CA MICHAELA GARECHT: Missing from Hayward, CA - 19 Nov 1988 - Age 9

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Man charged with murder in connection to 1988 kidnapping of Michaela Garecht three decades after she vanished from California supermarket​

A convicted murderer has been arrested and charged with murder in the 1988 cold case of 9-year-old Michaela Garecht, who vanished from a supermarket in Hayward, California, more than three decades ago.

David Misch, 59, is charged with murder and two special circumstances, including murder during the course of a kidnapping and having been convicted of a previous murder, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley announced at a press conference on Monday.

Michaela Garecht was kidnapped on November 19, 1988, from the Rainbow Market parking lot in Hayward while trying to retrieve a friend’s scooter that authorities said the abductor had moved closer to his vehicle, according to the FBI. The case was featured in Dateline’s “Cold Case Spotlight” in November 2014.

The Hayward Police Department, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office and the FBI worked tirelessly on the case and said it was Misch's partial palm print found on the scooter at the scene that tied him to Michaela’s disappearance. The breakthrough came earlier this year, they said.

“The kidnap and murder of a child is horrific. The pain to the family and friends is indescribable, especially when their child is not found. This crime shocked not just the local community, but the entire Bay Area and the nation,” said D.A. O’Malley. “I hope that today’s action and announcement will provide some comfort to Michaela’s family in knowing that justice will prevail, even after 32 years since this horrible crime.”

Misch is currently facing other charges in Alameda County for the 1986 murders of two women in Fremont, and is currently serving time in state prison for the 1989 murder of another woman in the Hayward area.

Misch is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday, December 22.


Media - MICHAELA GARECHT: Missing from Hayward, CA since 19 Nov 1988 - Age 9
 
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NCMEC - Have you seen this child? Michaela Garecht

Michaela's photo is shown age-progressed to 33 years. She was allegedly abducted by an unknown individual while trying to retrieve her scooter from him in front of the Rainbow Market on Mission Boulevard in Hayward, California. The suspect was between 18 - 24 years with a slender build. He had a pock marked or pimpled face and dirty blonde hair. He was driving an older model full-size car, possibly a gold or tan 4-door. Michaela may wear glasses and her hair may be darker.

NamUs - The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Michaela was abducted by an unknown individual while trying to retrieve her scooter from him in front of the Rainbow Market on Mission Boulevard in Hayward, California. The suspect was between 18 - 24 years with a slender build. He had a pock marked or pimpled face and dirty blonde hair. He was driving an older model full-size car, possibly a gold or tan 4-door.

Charley Project - Michaela Joy Garecht – The Charley Project

Michaela and a friend rode their scooters to the Rainbow Market on Mission Boulevard in Hayward, California on November 19, 1988. The store was two blocks from her home.

Michaela noticed that her friend's scooter had been moved in the parking lot when the girls exited the store; when she went to retrieve it, an unidentified Caucasian male grabbed her and forced her into his vehicle. Michaela's friend went inside the Rainbow Market for assistance, but the abductor was able to escape with Michaela. Neither has been seen again.

The abductor is described as between 18 to 24 years old in 1988, with a pockmarked or pimpled face. He wore a white t-shirt and had longish dirty blonde hair and a slender build. Two sketches of Michaela's abductor are posted with this case summary; the original sketch was later revised.

The abductor drove a large older model American-made sedan. It was possibly a four-door vehicle and was cream, gold, or tan in color. The car may have had cement splatters on the sides and lights set into the rear bumper. The front bumper was battered; the vehicle may have previously been in an accident. It appeared to be run-down. The car was last seen speeding south on Mission Boulevard towards nearby Union City, California with Michaela inside.

Michaela's mother believes she could have become the victim of human trafficking and was taken out of the country after her abduction. There have been reported sightings of her in Mexico and more recently in the United Arab Emirates, a small country in the Persian Gulf. Her mother is actively searching for her and hopes she is still alive and will be found. Michaela remains missing and her case is unsolved.

Wikipedia - Disappearance of Michaela Garecht - Wikipedia

Michaela Joy Garecht (January 24, 1979 — disappeared November 19, 1988) was nine years old when she was abducted in Hayward, California, in broad daylight at the corner of Mission Boulevard and Lafayette Avenue.

Sketches of Garecht's abductor were distributed along with missing person flyers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area within 24 hours of her disappearance, but search efforts proved fruitless. Her case was featured in national media, including profiles on the documentary series Unsolved Mysteries.
 
I just want to highlight this information:

Misch, who is currently in state prison for an unrelated 1989 murder of a woman near Hayward, is also suspected of killing two women in Fremont in 1986, O’Malley said.

Looks like he's a serial killer. I'd love to see a timeline of his whereabouts for the past 30 years!
 
