cause that wasn t usual. so that s when i had called keith. reporter: keith was keith mcphillips, her mom s fiance. he was just leaving work, told veronica he was thinking of stopping for coffee with a friend on his way home. then veronica told him about tara, that her purse was home, but she wasn t. what did you think when she told you that? well, just something wasn t right. because if tara was gonna go somewhere, i knew she wouldn t leave her stuff or her car. she woulda said, i won t be here when the kids get here. that s how responsible she was. sure. reporter: keith canceled the coffee plan, drove straight home. as soon as i got home, it just didn t look right. there was all kinds of tracks on the floor and i said, what are these marks on the floor? and she said, i don t know. tracks? muddy footprints. reporter: muddy footprints in the living room and master bedroom. and something else, something only those who lived there would know. in the bedroom, li
almost 14-years-old and her younger brother paul. i remember halfway down the road remembering i forgot my key. the closer i got to the hour, i seen my sister s car. i said, oh, okay, cool, i don t need the key. you know, she s home. then she noticed the door wasn t quite closed. it was closed, it wasn t latched, like you could fall in and the door would open. i remember walking in and oprah was on the tv. what did you assume you saw the door opened and the tv on? i thought maybe she left in a hurry, went with a friend and didn t close the door all the way. she was tara. veronica s older, the not quite 20 then. veronica called out. noalser, called through the house, the bathroom light was on. i went into the bedroom and saw her purse and everything on top of her dresser. i thought where would she be without a purse. that wasn t usual.
and i remember halfway down the road, remembering that i forget my key. but the closer we got to the house, i had seen my sister s car. so i said, oh, okay, cool. you know, i don t i don t need the key. you know, she s home. reporter: then she noticed the door wasn t quite closed. it was closed, but it wasn t latched. like you could just pull on it and the door would open. i remember walking in and oprah was on the tv. what did you assume when you saw the door open and the tv on? i thought maybe she left in a hurry. maybe she went with a friend, you know, and she just didn t close the door all the way. reporter: she was tara, veronica s older sister, not quite 20 then. veronica called out. no answer. she walked through the house, bathroom light was on. i went and looked in the bathroom and then i went in our bedroom and i d seen her purse and everything on top of her dresser. so then, i m like, where would she be without her purse? cause that wasn t usual. so tha
ord, then almost 14 years old, and her younger brother, paul. and i remember halfway down the road, remembering that i forget my key. but the closer we got to the house, i had seen my sister s car. so i said, oh, okay, cool. you know, i don t i don t need the key. you know, she s home. reporter: then she noticed the door wasn t quite closed. it was closed, but it wasn t latched. like you could just pull on it and the door would open. i remember walking in and oprah was on the tv. what did you assume when you saw the door open and the tv on? i thought maybe she left in a hurry. maybe she went with a friend, you know, and she just didn t close the door all the way. reporter: she was tara, veronica s older sister, not quite 20 then. veronica called out. no answer. she walked through the house, bathroom light was on. i went and looked in the bathroom and then i went in our bedroom and i d seen her purse and everything on top of her dresser. so then, i m like, where wo
dresser. so then, i m like, where would she be without her purse? cause that wasn t usual. so that s when i had called keith. reporter: keith was keith mcphillips, her mom s fiance. he was just leaving work, told veronica he was thinking of stopping for coffee with a friend on his way home. then veronica told him about tara, that her purse was home, but she wasn t. what did you think when she told you that? well, just something wasn t right. because if tara was gonna go somewhere, i knew she wouldn t leave her stuff or her car. she woulda said, i won t be here when the kids get here. that s how responsible she was. sure. reporter: keith canceled the coffee plan, drove straight home. as soon as i got home, it just didn t look right. there was all kinds of tracks on the floor and i said, what are these marks on the floor? and she said, i don t know. tracks? muddy footprints. reporter: muddy footprints in the living room and master bedroom. and something else so