Tamara Lee Tigard, who was known as “Lime Lady” when she was unidentified, was found murdered by two fishermen on the banks of the North Canadian River near Jones, Oklahoma on April 18th, 1980. It should have been her 21st birthday.
When Tamara was found she was covered in lime. Her killer/s likely thought the lime they used would help decompose the body and destroy evidence but the opposite happened. Tamara’s body was nearly mummified by the lime and it helped keep the evidence intact. She was nude. The autopsy found that she had been shot 3 times with a .45 caliber gun. One of the bullets had hit a dime, likely in her front pocket, and pushed the dime into her body, along with fabric from the clothing she wore. This was evidence that Tamara was dressed when she was shot. It was also found that her killer was facing her and likely walking towards her as she was shot. Tamara remained Lime Lady publicly until January 30th, 2020, when her name was released after DNA linked her to her cousins, with help from the DNA Doe Project. Dental records from the US Army, of which Tamara was a veteran, were used to confirm the match. Tamara Lee Tigard had been a specialist before she was discharged.
Tamara was reported missing in mid-March 1980 from her Las Vegas home in Nevada. She left to go for a walk and never returned. Her body was found a month later in Oklahoma. It is unknown how or why Tamara was in Oklahoma but it is theorized she may have been at the biker bar in Jones, Oklahoma before her murder. .45 caliber firearms were especially popular with biker gangs in that time frame. Tamara had been reported missing in 1980 but due to her identity being stolen by an unknown woman in Ohio that report was canceled. Police do not seem to believe the identity theft is related to her murder. No one has ever been arrested in her murder.
Tamara Lee Tigard was born on April 18th, 1959 in Alameda, California to James “Jimmy” Tigard and Patsy Tigard. She had one sister. Her parents and sister have since passed on. Tamara went by Tammy socially. She was married to Chadwick Ryan Carr on February 24th, 1979 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her cousins continue to search for justice for Tamara.
Please call the OSBI at 800-522-8017 with any information on the disappearance and murder of Spc Tamara Lee Tigard.