Tara Grinstead
| Tara Grinstead | |
|---|---|
| Born | Tara Grinstead November 14, 1974 Hawkinsville, Georgia |
| Disappeared | October 22, 2005 (aged 30) |
| Status | Missing for 6 years, 4 months and 17 days |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Missing person |
| Height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) |
| Parents | Bill and Faye Bennett Grinstead |
Tara Grinstead (born November 14, 1974) is a high school history teacher who lived in Ocilla, Georgia, USA, and has been missing since October 22, 2005. As of 2011 she has not been found dead or alive, and neither police nor the Georgia Bureau of Investigation ever had any suspects.
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[edit] Early life
A native of Hawkinsville, Georgia, Grinstead graduated from Middle Georgia College in Georgia. She earned a master's degree in education at Valdosta State University in 2003. In 1998 she began teaching history at Irwin County High School in Ocilla.
[edit] Disappearance
Irwin County High School principal Bobby Conner was quoted by the Atlanta Journal and Constitution as saying, "We're a small community and this has really touched home because it is something you read about happening elsewhere. This is someone with a tremendous, magnetic personality, and the kids just love her."[1]
Amy Leigh Womack summarized the case in The Telegraph (Macon) as follows based on a 2008 interview with Gary Rothwell of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation:
"When she didn't show up for work on a Monday morning in October 2005, co-workers called police. They found her cell phone inside the house where she lived alone. Her car was outside, unlocked. Her purse and keys were gone. Police officers found the latex glove in Grinstead's yard, just a stone's throw from her front stoop, Rothwell said. But Grinstead was never found. Rothwell did not identify as a suspect the person whose DNA was found in the glove, but he said that person could help lead to a break in the case.[2]
'We believe it is a critical element to solving the case,' Rothwell said.
Rothwell said the DNA has been analyzed and agents know it's a man's DNA. But they haven't identified the man. Over the course of the investigation, he said, agents have compared the DNA to dozens of men who knew Grinstead or who were associated with her.[2]
"None of them matched," Rothwell said.
The DNA also has been entered into Georgia and national databases, but still no matches."[2]
Tara Grinstead's mother Faye Bennett Grinstead was emotionally devastated by her disappearance and developed cancer. A lifelong resident of Hawkinsville, she died two-and-a-half years after she last saw her daughter. She was 64.[3]
[edit] See also
- Cold case (an unsolved criminal case)
[edit] References
- ^ Montgomery, Bill. Search finds no clues about missing teacher. Atlanta Journal and Constitution November 3, 2005.
- ^ a b c An article in The Telegraph (Macon) dated July 1, 2008
- ^ A reliable source on Tara Grinstead's mother
