Overview

• Full name: Tara Lossett Cossey (also listed as Tara Cosette Cossey)
• Age at disappearance: 12 years old
• Date of birth: August 24, 1966
• Date last seen: June 6, 1979, according to NCMEC and the Charley Project
• Last known location: Montalvin Shopping Center area, San Pablo, Contra Costa County, California
• Case classification: Missing person; classified as a non-family abduction by the Charley Project
• Current case status: Unresolved; Tara remains listed as missing
• Investigating agency: Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office
• Official sheriff’s case number: S79-16822
• NCMEC case number: 895143
• NCIC number: M030912798

Main circumstances: Tara left home to purchase sugar at Pirelli’s Liquor Store and was last reported seen in the nearby shopping center. She disappeared before returning to her family. No publicly confirmed explanation establishes what happened to her.

An important discrepancy exists in the official records: the California Department of Justice database lists June 10, 1979, in its structured missing-date field, but its narrative states June 6, 1979. NCMEC and the Charley Project also identify June 6 as the disappearance date. This article uses June 6 while acknowledging the discrepancy.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Tara Lossett Cossey: The Unsolved 1979 Disappearance of a 12-Year-Old Girl in San Pablo, California

On June 6, 1979, 12-year-old Tara Lossett Cossey left her home in San Pablo, California, to buy a bag of sugar for her mother. It was an ordinary errand that should have taken only a short time. Instead, Tara vanished, leaving her family without answers and beginning a missing-person investigation that has remained unresolved for decades.

Tara was last reported seen in the Montalvin Shopping Center area of Contra Costa County. She never returned home, and her whereabouts remain unknown.

More than 47 years later, Tara’s disappearance remains an unsolved case. Her information continues to appear in official missing-person records maintained by the California Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).

Case Summary

• Full name: Tara Lossett Cossey (also listed as Tara Cosette Cossey)
• Age at disappearance: 12 years old
• Date of birth: August 24, 1966
• Date last seen: June 6, 1979, according to NCMEC and the Charley Project
• Last known location: Montalvin Shopping Center area, San Pablo, Contra Costa County, California
• Case classification: Missing person; classified as a non-family abduction by the Charley Project
• Current case status: Unresolved; Tara remains listed as missing
• Investigating agency: Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office
• Official sheriff’s case number: S79-16822
• NCMEC case number: 895143
• NCIC number: M030912798

Main circumstances: Tara left home to purchase sugar at Pirelli’s Liquor Store and was last reported seen in the nearby shopping center. She disappeared before returning to her family. No publicly confirmed explanation establishes what happened to her.

An important discrepancy exists in the official records: the California Department of Justice database lists June 10, 1979, in its structured missing-date field, but its narrative states June 6, 1979. NCMEC and the Charley Project also identify June 6 as the disappearance date. This article uses June 6 while acknowledging the discrepancy.

Sources: California Department of Justice, NCMEC Missing Person Poster, and The Charley Project.

Background: Who Was Tara Lossett Cossey?

Tara Lossett Cossey was a 12-year-old girl living in the San Pablo area of Contra Costa County, California, when she disappeared in the summer of 1979.

Born on August 24, 1966, Tara was of White and Native American ancestry, including Choctaw descent, according to the Charley Project. She had long black hair and brown eyes.

At the time of her disappearance, Tara was approximately 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighed 65 pounds.

The Charley Project describes her clothing as a blue tank top, cutoff Levi’s jeans, thong sandals, and a red long-sleeved shirt tied around her waist. The California Department of Justice and NCMEC corroborate the principal clothing items, although their descriptions do not include every detail.

Tara’s name also appears with variations in its middle-name spelling. California authorities identify her as Tara Lossett Cossey, while NCMEC uses Tara Cosette Cossey. These records concern the same missing child.

Publicly available information about Tara’s childhood, interests, and family life is limited. What is documented is the ordinary nature of the errand that preceded her disappearance.

June 6, 1979: A Trip to the Store

According to the Charley Project, Tara’s mother asked her to purchase a bag of sugar. Tara walked to Pirelli’s Liquor Store, a business in the Montalvin Shopping Center area.

Tara was reported last seen inside the shopping center. She did not return to her family’s residence, and there has been no publicly confirmed contact with her since.

The available official case summaries do not establish exactly where Tara went after leaving the store, whether anyone approached her, or how she disappeared.

These unanswered questions have complicated efforts to reconstruct her final known movements.

Sources: The Charley Project and NCMEC.

Investigation History and Available Evidence

The Initial Missing-Person Investigation

The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office is the law enforcement agency identified in California’s official missing-person record.

The investigation began following Tara’s disappearance in June 1979. However, the publicly accessible official summaries contain relatively little detail about the initial investigative response.

They do not provide a comprehensive chronology of searches, interviews, evidence collection, or investigative decisions.

Historical accounts and online community discussions describe neighborhood inquiries, potential witness information, and efforts to trace Tara’s movements around the shopping center. These accounts should be distinguished from verified investigative records because the underlying original police documentation was not available for independent confirmation.

The Last Known Location

The Montalvin Shopping Center is central to Tara’s disappearance because it is the last publicly documented area where she was seen.

Investigators seeking to reconstruct her movements would need to determine what happened between her reported presence at the shopping center and her expected return home.

