The Kidnapping of Michaela Garecht

The kidnapping of Michaela Garecht took place on November 19th, 1988 in Hayward, California, San Fransico Bay Area. Michaela was abducted outside a neighbourhood market which was known as Rainbow Market at the time but is now called Mexico Super. The location was at the corner of Mission Boulevard and Lafeyette Avenue. She was 9 years old at the time of her abduction and has been missing for 21 years.
Abduction
Michaela was abducted at approximately 10:15 am on Saturday November 19th 1988. Michaela and a neighbourhood friend rode their scooters to the the market two blocks away from Michaela's home. They left the scooters by the side door as they went in to the store. When they returned the two girls started walking home completely forgetting about the scooters. When they realized they had forgotten them they turned back to where they left them however they realized that Michaela's scooter was missing. Michaela spotted her scooter further down in the market car park where it had been deliberately placed near a parked car. When Michaela bent down to pick the scooter up, an unidentified, white male jumped out of the parked car and picked up a kicking and screaming Michaela from behind, throwing her in to the back seat of his car. Michaela's friend was the only witness and she ran back into the market to get help in which time the abductor was able to escape with Micheala and she has not been seen since.
Witness' description
Michaela's abductor is described as a white male and approximately 18 to 24 years old at the time of the abduction. He is a white male with severe acne, boils and pockmarks on his face. He had shoulder length, dirty blonde hair. He may have been wearing his hair in a ponytail at the time. He was around 6 ft 0 in height and had a slender build. The abductor drove a large older model American-made sedan. It was possibly a four-door vehicle and was either cream or tannish gold 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 appeared run-down, it may have previously been in an accident. The car was last seen speeding south on Mission Boulevard towards nearby Union City, California with Michaela inside.
Search
Michaela's kidnapping received national media attention at the time and featured on America's Most Wanted. Posters with her photo were featured on milk cartons nationally and thousands of flyers which were sent throughout the community. The case has since featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dateline NBC, Larry King, CNN, Geraldo, The Today Show, Good Morning and The Early Show.

In 1994, The Daily Review reported that police have followed up more than 15,000 leads.
In 2009, the investigation at the Hayward Police Station is still ongoing. With the reappearance of kidnapped school girl Jaycee Lee Dugard after 18 years in captivity, police were initially hopeful that Phillip Garrido might have also been involved with Michaela's disappearance.

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