Many who found themselves upset by the continuing mystery of Tara Grinstead's whereabouts were students from Irwin County High past and present, and young women Tara had encouraged as part of her involvement in local pageants through the years. A steady stream of visitors found their way to the online guestbook at www.findtara.com. Leaving messages of concern and support. A websurfer signing in as Betsy Soles from Florida was eloquent:
(...)I have not seen Tara in a few years, but a smile like hers, one can never forget. I now live in Navarre, Florida and randomly received an email last week with the subject line saying: Please Pray for Tara Grinstead. I found this to be odd, but only assuming that maybe something minor had happened. The thought of her being missing never once came to mind. Nevertheless, she and the family are in my thoughts and prayers.
More poignant were the messages left by students. Writing from Ilsan, South Korea, a former Irwin County High Exchange Student named Christine Kang gave an idea of the kind of impact a caring teacher can have on the life of a student:
I'm so sorry to hear about what happened to Miss Grinstead. I still can't believe what I heard. I went to Irwin County High for 1 year as an exchange student and she was one of the sweetest people there. She is so caring and giving to her students. I am sure she will come home soon safely. I will pray for her everynight.
The police and Georgia Bureau of Investigation were not sure what to make of Tara's vanishing, at first. Local press, like the NBC affiliate in Albany, GA, WALB, initially assumed Tara might be a "runaway," a la Jennifer Wilbanks, bride-to-be from Duluth, GA, near Atlanta, whose pre-wedding jitters had made her national news in late February of 2005. Even as late as October 30, WALB-TV told volunteers working from the command center to find Tara news in the Irwin County Senior Center on West 4th Street in Ocilla. WALB-TV's coverage for that day was to be too sports-heavy to allow for an extended piece about Tara.
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| Tara Grinstead (left) and friend Miriam Holland Cely |
National Cable News outlets began to realize there was a story unfolding in South Georgia. Sunday night Tara's sister, Anita Gattis, traveled to Atlanta to make appearances on Fox News, and on Monday, October 31, Nancy Grace featured Tara's disappearance on her one-hour program on CNN Headline News.
Authorities, by Halloween, 2005, still had not named any persons-of-interest related to the vanishing of Tara Grinstead. Rumors flew, as they will do. A young man from just east of Ocilla, age 20, who had once been arrested for disorderly conduct for pounding on Grinstead's door, was mentioned, and people may have wondered about a former beau of Tara's who had recently returned from military duty. But police and GBI Agents were still talking to a number of people as the community collectively began to realize Tara Grinstead might be more than just a woman wanting to check out of her life for a while.
As the second week of questions began in Irwin County, GA, the community that had celebrated Sweet Potato Pageants with the turning of the leaves for 45 years came together for a new cause. Elsewhere, in Florida, in Missouri, Atlanta, in Ilsan, South Korea, others remembered the Tara Grinstead they knew, felt the worry, the mystery, the absence, and began to pray.
Page 1
Tara Grinstead on Emotional Roller Coaster
Tara Grinstead Publicity Mixed Blessing
Tara Grinstead's State of Mind
Beauty Queen & Teacher Tara Grinstead Goes Missing
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