A week before Michaela was kidnapped I woke up early. It was about 5:30, still dark outside, and I was surprised to find Michaela sitting at the coffee table in the living room, with a piece of paper and a pencil in front of her.
“Mom,” she said, holding the paper out to me, “I wrote a poem. Do you want to read it?” Of course I did. I took the page from her, read it. I put down the baby I was holding and sat down. This was an astounding poem for a nine-year old girl to have written:

The people knock on doors of steel

The people knock, the people kneel

They think of things that aren’t real

Outside those doors of steel

The people walk, the people know

That outside those doors, the people know

The people think that you may say

The people think that they, too, may

They lack the confidence you have

They think it’s real,

The dreams you have,

The dreams they feel
Michaela went on to explain to me that she’d been awakened by noises in our attic. She said that there were people who had been kidnapped, who were being held captive in our attic. “You know,” she said, “like in the movie The Peanut Butter Solution.” She was referring to a children’s movie which was about a crazy artist who kidnapped people and used a peanut butter solution to make their hair grow quickly. He then cut off their hair and used it to make magic paintbrushes which painted pictures that came to life, that you could actually walk into.
As impressed as I was with this poem, I was also just a little concerned about it as well. It just didn’t seem like something that would come from a nine-year old. Over the course of the next few days, I kept probing bit by bit to try to find out more about it. At one point I asked Michaela if she was one of the people behind the doors of steel. “No, mom,” she said smiling easily, “I am not one of the people behind the doors of steel.”
A week later, though, she did become one of the people who had been kidnapped, and I think yes, one of the people behind the doors of steel. In the years since Michaela has been gone, I have come to believe that this could be nothing less than a premonition of sorts. I have searched its words for clues as to what happened to Michaela, but I have yet to put that puzzle together. The only thing I keep coming back to is that she said it was about people who had been kidnapped and were being held captive. She didn’t say it was about people who had been murdered. If this was a premonition, then, or a message that Michaela left behind, a clue, it would mean that she is still alive.

That is what makes Michaela so outstanding for me, her poem.
 
A week before Michaela was kidnapped I woke up early. It was about 5:30, still dark outside, and I was surprised to find Michaela sitting at the coffee table in the living room, with a piece of paper and a pencil in front of her.
“Mom,” she said, holding the paper out to me, “I wrote a poem. Do you want to read it?” Of course I did. I took the page from her, read it. I put down the baby I was holding and sat down. This was an astounding poem for a nine-year old girl to have written:

Michaela went on to explain to me that she’d been awakened by noises in our attic. She said that there were people who had been kidnapped, who were being held captive in our attic. “You know,” she said, “like in the movie The Peanut Butter Solution.” She was referring to a children’s movie which was about a crazy artist who kidnapped people and used a peanut butter solution to make their hair grow quickly. He then cut off their hair and used it to make magic paintbrushes which painted pictures that came to life, that you could actually walk into.
As impressed as I was with this poem, I was also just a little concerned about it as well. It just didn’t seem like something that would come from a nine-year old. Over the course of the next few days, I kept probing bit by bit to try to find out more about it. At one point I asked Michaela if she was one of the people behind the doors of steel. “No, mom,” she said smiling easily, “I am not one of the people behind the doors of steel.”
A week later, though, she did become one of the people who had been kidnapped, and I think yes, one of the people behind the doors of steel. In the years since Michaela has been gone, I have come to believe that this could be nothing less than a premonition of sorts. I have searched its words for clues as to what happened to Michaela, but I have yet to put that puzzle together. The only thing I keep coming back to is that she said it was about people who had been kidnapped and were being held captive. She didn’t say it was about people who had been murdered. If this was a premonition, then, or a message that Michaela left behind, a clue, it would mean that she is still alive.

That is what makes Michaela so outstanding for me, her poem.
Wow, I don't know what one makes of that coming from a 9 year old... It is a lot of food for thought...
 
A week before Michaela was kidnapped I woke up early. It was about 5:30, still dark outside, and I was surprised to find Michaela sitting at the coffee table in the living room, with a piece of paper and a pencil in front of her.
“Mom,” she said, holding the paper out to me, “I wrote a poem. Do you want to read it?” Of course I did. I took the page from her, read it. I put down the baby I was holding and sat down. This was an astounding poem for a nine-year old girl to have written:

