By Seamus McGraw

(Continued)

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Old boyfriend sees his personal life discussed in the Net

To some degree the boards are a new and useful tool in investigations. They provide a forum for an exchange of ideas, and investigators in cases like Tara's often monitor them closely. But they can also be intrusive and potentially harmful.

Jim Perry, a young man in Ohio, now going through a rocky time in his marriage, has learned that lesson firsthand.

Perry, who lives in northeastern Ohio but was raised in the Hawkinsville area where Tara grew up, had long ago dated a very young Tara Grinstead. In an interview with Crime Library, he said that the two had become close while she was a high school freshman and he an older student at the school, and though they didn't date long, they remained friends for years afterwards.

Jim Perry

They would speak a couple of times a year on the phone, he said, and whenever he found himself in Ocilla, he would touch base with Tara's mother, and if possible, get together briefly with his old friend.

It was a purely platonic relationship, and the two developed romantic interests in others. He ultimately met and married a young veterinarian, originally from Cleveland Heights and though the two are now separated, they are raising a young child. For her part, Tara fell in love with a former police officer, Marcus Harper, a man who shared her Christian faith and her love of athletics and competition, she had told Perry.

Though Tara had always remained an important figure in his life, Perry and his old friend had not spoken since the late summer of 2004, around the time that Perry wed. There was no acrimony between them, their bond was very much intact, he said, but both he and Tara seemed to have decided without really deciding that since he was married and she was hoping to be, that propriety dictated that there be fewer calls, less contact. Both had their own lives.

For the most part, Perry says he said little about his long friendship to his wife, not because he wanted to hide anything, but because it simply was not at the center of his new world.

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