by Seamus McGraw

OCILLA, GA (Crime Library)  CONTINUED

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Authorities have been running down a variety of leads. Most recently, a man in Richmond, Virginia, contacted the family to report that he had a brief encounter with a woman at a northern Virginia gas station and that he believed the woman, who was driving a green late 1990's Ford Explorer, bore a striking resemblance to Tara. Authorities say they are planning to follow up on the tip, but like scores of other similar reports, they hold out little hope that it will lead to any definitive information about Tara 's whereabouts.

In the meantime, friends and family members continue to hope that the reward, now up to nearly $200,000 will help bring forth information that can finally help the family unravel the mystery of Tara 's disappearance.

Lawmakers to Discuss Laws in Response to Tara and Natalee Cases

And while they still hope that the young woman, who was emotionally overwrought at the time of her disappearance, will simply return home on her own, they also realize that there is a possibility, a strong one perhaps, that Tara was the victim of foul play.

To that end, Rodgers said, family members and friends have been working on what they believe will be a far more lasting testimonial to Tara than a simple Christmas tree on her lawn.

Tara's sister, Anita Gattis, and Steve Rodgers

With the support of Tara 's family, Rodgers has been talking to lawmakers, not just state lawmakers in Georgia, but also federal lawmakers from Florida and from Natalee Holloway's home state of Alabama with an eye toward developing legislation that would set stiffer penalties for adult kidnappers.

Several lawmakers have already agreed to meet with Rodgers and others in the days before the state senate reconvenes in January, he said. "The state senators around here are going to get together with us and we're going to try to write new legislation for tougher laws regarding adult kidnapping," he said. Though authorities still have not declared Tara 's disappearance a kidnapping, there is enough suspicion about the case, and enough anger about the case of Natalee Holloway, that Rodgers believes that lawmakers will support his bid for tougher laws. "In the case of Tara and Natalee, if we can provewhat we think was done to them, I would be pushing for life in prison without parole. If you steal a life from us and you take that life then you should forfeit your life," he said.

Federal lawmakers from Alabama, Florida and Georgia, have also expressed interest in discussing new legislation with the families, Rodgers said.

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