and walked out the door? Presumably to get into this persons car and depart to places unknown. Reconciliation? A late night tryst? Maybe.

    (2) My other scenario is sort of a flip. Is it possible (and I mean no disrespect towards the dearly departed or her family) that Tara was a desperate and needy person who constantly went after unavailable men? That this behavior is what led to her demise? Maybe Tara was blackmailing one of the men she was seeing. That might explain the cops 22 phone calls and driving an hour to her house! Or the brother in laws deception about the alleged affair. It could even be as simple as Tara getting in the way of a promising military career.

    These were people who had a lot to lose if their relationships with her came to light. It doesn’t seem that far fetched when Tara threatens to kill herself if her ex boyfriend doesn’t meet her demands. Maybe that night she got in the car it wasn’t supposed to lead to murder. Maybe it was one of her suitors trying to get her to be rational. Or just trying to scare Tara a little to make her back down. Or her ex letting her know they are never getting back together. Then the exchange gets a little heated and he hits her, or pushes her? Maybe she falls and hits her head just right or he’s so enraged once he starts hitting he can’t stop… If it was indeed an accident and not premeditated this is the only scenario where I could envision a second person helping with clean up. The guys scared and he didn’t do it on purpose and calls a buddy…or his wife.

    These are my top two for what happened to Tara. Mysteries are meant to be solved and the truth won’t stay buried forever.

  15. The biggest problem with this case is how complicated Tara’s love life was. I’m from Fitzgerald, was in High School when this happened. I have a lot of friends that were in her classes at ICHS. With all due respect for Tara, she was very active sexually. Rumors were going around before her disappearance that she was active with a few students. These aren’t rumors to take lightly, I know. But the main reason I bring this up is because a certain student she was active with I sort of knew. I had a few good friends that were friends with him. I saw him at parties and such. His name was Eric and I know for a fact he was with Tara a few times. Basically everyone in his circle knew this, but after she vanished no one ever talked about it. It might have been out of respect for her and her family. Thats not really something you want going around while shes missing. I haven’t heard anyone talk about this, but as the comment above describes a young man with a cross tattoo, This is Eric.

    I am not accusing Eric of any wrong doing or being involved whatsoever with her disappearance. It does leave me to wonder though if he was involved directly or indirectly. BUT we will never know if he was. Eric was killed in a car accident in 2006 I believe. You can google it and you will find the articles. I won’t put his last name on here out of respect for his family. Which makes this even harder to explain, because if he was involved then I don’t see any way we ever find out. Irwin County is large is size and has a lot of farm land, pounds, creeks and a river. The point i am trying to make is Tara could be anywhere in Irwin County. Eric had a lot of access to these lands due to a hunting club affiliation

    • Hmmm, OK … I have heard this from a few other people too, in various forums/threads. It seems like she maybe “got around” a little bit, which makes untangling the murder (which it probably was) a bit harder.

      • I agree. I think whoever did it isn’t on the GBI’s radar. I have no confidence in the local cops in solving this case. Word is they tried to push it a long as fast as possible and have no interests in pursuing leads.

    • You have know idea of what your talking about eric had no relations with Tara

  16. I too am short and push my car seat all the back when I get out. Makes it much easier to get in and out of the car.
    I go back to the thought of who is smart enough to do this with so few clues left behind?
    HER EXBOYFRIEND.

  17. K , i find your comments about eric very interesting, he could have easily been of GBI radar, do you know more about him

  18. why is this so complicated? Who was in town? Marcus! Who was she in love with? Marcus! Who do you want to spend Saturday night with, the person you love! He came by they fought, he killed her, same old story! Where was Marcus between the hours of 11:00 and 1:00 am? Plenty of time to murder her and dump the body. The glove is probably a plant, don’t forget he was a policeman for awhile, he would be smart enough to do that.

    • The old man next door.. and concrete.need to be investigated. Asap

  19. Has anyone ever considered that Tara may have been pregnant? Maybe intentionally got pregnant with Marcus’s child in order to hold on to him? From the way it sounds, she was having a hard time letting go of that relationship and may have hoped that a child would have secured a future for them together.
    I certainly don’t mean any disrespect to Tara or her family, I just feel that it could be a real possibility and something that should be considered as a real motive in this case. Was any video surveillance ever obtained from local drug stores / grocery stores that may have shown Tara purchasing a pregnancy test? It certainly would not be definitive proof of anything but it might open up other ideas for a motive.