Publicly available records leave several important questions unanswered: whether Tara left the shopping center on foot, whether she encountered another person, and whether anyone witnessed circumstances that were not reported at the time.

There is no verified public account establishing the precise sequence of events after her last reported sighting.

Physical and Forensic Evidence

The publicly accessible California Department of Justice, NCMEC, and Charley Project profiles do not describe a confirmed physical-evidence discovery that resolves Tara’s disappearance.

There is also no verified public announcement in the reviewed records confirming that DNA testing, forensic genetic genealogy, or newly identified human remains have established her fate.

The California Department of Justice profile specifically lists dental X-rays as unavailable.

This does not establish that investigators possess no other evidence. It means that the available public records do not disclose a sufficiently detailed evidence inventory to make that determination.

Age-Progression Efforts

One documented effort to assist in locating Tara has been the creation of an age-progression image.

NCMEC produced an image showing how Tara might have appeared at approximately 46 years old, corresponding to around 2012.

The image appears in California’s missing-person record and on NCMEC’s missing-person poster.

An age-progression image is an investigative and public-awareness aid, not a verified photograph of the missing person as an adult.

Source: NCMEC Missing Person Poster.

Theories and Unresolved Questions

Was Tara Abducted?

The Charley Project classifies Tara’s disappearance as a non-family abduction.

This classification reflects the possibility that someone outside her family took her against her will. However, the publicly accessible records do not establish the identity of an abductor or provide a confirmed account of an abduction.

Tara’s disappearance during a short daytime errand has naturally raised concerns about foul play. Nevertheless, there is no publicly verified evidence establishing that Tara was murdered, and her case should not be described as a confirmed homicide.

Possible Connections to Other Missing-Child Cases

During the 1980s and early 1990s, several young girls disappeared in Northern California, prompting investigations into whether some cases might be connected.

Historical discussion of these disappearances included Timothy Bindner, a man scrutinized by authorities in connection with other missing-child investigations.

A May 7, 1997, report published by the San Francisco Examiner, available through the San Francisco Chronicle website, documented that Bindner received a $90,000 settlement following a lawsuit arising from police actions during an investigation into the disappearance of Amanda Campbell.

Bindner denied involvement in the disappearances.

Although Tara’s name has appeared alongside other Northern California missing-child cases in community discussions, no verified public evidence reviewed for this article establishes that Bindner was involved in Tara’s disappearance. He should not be presented as a confirmed suspect in her case.

Source: San Francisco Examiner, Oakland man wins case against cops.

Questions That Remain Unanswered

Several questions remain important to understanding Tara’s disappearance:

• What happened after Tara’s last reported sighting at the Montalvin Shopping Center?
• Did anyone witness her leaving the shopping center or interacting with another person?
• Were there significant witness accounts or physical evidence that have never been publicly disclosed?
• Could someone who lived or worked near the shopping center in 1979 still possess relevant information?
• Could surviving investigative evidence benefit from modern forensic examination?

These are unresolved investigative questions, not established findings. There is insufficient publicly verified information to answer them.

Latest Publicly Available Investigative Updates

Research reviewed through October 19, 2026

Tara Remains Listed as Missing

Tara continues to appear in the California Department of Justice missing-person database and on NCMEC’s missing-child poster.

The NCMEC listing identifies her as Tara Cosette Cossey and provides both her national missing-child reference number and her NCIC identifier.

Her continued presence in these records confirms that the organizations still publicly list her as missing. It does not establish whether law enforcement has conducted any particular recent investigative activity.

Sources: California Missing Person Record and NCMEC Case Poster.

Database and Public-Awareness Updates

The Charley Project reports that Tara’s profile was last updated on December 22, 2020, when details of her disappearance were revised.

That is a database-maintenance update, not evidence of a new discovery or investigative breakthrough.

NCMEC continues to display Tara’s age-progressed image, providing a visual resource for people who may recognize her or possess information about her disappearance.

No Publicly Confirmed Recent Breakthrough

As of October 19, 2026, no publicly confirmed recent investigative developments were located in the reviewed official missing-person records, available sheriff’s press releases, or accessible news coverage.

Specifically, the research did not establish any recent arrest, criminal charge, confirmed identification of Tara’s remains, publicly announced DNA match, or officially documented resolution of her disappearance.

No verified recent statement from Tara’s family or new case-specific public appeal was located.

The absence of a public announcement does not necessarily mean investigators have stopped working on the case. Some investigative activity may remain confidential.

Conclusion: The Search for Tara Cossey Continues

Tara Lossett Cossey was just 12 years old when she disappeared during an ordinary errand in San Pablo, California, on June 6, 1979.

Her disappearance has left a fundamental question unanswered: what happened to Tara after she was last seen near the Montalvin Shopping Center?

Decades have passed, but the possibility remains that someone possesses information that could help investigators reconstruct the events of that day.

A person who lived near the shopping center, visited Pirelli’s Liquor Store, or remembers unusual circumstances from June 1979 may have information worth sharing, even if it seemed insignificant at the time.

Anyone with information about Tara Lossett Cossey’s disappearance can contact the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office at (925) 646-2441, the number listed in her official California and NCMEC records.

Information can also be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

When contacting authorities, reference Contra Costa County case S79-16822 or NCMEC case 895143.

Tara’s disappearance remains unresolved, and credible information could still be important to finding answers.