If Maura Murray, Tara Calico, or the Port Saint Joe photo mean anything to you

[Phinhead]

1. How messed up are we that this is part of our pastime?

2. What are your favorite casts?

3. Do you lock your doors or let your kids play alone?

4. Theories?


For those that don't know, On June 15, 1989, a woman in Port St. Joe, Florida pulled off Route 98 into the parking lot of a Junior Food Store and found this Polaroid. There was a white van beside her, and the FBI photo lab determined the interior of the vehicle of the photo to be a Toyota van.

I question the validity of the picture, personally.

 

[dmm5157]

Interesting. I'd never heard of that. Lots of stories covering this info.

 

[Nole Lou]

I don't think anyone really believes the photo is of her. I think most people think the photo is just some staging/play acting.

The little thing about the photo that always will tell you the age of the person posting about it...the fact that in that photo (I guess it's cropped there" is a copy of VC Andrews Flowers in the Attic (or one of those books). And people who want to believe the photo is legit will point to the fact that it was Tara's favorite book.

Besides the oddity of the kidnapper supplying her with her favorite books, if you were around in 89 then you know that was EVERY teenage girls' favorite book, and there were copies EVERYWHERE. It's faded from the public consciousness pretty dramatically, so that sounds meaningful to someone who wasn't around at that time. But it's like 10 years ago seeing a Harry Potter book in a photo of a ten year old and saying "OMG! My son's favorite book is Harry Potter!"

 

[Phinhead]

The photo has been ruled out of Tara. The cast Vanished: The Tara Calico investigation obtained the FBI photo lab results. It went into detail about how they were bound and how tightly they were bound. The fact that the child lock isn't locked in the van were indicators one way.

The boy had several indicators towards actual kidnapping, so it didn't make a determination as to validity. It was an extremely detailed report.

FBI didn't believe it was Tara per the photo, and that case has been all but solved, but the perpetrators are dead. The sheriff's son was a main actor in her disappearance.

 

[Phinhead]

Tara Calico
https://www.taracalico.com/

Maura Murray
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7345380/

http://www.mauramurraydoc.com/podcast/

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26114508-true-crime-addict


More Local in Georgia
Tara Grinstead

https://upandvanished.com/timeline/tara-grinstead/
(Arrest made because of this cast and one of the killers posted on the blog)

 

[Nole Lou]

Tara Calico
https://www.taracalico.com/

Maura Murray
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7345380/

http://www.mauramurraydoc.com/podcast/

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26114508-true-crime-addict


More Local in Georgia
Tara Grinstead

https://upandvanished.com/timeline/tara-grinstead/
(Arrest made because of this cast and one of the killers posted on the blog)

I've never gotten enamored with the Maura Murray case, although it's interesting of course.

I greatly enjoyed Up and Vanished until they solved the case, when the host couldn't stop taking victory laps even though he was nowhere near sniffing it out. I just couldn't handle it after that, and it became mostly filler anyway. I think the assertion the arrest was made because of this podcast is somewhat misleading. Although the heightened awareness might likely have led to someone talking, which is commendable, but the podcast was nowhere near dialed in on the actual killer and didn't "solve it". The host tends to well blur that distinction.

Some of the ones I liked a lot were:

"Dirty John" - a little bit different, not a mystery per se, and it's a settled issue, so don't read into the case if you want to most enjoy the podcast. But it was extremely well done, and compared to most of the mystery podcasts, has a conclusion. Arguably the best true crime podcast I've listened to, including Serial.

"Someone Knows Something" - I like this one a lot, although I could see some not enjoying the style. First season case was a little dull, but the others are better

"Accused" - a fascinating case that you've probably never heard of

I've listened to a few more, but those were the best.

I don't enjoy too many of the "case of the week" podcasts, they rarely cover more in 30-60 minutes than I can get reading a write up on reddit in 10 minutes. I subscribe to a couple (Generation Why, In Sight), but only listen to them if they hit a case that I'm either really interested in, or have never heard of but sound interesting.

 

[Phinhead]

I agree completely with your statement about Up and Vanished. I have issues with statements like "we are part of this now"

The case was solved during the podcast due to talk about the case. The host had nothing to do directly with that.

Maura intrigues me after the reading the book, which is dated in areas, watching the documentary, and the interaction of the family.

I do not like the way many sleuths go about things, and even the documentary bragged about chasing a suspect.

 

[Phinhead]

@Nole Lou do you listen to True Crime Garage?

They are pretty funny and get better as they get drunk. It's a solid show. You ever thought about attending Crime Con? It's in NO next year.

https://www.truecrimegarage.com/

 

[Nole Lou]

@Nole Lou do you listen to True Crime Garage?

They are pretty funny and get better as they get drunk. It's a solid show. You ever thought about attending Crime Con? It's in NO next year.

https://www.truecrimegarage.com/

I have not listed to that one, although I've heard it recommended. My podcast listening is way down since I moved and shaved a 50 minute commute down to 15 minutes.

I've never seriously thought about attending Crime Con.