HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – A nightmare that began at a Tampa bowling alley nearly forty years ago has finally reached a turning point. Young Tom Talmadge, 70, is currently being held at Rikers Island in New York, awaiting extradition back to Florida to face charges for a 1989 cold case that investigators refused to let die.
The case dates back to November 20, 1989, when a 7-year-old girl was lured into a vehicle at Tampa Lanes on North Dale Mabry Highway. Police say the child was abducted and sexually battered for several hours before being dropped off on West Hillsborough Avenue.
While detectives at the time managed to collect biological evidence, the technology of the era couldn’t identify the attacker, and the case eventually went cold…