By Steve Huff 

Ocilla, GA   (Crime Library) - (Continued)

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By the close of Saturday, November 5, Tara's past problems with some of the men in her life were public knowledge in a way the very private Grinstead would never have wanted.

Much had been made in news reports on various cable networks of Anthony Vickers, the 20-year-old former student of Grinstead's who had allegedly developed a crush on her. At one point, Vickers had been arrested for pounding on the door to Grinstead's residence. Searches were done on property owned by the Vickers family in Wray, GA, on November 4, to no avail.

Anthony Vickers, 2004

In a move perhaps considered curious by some, the Grinstead family also hired a private "agent" to assist in the search, who could be reached by a private, anonymous tip line. According to Tara's sister, Anita Gattis, the hired investigator had by November 4 discovered some interesting new clues about what may have happened to Tara Grinstead the night of October 22. Speaking with Albany, GA, NBC affiliate, WALB, Gattis said, "Her vehicle was unlocked. That's very uncharacteristic of Tara. She always locks it, always, always, always. There's some question about the position of the seats. She was short, 5'3". That's a big red flag..."

Anita Gattis

Some wondered about an unnamed juvenile who had once been in Grinstead's homeroom at Irwin County High. After the history teacher received a series of very threatening phone calls, a trace on her phone determined he was the source. It is unclear what measures were taken, but he was moved from her class.

Friday, November 4 probably saw one of the more dramatic developments to date in the ongoing search for Tara Grinstead — in an interview with CBS anchor for "The Early Show," Hannah Storm, Anita Gattis revealed that though Grinstead had sought to re-unite with former love Marcus Harper, they had fought prior to Tara's disappearance:

"They had had a very bad argument, I just found out, several days before she went missing, concerning an 18-year-old that he was dating. My sister did not think that (the 18-year-old's) parents would approve of a 30-year-old dating an 18-year-old. I'm told that she threatened to tell the parents, and they had a very heated argument over this."

Gattis also mentioned that Harper had hired a lawyer. When Marilyn Bardsley of Court TV's Crime Library tried to speak with Harper earlier in the week, his father said that he would not comment on the advice of a lawyer, and Harper's father declined to speak as well.

The mystery continued to unfold. The night of November 5, Atlanta NBC affiliate WXIA reported that the search in Irwin County would continue for at least 7 more days.

Though there were these curious developments in the second week of the search for Tara Grinstead, there were still no known sightings of the former Miss Tifton, nor any concrete evidence as to her fate. Only a hint came from a source close to the investigation as the third week began — a hint that the answer to the question of what happened to Tara Grinstead could be close:

Some things were found today that would lead you to believe that Tara could be found soon.  I wish I could elaborate but I can't...

The same source expressed a concern that had troubled very few in the area before... that none of the men questioned by authorities about their relationship to Tara might be involved. That she might have fallen prey to a stranger, or someone with whom she had only a tangential acquaintance.

Perhaps in a small city like Ocilla, that fear embodied an idea of the worst sort of fate for a missing person — that they fell into the hands of a random stranger.

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Woman's T-Shirt Reportedly Sent for Testing

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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Steve Huff can be reached via the contact form at his weblog,http://www.HuffCrimeBlog.com/. For daily updates on the search for Tara Grinstead, see www.findtara.com.