  20. What was the reason the cop from Perry gave as to why he called so many times that night? Did that ever come to light? Someone doesn’t just go and call someone 20 times unless something was happening. Did the wife find out? Did Tara tell him she was going to tell his wife? He was panicked for some reason. Why?

    IMO, I don’t think she just left the house. One, she didn’t take her phone. Even in 2005 people always took their phones with them. Second, the broken necklace found on the floor. If someone came up behind her (hiding in the house, perhaps from the hidden key also explaining the toilet seat) and they struggled, her necklace could have broken as well as the end of the bed and lamp. The clock could have fallen under the bed in the fight. Her earrings were still in because she was in the middle of getting ready for bed. The purse was taken for the keys that were inside so her car could be used. Which means, her car keys are actually not with her anymore but with the perp. My question about this is, why would they come back, clean everything up BUT the necklace?

  21. I need Eric’s last name. I can’t find it anywhere. Does anyone know it? That would be a really good lead to follow-up on. Also, if she were pregnant, it wouldn’t have been by her x boyfriend, as they weren’t seeing each other anymore. More likely by one of the other people in her life The night she was at the barbQ, someone texted her and told her that Marcus was at the bar with his new girlfriend. Supposedly, Tara thought that the girl was too young for him. I can’t see him killing her. It just doesn’t make sense to me. I truly believe that it was someone that was infatuated with her and maybe actually stalking her. She may not even have realized that she was being stalked.

    She was a beautiful woman in a small town; She probably stuck out like a sore thumb and I have no doubt that many men noticed her. I don’t believe that she was safe at all, living alone and having a key hidden outside. She was just too pretty and even though she couldn’t help it, she attracted too many men.

    I believe that the young man seen outside of her home was probably the one that was with her last, as no one else was seen there, except the married cop. The cop called her mother and said that he was worried about Tara and therefore, I don’t believe that he had anything to do with it. Why would he take such a chance by doing that? It doesn’t make any sense. I believe that Eric could have some answers and even though he has passed away, he could have told someone something.

  22. MIKE
    15th December 2015

    Just watched the disappearance on television and read all the comments and my observation is concerning the cops behaviour – he leaves 20 messages and with no answer he appears to show concern and drives over an hour to see her and he says she was not home.
    Firstly being concerned anyone would check with the neighbours next door instead of just turning around and driving back.- especially a cop with his training.
    Secondly he leaves a card wedged in the door – I believe this is all show to take the scent off of him
    MY REASON is — he was having an affair with Tara and I would say without any doubt he would know that she left a spare key and where it was.
    THEREFORE — If he was so concerned he would be so worried and would have let himself in to check if all was ok – ESPECIALLY because as it was after the day she disappeared I assume her car was outside.
    I would say main suspect the COP

    I would be interested what others think of this

    • Speaking of the cop. I have thought about him long and hard. I know that when she called the Police on the high school kid that was pounding on her door, the cop was inside with her at the time. He never came out, nor did he make his presence known. This tells me that she may have been having an affair with him. When her sister was asked if she felt he and Tara were having an affair, she said no way. It seems that when he had called her over 20 times or whatever the amount was, he almost sounded as if he were desperate to get a hold of her. He even called her mom and said that he couldn’t get a hold of Tara. He then left his card in the door.

      Since she did have a key hidden outside, I would also think that he would have known about it and gone in to check on her if he was that worried about her. Surely, he knew of the key, it seems everyone else did. I also think that his behavior was weird to say the least and I have tried to think of motives that he might have. I also wonder why he was so anxious to get hold of her? Motives could be either she or he wanted to end the affair and the other didn’t; she became pregnant and since he was a married man, that wouldn’t go over well; Tara was threatening to tell the wife or the wife found out about the affair and he was trying to warn Tara.

      I find the fact that he left his card really weird, as why didn’t he just leave her a message on her phone? His actions seemed very desperate and seemed as if he was worried about her. Why would he be worried about her? I can’t figure that one out. Did the wife find out about the affair, if there was one? Could Tara have told him that she was pregnant? If Tara were pregnant, that would explain why her body would have to totally disappear.

