by Marilyn Bardsley
OCILLA, GA (Crime Library) — (Continued)
But as attention in fact suspicion began to suddenly focus on Marcus Harper, the boyfriend, the various parts of the community took sides. Was Marcus responsible for Tara's disappearance? Many in Ocilla believe so, despite what should be an air-tight alibi on the part of Marcus Harper (not to mention that there does not appear to be any credible evidence that he was anywhere near Tara around the time she disappeared). Marcus was with friends and relatives for the entire night and into the wee hours of the morning during a time that many people believe that Tara vanished. Furthermore the former Ocilla policeman and soldier with a good reputation was in the presence of other another Ocilla policeman and a game warden during the times he wasn't visible to Saturday night crowds in a popular tavern. How could it be that the word of two law enforcement officials regarding the whereabouts of a former officer is challenged by the community?
While people close to Marcus Harper circled the wagons and his friends took to the message boards to defend him, the community at large got another jolt. There was the possibility that the pretty teacher was not only having a difficult-to-explain relationship with another police officer but possibly a former student as well. The message boards, particularly the ones with heavy participation from Ocilla residents, went crazy over the weekend with strident accusations and scandalous speculation. There were even some who suggested that reports of the young woman's emotional upheaval, together with rumors that she had been feeling physically ill in the weeks before her disappearance, might indicate that the young woman might have been with child. Of course there was no evidence to support that suggestion, in fact, according to those close enough to her to know not just her mental state but to judge the seasons of her body, Tara was menstruating at the time of her disappearance and tampon packages were found in her trash can at home after she vanished.
But such assertions have done little to quell the rumors. Into this volatile mixture, stir in allegations that the newly-identified other police officer in Tara's life, a Perry police captain, was married and that he was friends with the agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation who were in charge of investigating Tara's disappearance and the pot boils over. An official from the bureau denied that the captain had any significant relationship with the state authorities, agents who were called into help in the probe specifically to douse any smoldering suspicions about the local authorities' willingness and ability to thoroughly investigate their own.
The irony of this feeding frenzy that is beginning to divide the citizens of Ocilla is that Tara Grinstead may have left on her own volition. The young, ambitious teacher who aspired to be a school principal and worked very hard to establish herself as a role model for her students may have experienced an emotional melt-down in the weeks before she disappeared. The public persona she had crafted for herself was increasingly at odds with the commitments she had made academically and socially.
Previous Page
New Phase in Search for Tara Grinstead
One Aspect of the Search for Tara Grinstead Has Been Completed, But the Probe Continues
Woman's T-Shirt Reportedly Sent for Testing
Private Agent brings new leads to Tara Grinstead Probe
Beauty Queen & Teacher Tara Grinstead Goes Missing
Return to full Tara Grinstead coverage
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