On the one-year anniversary of Tara Grinstead’s disappearance in Ocilla, family and friends will hold a luminary service in her memory on from 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the Irwin County Courthouse.

The public is invited to attend and luminary bags will be available for anyone who wants to come and place one in her memory. The organizers said markers will also be provided so guests can write a personal note to Tara or her parents.

Last April hopes were raised in solving the Ocilla teacher’s disappearance when a newly discovered witness surfaced in the case. The man, who was visiting Grinstead’s neighbor the night following her disappearance, said he saw a man aged 20 to 30 parked in Grinstead’s yard in a black 1990s-model Chevrolet truck. The witness, who was interviewed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, was located by Maurice Godwin, a private forensic investigator.

Grinstead was last seen around 11 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, 2005.

That day the former beauty queen had attended the Georgia Sweet Potato Pageant in Fitzgerald and assisted some of the contestants with their hair and makeup. Grinstead, who is 5’3” and weighs 110 pounds, had been Miss Tifton in 1999 and Miss Charisma of the Georgia Sweet Potato Pageant in 1998.

After the pageant, Grinstead went to a friend’s house for a cookout and left there around 11 p.m.

No one saw or heard from Grinstead on Sunday.

GBI agent John Bankhead said Grinstead made it home from the cookout, changed clothes and then disappeared.

On Monday, Oct. 24, when Grinstead did not show up for work at Irwin County High School, her co-workers became concerned when they were unable to get in contact with her. They called the Ocilla Police Department and reported her missing. The Ocilla police went to her home and found her car in the driveway. The car was unlocked. Her family said that she never left her car unlocked.

The door to her home was locked but her purse and car keys were missing.

Her dog, which was always kept inside at night, had been left outside Saturday night. Neighbors heard the dog barking early Sunday morning.

In her bedroom, a bedside lamp was turned over and broken.

Tara Grinstead still has not been found despite numerous searches, national media coverage and a reward that has reached $90,000.

“I am optimistic this case will be solved,” said GBI Special Agent in Charge Gary Rothwell with the Perry office. “I think this is a solvable case.”

Rothwell then added,“ I just don’t know when (it will be solved). That would just be speculation.”