      What do you thing of any of this? There is absolutely no proof that Tara was pregnant or having an affair with the Cop, but her body had disappeared completely for some reason.

      • One other thing that bothers me about the cop that I forgot to mention is the fact that there was a glove found in the front yard. They said that the glove was one that police might wear. Well, when the cops were called out to check on Tara on Monday morning, the first cop at the scene found a disposable glove that he mentioned was the first thing that he saw when he walked up to the door. He felt that it looked out of place. When the Cop that she may have been having the affair with walked up and put his card in the door, wouldn’t he most certainly have noticed the glove, if it was as visible and out of place as the responding officer said? I find it very weird that if he was really that worried about her, wouldn’t he have noticed the glove in the yard? It’s very fishy.

        Vickie

      • Vicky
        We are definitely on the same wave length and it must be so painful for the parents — I find it frustrating and I agree with you that the fact he was apparently in the house when the lad was banging on the door – begs belief that he did nothing.
        The cops all stick together and its been proven in the past how bent many of them are and he knew the area well and I find it strange that she has never been found.
        In this day of DNA killers don’t want bodies found as this can be their downfull
        An intriguing case but after this length of time I cant see anyone being brought to justice.
        The cop is hiding a lot in my opinion

        Mike

  23. Vickie

    I can’t just come out and say eriC’s last name, dOn’t feel right posting it all over the web, but you will figure it out the next time you’re in the kitchen, just think abOut what you’re doing and it will come to you. Keep thinking.

    I apologize for the code. I hope you understand.

    • K. Hi! Your point of view is interesting. I wondered if you could email me at tracymcguirt@yahoo.com. I would like to talk to you about something concerning your writing. If you could email me and give me your phone number, I would like to talk one evening when you have a minute. email me and let me know if this is possible. Thanks! Vickie

  24. Eric Cook is his name. He lived in Fitzgerald, GA, Info from the Georgia Obituary Database. Recently the GBI searched a pond north of Satilla Street in Fitzgerald, GA. You can find it on Google Maps. The article said that based on confirmed information they searched the pond. Could be he is being considered. Wonder how far the pond is in relation to his prior residence.

    • Neil do you live in or around Ocilla? Also, did you know eric Cook? Just trying to find someone that may have known him.

      • I know eric he was my best friend and he did not have a tattoo nor did he live fitzgerald it pisses me off that you people speak of things you have no idea of get a life people.

  25. Thanks for the name and the code. It is much appreciated. He had access to 101 Rose Rd, Ocilla. This place had 20.79 acres, surrounded by woods and 3 acre pond. Interesting. Was that area ever checked by police? Also, the tattoo is very interesting as the man seen there that night had the same tattoo as Eric, according to the girl above. I really think that the property above should be checked out, if it hasn’t. I don’t know about his Fitzgerald residence yet. I will keep trying to figure out the address. Does anyone have it? Thanks for sharing your info!

    • To see a tattoo someone must be actually there so is the witness reliable?

      I have worked this case for 10 years

  26. Vickie — I did not know Eric or live near Ocilla. Just one of many people that would like to see this solved and someone brought to justice. It does occur to me that law enforcement may have a good idea who did this but does not have evidence to prove it.

  27. I think it was her ex boyfriend. I don’t know a lot of the case but from what I have seen her ex was a cop and served in the military. If he was a cop he would have knowledge of using gloves to get tamper the crime scene, also as an ex cop he probably knows places to hide bodies and with his military knowledge that’s why she probably was never found! If there was an argument in her home before she disappeared maybe she was arguing with her ex she was going to expose him for hanging out and sleeping with young girls. He probably parked his car in another location, walked to her house, argued, strangled her(because there was no blood or other type of evidence that would show if she was killed) and used her car to dump her body! If that’s what happen someone should put more investigation on him. From what I’ve seen if there’s more info can someone tell me?

  28. The witnesses said the truck was a black Ford Ranger or a Chevy. Eric Cook drove a 2002 Dodge Dokota. He was killed in a single car accident in 2006 in this vehicle when it hit a tree. A 2002 Dodge looks very similar to a Ford Ranger.

  29. Some have asked why it was necessary to hide her body. Well, if she had had sex before she died, there could have been semen inside her. That would lead directly to someone. Just an opinion.

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