Michaela Joy Garecht

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Hayward Police Department (CA)

Missing From:

Hayward, California

Summary:

Michaela was abducted from the parking lot of a supermarket in Hayward, California during the fall of 1988. In 2020, her abductor was identified as a convicted murderer who is facing charges related to her kidnapping and death. Michaela’s body has not been recovered to date.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

Michaela was last seen in Hayward, California on November 19th 1988. She as well as her friend rode their scooters to the Rainbow Market on Mission Boulevard to get some snacks and soft drinks. When they got out of the store, Michaela noticed her friend’s scooter had been moved near a parked vehicle and went to grab it for her. As she grabbed it, an unidentified man got out of the vehicle and grabbed Michaela before shoving her into the car as she screamed. He then sped off with her inside the car. Michaela’s friend witnessed the entire thing and ran back inside the market to call for help. The suspect was last seen speeding south on Mission Boulevard towards Union City, California with the child still inside his vehicle. Composite sketches of the abductor were created and distributed all over the country but no one could identify him at the time. For years, investigators and Michaela’s family never gave up hope of finding her. Dozens of potential suspects were investigated with no results. Michaela’s abduction coincided with the kidnappings of other girls in the Bay Area during the late 1980s and early 1990s. There was long standing suspicions that the cases were all connected but there’s no evidence to support this theory.

Additional Details:

In 2020, police began retesting the evidence they had in Michaela’s case in an effort to identify her abductor. A partial palm print had been lifted from the scooter used to lure her close to the suspect’s vehicle and it was compared to prints of convicts who committed similar crimes. In December, a match was found to 59 year old David Emery Misch. He had previously been convicted of rape as well as attempted rape in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1989, he brutally beat 36 year old Margaret Ball to death in her home in Hayward before stealing her car and fleeing the scene. He was later convicted of killing her and sentenced to 18 years to life in prison for the crime. In 2018, DNA tests identified Misch as the killer of two women who were brutally murdered in Fremont, California in 1986. The two women, Jennifer Duey and Michelle Xavier were found along Mill Creek Road on February 2nd 1986. Both had been brutally attacked and killed. He was convicted of killing them in 2025 and given two additional life sentences. Misch faces charges of murder with special circumstances in relation to Michaela’s death. Two witnesses came forward and remembered seeing Misch pull into the Rainbow Market parking lot just before the abduction. Misch has refused to cooperate with investigators in her case or reveal the location of her remains. He is currently awaiting trial in her case. Investigators suspect he is a serial killer and have asked anyone who knew Misch during the 1980s to come forward. To date, Michaela’s body has not been found.

Case Last Updated:

Dec 08, 2025