Michaela went on to explain to me that she’d been awakened by noises in our attic. She said that there were people who had been kidnapped, who were being held captive in our attic. “You know,” she said, “like in the movie The Peanut Butter Solution.” She was referring to a children’s movie which was about a crazy artist who kidnapped people and used a peanut butter solution to make their hair grow quickly. He then cut off their hair and used it to make magic paintbrushes which painted pictures that came to life, that you could actually walk into.
As impressed as I was with this poem, I was also just a little concerned about it as well. It just didn’t seem like something that would come from a nine-year old. Over the course of the next few days, I kept probing bit by bit to try to find out more about it. At one point I asked Michaela if she was one of the people behind the doors of steel. “No, mom,” she said smiling easily, “I am not one of the people behind the doors of steel.”
A week later, though, she did become one of the people who had been kidnapped, and I think yes, one of the people behind the doors of steel. In the years since Michaela has been gone, I have come to believe that this could be nothing less than a premonition of sorts. I have searched its words for clues as to what happened to Michaela, but I have yet to put that puzzle together. The only thing I keep coming back to is that she said it was about people who had been kidnapped and were being held captive. She didn’t say it was about people who had been murdered. If this was a premonition, then, or a message that Michaela left behind, a clue, it would mean that she is still alive.

That is what makes Michaela so outstanding for me, her poem.
Could she have met that guy beforehand and he told her he was kidnapping people?
 
I don't think he will ever give up what he did with her. They should be forced to. By any means necessary! Then kill him. Deserves no less.
 

Michaela’s Shadow​

More than three decades ago, Sharon Murch’s nine-year-old daughter disappeared. Now, a suspect has been charged in the case, and justice may be near, but a mother’s grieving never ends.

In the beginning, Sharon Murch would stand at her door waiting for her nine-year-old daughter, Michaela. Waiting for Michaela to call. Waiting for Michaela to return from the Rainbow Market, where she had gone to buy candy with her best friend, Trina, on November 19, 1988. Waiting for Michaela to walk up the street. Waiting for Michaela to appear in the back seat of a police cruiser. Waiting for Michaela to come home.

Days turned to months, months to years, years to decades. The Gulf War came and went. The Iraq War ended. Heavy metal bands were replaced by grunge bands and then performers like Bruno Mars. But still Michaela Garecht remained missing.

Murch stopped looking out the window and started looking online.



Murch has terminal breast cancer. She is dying. Michaela’s friend Trina (Katrina Hogue) moved away and moved into middle age. Little sister Libby got married. (Her last name is not used to protect her privacy.) Libby does not list her marriage, birthday, or high school graduation under “life events” on Facebook. All that appears is Michaela’s kidnapping. Like Murch and Trina, Libby has lived her life largely in Michaela’s shadow. As the case against Michaela’s accused killer unfolds, the women she left behind remain haunted by her memory.

They all know now that Michaela isn’t coming back. Fingerprints left on the scooter were reexamined and matched to Misch. In addition to Michaela’s murder, Misch is awaiting trial for a double murder and serving time for a third. He hasn’t confessed to killing Michaela, which leaves Murch, Trina, and Libby wondering what happened to her, just as they have been since that Saturday before Thanksgiving in 1988.

sharon-murch-1631563123.jpg
 

Top 10 FBI Most Wanted: Missing persons cases​

Below are the top ten most wanted missing persons cases from the FBI database for December 2021.


Charges have been filed against David Misch in the kidnapping and murder of Michaela Garecht, but the FBI is still asking the public for information that could lead to her whereabouts.

Garecht was abducted from a Rainbow Market parking lot in Hayward, Calif. on Nov. 19, 1988. Just 9 years old at the time, Garecht went inside the grocery store with a friend, leaving their two scooters outside.

Garecht’s scooter was moved closer to a gold-colored sedan — when Garecht went to retrieve her scooter, she was pulled into the vehicle, according to the FBI.

Fingerprints pulled from the scooter proved to be a match for Misch, who was in Santa Rita Jail at the time awaiting trial on charges related to the 1986 cold case killings of 18-year-old Michelle Xavier and 20-year-old Jennifer Duey.

While Garecht awaits trial, the FBI asks that any information leading to the remains of Garecht be directed to the San Francisco FBI field office.
 

Critics blast new Alameda DA's decision to toss special circumstances in slayings​

New Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price is drawing criticism for her decision to toss special circumstances against a man charged in three slayings, including that of 9-year-old Michaela Garecht in Hayward back in 1988.

David Misch, already a convicted killer, is awaiting trial on charges he kidnapped and killed Michaela from a Hayward market, as well as for allegedly killing two women in Fremont two years earlier.

But just a week after taking office, Price has dropped all special circumstances in the three killings, including one alleging multiple murder. Those enhancements to the murder charges were lodged by her predecessor, Nancy O'Malley.

This means if convicted of three counts of murder, Misch will no longer face life in prison without parole or the death penalty, which is already on hold California.

"It's a complete and total betrayal," said child safety advocate Marc Klaas, whose daughter Polly was kidnapped in Petaluma and killed in 1993.

"What is it exactly you're getting when you elect officials that advocate on behalf of wanton criminals and people that murder children and women?" Klaas asked.


 

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