by Seamus McGraw

Tara Grinstead

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With few leads and scant clues Grinstead case poses particular challenge

But in that case, as in others, authorities had already determined that the victim had been killed, and already had a suspect in custody.

In the Grinstead case, authorities have maintained that they have no evidence one way or the other to suggest that she was a victim of foul play, and they have identified no suspects, though investigators have repeatedly interviewed several of the men closest to the missing woman.

As a result, Godwin has limited data to work with. But he says he is hoping that the small chunk of clay pried from her car, and a piece of bark may help shed some light on the matter. While the 31-year-old's car was found in her driveway the day she was reported missing, family members have long suspected that someone other than Tara, perhaps her abductor, parked it there. Among other things, they note that the driver's seat was pushed far back from the steering wheel, too far back, they say, for the diminutive schoolteacher to have left it that way.

In the days after the disappearance, the clay and a fragment of bark were recovered from the car, and Godwin says he plans to have those tested by experts to see if they can yield clues to where they came from. Once that is done, he said, he hopes to compare that location to any information he can develop using cell phone roaming records or other clues on the whereabouts of the various men and others in Tara 's life.

Like the police and investigators for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Godwin maintains that he is not targeting any particular person in his probe, though he is hoping to obtain cellular telephone roaming records from one or more of those men who have been interviewed by the authorities.

"I'm looking at it from the behavioral evidence and physical evidence and let it lead me where it leads me," Godwin said. "I'm not going in with a biased attitude at all."

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